Good Friday (Year 1, NL)

The story of Jesus’ unjust trial and wrongful conviction must not be romanticized.

Do antisemitic appeals to the Bible always constitute an abuse of scripture? Would that it were so simple.

God isn't just hidden. God hides. Why?

In Matthew, Jesus’ identity as king is the major source of conflict.

When does compromise descend into treason or apostasy?

Pontius Pilate shows us what happens when the historical and the eternal intersect.

Judas is hardly the only one who lets Jesus down.

Isaiah 50:4-9a; Matthew 26:14–27:66; Philippians 2:5–11

It's 2016 and the problem of evil is still unsolved. It's found a megaphone in Stephen Fry, who offers more rhetorical power than originality.

During Holy Week, it's common for worship leaders to ask people to consider their place in the drama of Jesus' final days. To what extent do we betray him, deny him, insult him, crucify him? When do we, like the crowds, find ourselves gawking at suffering with prurient glee? When do we, like the thieves, alternately ridicule the truth, then believe in it? When do we, like the centurion, make our confession--though perhaps a moment too late?

The decline of mainline Protestantism is clear. What's less clear is what the church should do about it.