Essays For King Jesus

Do medical "sharing plans" give an example of bearing one another's burdens or do they make us self-sufficient and individualistic? Marlin Sommers argues they are an economic tool distinct from brotherly aid. He challenges us to share to address actual needs and to pool our resources to support ambitions Christian teaching. https://anabaptistperspectives.org/sharing-plans-cannot-replace-brotherly-aid

Conscience made Adam and Eve hide from God. Fred Wiebe explores the way we all experience this separation due to sin and God's solution to bring us from shame and guilt to joy and belonging as children of God. Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers, and he is the hero we attentively model ourselves after.

Each of us do and say things because of the culture we grew up in. Is that wrong? No. However, we as God's children need to look beyond our culture and try to look through other cultures' glasses. God is not bound to culture, and all of us can be thankful that the Bible is not culturally bound. John 3:16 says: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

We need to offer the gospel to the world. We need to offer the gospel without contaminating it with our own culture. We need to offer truth that will inform, confront, and change every culture. There is nothing wrong with our culture as long as we do not make it the gospel. The gospel will change individuals, and it will change entire cultures.

Roseanne's experiences challenge each of us to be the Good Samaritan to others even when it is hard. Jesus showers love and mercy on us even when we are unlovely; we as His children should do the same. Essay originally published 08/2020. Audio narration just released.Subscribe to receive new essays by email!

God delights to pardon and save. He delights to bring life from death. But we are sometimes tempted to mock God and to think that we can claim the benefits of pardon while opting out of God's plan to free us from the actual grip of sin.

In this first essay of a 3-part series, Roseanne Bauman speaks from her personal experience about teaching an ethnically diverse group of students. While Roseanne was the teacher, she quickly realized that she was also a student. In this post, you will read about the many valuable lessons that Roseanne learned from her students.

Many faithful believers rejected the sword and positions of earthly rule because they were convinced from the Scriptures that these were not part of God's design, whether in the Garden of Eden or in the establishment of Christ's church. If we choose to depart from God's ways, we become like killdeer birds suddenly deciding to nest in the trees. It seems, then, that we have two traditions to choose from: the true, original design God created, or pervasive, normalized evil.

A business person should steward his business abilities and roles. Stewardship is not limited to managing profits that may be gained through business. Marlin Sommers reflects on job creation, business investment in general, and concludes with a few words about the steward mindset in business.

We want the entire world to understand who Jesus is. But what are we to be doing and how is this message supposed to spread? Is serving the poor part of Jesus' commission to the church? Or is humanitarian aid a second-class ministry or, even worse, a distraction from our real mission? Gary Miller reminds us that God wants people to flourish, both physically and spiritually, and that this should be our desire as well. Like Jesus, we are representatives of the character of God. Like Jesus, we should be known for doing good.

What does it mean to be a steward of business giftings and abilities, and of business roles and opportunities? Marlin Sommers explores some biblical points, focusing on business applications, and encouraging business people to recognize themselves as servant-managers of both a set of giftings and abilities and of certain roles and opportunities.

“Our own attentive openness to the world around us and the generations before us is what prepares us to educate. If we are not attentive, humble, and learning, we are left either neglecting education or simply trying to pass on what we think we know.”

When my wife and I got married and moved into an apartment complex in Sacramento, CA, my neighbors began to give me an education. Several years after this education began, I was reading the Bible and read the story Jesus told in Matthew 25 about the king and the servants who were given talents. It struck me how much I am like these servants and how I also have decisions to make regarding my talents.Growing up, I never worried about my father coming home from work. Now I work with boys whose parents never came back to pick them up from daycare.I took for granted that family gatherings are a fun time with my cousins until I talked with my neighbor and discovered that she won't go to a family gathering for fear her uncle would try to harm her. I didn't know I had a safety net around me until my neighbor was evicted because her child was taken away by Child Protective Services, and she no longer had child support to pay for her apartment. Right now, I have dozens of people I could call, and they would send me $1,000 with almost no questions asked, if I had a legitimate need.I grew up enjoying acapella 4-part harmony singing. I come from a musically inclined family and singing came almost naturally for me. Now I go visit elderly friends with a group to sing and they can't believe how we “sing like angels”. When my neighbor's car wouldn't start, I pulled jumper cables out of my trunk and helped them out. How did I learn that? I'm not really sure. I think I was born knowing how to do that. My neighbor asked me, “Why do you work so hard? You don't have to. That's what the government is for.” But I know a secret. Work not only provides income, it also changes how I feel emotionally, physically, and in some ways spiritually. But I only know that because I was taught to work hard.One of the first questions many Anabaptist people ask me is, “Is it safe to live where you live?” I have learned that safety is of the Lord. But it surely helps that I don't do drugs or sleep around or drink or wander aimlessly at 3:00 AM. Those are personal decisions I make, but they are greatly influenced by my Anabaptist heritage. When my wife and I were going out on our first date, no one had to take my wife aside and make sure she had pepper spray in case she needed it. It had never occurred to either of us that assaults are not unusual on first dates. Sometimes when I travel to speak or go to a conference, I stay at a complete stranger's house. I might even arrive after they are in bed. But they trust me because of my family or someone I know or their pastor. That is not normal!My neighbors would line up down the sidewalk for my wife's homemade cookies. One of our neighbors said, “When you start a bakery, I will come every day for a cinnamon roll!” Why does Rosanna know how to bake like that? She was taught by her mother. Recently there was a knock on our door. When I opened it, there was a neighbor with a jacket. She wondered if Miss Rosanna would be able to sew extra patches on it since Rosanna sews her own clothes.One of my Muslim neighbors is afraid something bad happened to her son because he went under a tree after dark. All the Muslims in my neighborhood know that demons are in the trees after dark. And so, she lives in fear. I am so thankful I don't have to fear superstitions! Several years ago, my phone rang. It was Life Matters, a ministry that works with people in apartments. We work with them in doing our kid's club. The person on the other end asked if I knew how to garden. Well, I don't really have a green thumb, but I know what a garden looks like and my parents had a garden. That is enough. The person says, “You and Rosanna seem like that kind of people.” So, now we are in charge of a community garden for anyone in Logan Park Apartments where we...

In his essay "Schism is Heresy", Frank Reed exhorts the church of Jesus Christ to be unified as a body, not falling prey to the many divisions of the world. In clear and simple language, he shares principle truths from Scripture regarding how the body of believers should view unity. "Principles transcend policies. If we are led by the same Spirit, we will walk the path together. If we allow personal preferences to divide us, we are not part of the body of Christ. "

Loving your enemies can be hard. Many people do not understand how it is possible to love even when being attacked. Even though it is hard, Jesus gives his followers the answers for this subject. Marlin Sommers wrote this blog about a conversation that he had with his college students, and he discusses the reasons that followers of Jesus should love their enemies.Essay originally published 07/2020. Audio narration just released.Subscribe to receive new essays by email!

Many Anabaptists have been more scared of education than money. Brian Martin calls us to examine that assumption and approach both with fear and trembling (and wisdom and courage). We must not forget the biblical call to wisdom and knowledge and the avenues of service that can be opened by study.

It is not always easy to invest your time into another person. However, as Keeshon Wasington expressed in his life's story, he is very grateful and thankful to God that someone took the time for him. Are we willing to let God use us to help those in need? To read more of Keeshon's writing, check out his blog at: https://urbanitemusingskw.wordpress.com/ Essay originally published 12/2020. Audio narration just released.Subscribe to receive new essays by email!

Is an investment a gamble? Does it matter? In this essay, Marlin Sommers seeks to clearly differentiate between gambling and investing, to call us to a positive moral ethos for investing, and to give some tools for how to think about borderline cases.Stephen Russell's episodes on Usury and DistributismHow Should We Then Money?Usury and the Historic ChurchMarlin's two-part essay on Business as StewardshipBusiness People among God's “Servant-Managers”Entrepreneurs as Servant-Managers

Life is not always easy, but having kind friends that are ready and willing to help and be there for you always makes those rough bumps easier. Keeshon continues writing his experiences in getting beat up, forgiving those guys and ultimately giving his life to Jesus. To read more of Keeshon's writing, check out his blog at: https://urbanitemusingskw.wordpress.com/ Essay originally published 12/2020. Audio narration just released.Subscribe to receive new essays by email!

“We know we should sing, but what kind of song is most appropriate in public worship?” James S. Martin helps us think about five main questions that have plagued discussions about congregational singing over the centuries. He does not attempt to build theological bulwarks around a particular singing style. “If the musicians among us drink deeply and work with integrity and discipline, new songs will arise in wonderful offerings of sound and sense”

A little kindness will go a long way. Doing good to others is always worth it. Keeshon Washington experienced the receiving side of this as he continues telling us his story in his four-part series. To read more of Keeshon's writing, check out his blog at: https://urbanitemusingskw.wordpress.com/.Essay originally published 12/2020. Audio narration just released.Subscribe to receive new essays by email!

Confusion around assurance of salvation often stems from inadequate understandings of faith and works. Milo Zehr explains how people who want to emphasize either the importance of good works or the unimportance of good works often make overstatements that fail to take all scripture into account. Milo contrasts these inadequate views with scriptural teaching.

Keeshon Washington takes us on his journey from being a little boy going to Vacation Bible School to his years as being a teacher himself. To read more of Keeshon's writing, check out his blog at: https://urbanitemusingskw.wordpress.com/.

Paul's letter to the Ephesians calls believers to submit to each other, to love each other, and to treat each other as members of the same body. The letter then takes these commands for all believers and specifically applies self-giving love to husbands and reverent submission to wives. How are we to understand this? Do wives not need to love their husbands? Do husbands not need to submit to their wives? Marlin Sommers explores biblical submission in order to apply a robustly Christian understanding of submission to this text on marriage.

Are you guilty of doing nothing? Has the Way become so easy that you find yourself with one foot in the world and one in the church? Today, we are making history. Men will know by our fruits. Will we be known as “good men who did nothing” or as “good men who turned the world upside-down”?Essay originally published 08/2020. Audio narration just released.Subscribe to receive new essays by email!

How can we have a joyful, confident relationship with God amidst suffering and the threats of shame, guilt, and condemnation? In this essay, based on Romans 8:12-39, Milo Zehr calls us to see the foundational reality that God has called us and that we are made His children by the Spirit, and joint-heirs with Jesus, even as we share the suffering of Jesus. Throughout this life, suffering continues; but God makes it part of His process of glorifying us. While full redemption lies ahead, we are now in Christ. We now walk in the Spirit as God's children. We can live in freedom from the devil and in joyful belonging to God.

You may feel like since you are not a manager/leader, this is not for you. However, we are ALL managers in some way. We each are responsible for what God gave us. Marlin Sommers delves into some of the areas in our lives that we need to steward well as children of God.Essay originally published 01/2020. Audio narration just released.Subscribe to receive new essays by email!

“What is Jesus' sacrificial kingdom? Foundationally, our king established his reign through his sacrifice. Crucially, his sacrifice shows us how to live and relate to others. Finally, the whole of life is to be devoted to God as an offering. … Allegiance is directed to Jesus. But it is helpful to remind ourselves that allegiance means fidelity to his ways and to the nature of his rule, and it means a life offered in worship.”Essay originally published 01/2020. Audio narration just released.Subscribe to receive new essays by email!

Matt. 6:24 says: “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.Chester Weaver digs into this subject on serving two masters and why it is not possible to serve God and this world.Essay originally published 02/2020. Audio narration just released.Subscribe to receive new essays by email!

What is spiritual creativity, and how should we apply it to our lives? In this episode we interview Reagan Schrock about his essay “Cultivating Spiritual Creativity in God's Kingdom” which we published in August of 2022. The essay we discuss: https://anabaptistperspectives.org/essays/cultivating-creativity-in-gods-kingdom/All our essays: https://anabaptistperspectives.org/essays/

We don't have special priests because all believers are called to be priests. David Derstine notes that “one of the most important keys to finding truth is finding and following the golden thread of personal responsibility and service to God... To fully become his children, we must share in the load of the royal priesthood and become his loyal and grateful servant.”

God's Word has many treasures buried deep within, but too often we may feel unsure of how to go about discovering them. Frank Reed has written down some pointers that help him mine for this everlasting gold. Essay originally published 05/2020. Audio narration just released.Subscribe to receive new essays by email!

How does the law of sowing and reaping apply after salvation? How does rebirth apply when we think about sowing and reaping?This is the first author interview on Essays for King Jesus, where we occasionally sit down with various authors of essays and discuss more in depth the concepts they explore in their work. This is a new format we're trying, and we would love to hear your feedback. If you have questions about certain essays you would like to hear us address, let us know.The essay we discuss: https://anabaptistperspectives.org/essays/rebirth-and-the-law-of-sowing-and-reaping/All our essays: https://anabaptistperspectives.org/essays/Contact us: info@anabaptistperspectives.org

Suffering love propelled the work of Christ through the ages. Chester Weaver shares historical examples from Jesus' sacrificial kingdom and challenges us to participate in that ageless burning engine.

Sorting out the advantages and disadvantages of various Bible versions to study can be tricky. Marlin Sommers gives some helpful tips in choosing translations to guide Bible research.Essay originally published 01/2021. Audio narration just released.Subscribe to receive new essays by email!

“It is through the ‘verb doctrines' that the poor are fed, the naked are clothed, the cheek is turned, the extra mile is walked, the good news is preached.” In this essay Dan Ziegler explains the temptation to take the great “noun doctrines” which explain what God had done while neglecting the “verb doctrines” that call us to obey.

What does “visiting the Lord's table” (Communion) mean to you? Is it something you look forward to each time? Some debate on how often to visit the Lord's Supper—every week? Two times a year? Once a month? In this article, Stephen Byler does not promote one way over another however he challenges us to search the scriptures and to read how the early churches would have visited the Lord's Supper.Essay originally published 06/2020. Audio narration just released.Subscribe to receive new essays by email!

Keeshon Washington tells his story of becoming and growing as a Christian in his teen age years. This was published on the blog in four parts.

Why do we work? Is work only a means to meet needs? Marlin Sommers makes the philosophical argument that our work is also part of how we know God and his creation. This includes knowing other people and their human creations as well.

Jesus didn't give room for violent hatred against any ethnicity. What is the current situation today, and will the Anabaptist community respond with indifference or the Spirit of the Messiah? Essay originally published 11/2020. Audio narration just released.Subscribe to receive new essays by email!

If we are cultivating and valuing friendship with folks from different cultures and even religions, then our children will view this as normal. In “Teaching Children How to Relate to Children from Other Cultures,” Ryan Grove tells of his children's experience among people of another culture and religion, sharing the blessings of these interactions as well as encouraging us to cultivate health in our children.Subscribe to receive new essays by email!

While it is important to make regular use of a modern English translation of the Bible, it should be noted that not all translations are equal. Marlin Sommers dives into the fascinating differences between newer and older English translations.Essay originally published 10/2020. Audio narration just released.Subscribe to receive new essays by email!

“Grace means unmerited favor and truth means that which is right. The human problem with grace and truth is not that the words remain mysterious, but that humans tend to emphasize one at the expense of the other.” Chester Weaver tells of the dangers of choosing either grace or truth at the expense of the other. This can be seen in church history, congregational life, and our own personal lives. Subscribe to receive new essays by email!

It's not our job to create unity! In this essay, Marlin Sommers argues we must understand unity as something God already did. Our job is to walk out that unity by bearing with each other, caring for each other, and bringing our full range of contributions to the spectrum of the church. Subscribe to receive new essays by email!

"As we all know, there are various opinions on how we should relate to the government and the various restrictions that have been put in place. As none of us have any experience with dealing with a pandemic before, we find ourselves in a lot of uncharted territory and with a myriad of thoughts and opinions. How do we find our way through these trying times and learn what God wants us to learn? What are the dangers we need to understand and avoid for our spiritual good and survival?"Essay originally published 02/2021. Audio narration just released.Subscribe to receive new essays by email!

“So you're a Mennonite! Do you have a garden?”......“Why do the women wear bonnets?”......“If I decide to join your church, could I keep drinking beer?” Conversations like these resulted from letting those around me see a picture of one particular way that Jesus-centered discipleship can look. Displaying ourselves with all our cultural distinctiveness on the internet is purely optional, however, this is an option that I and the others on the Anabaptist Perspectives' team have chosen. Jaran Miller shares his personal thoughts and experiences from his work on the Anabaptist Perspectives team as he dialogues with people who send messages via email and social media comments. Subscribe to receive new essays by email!

“Several years ago, I hit rock bottom. At least in one area of life, and it happened to be one that affected not just me, but my entire family. This area, quite simply, was how to manage a home. I was pregnant with our 3rd baby, half sick from a toxin exposure, …" In "Directing God's Resources as a Homemaker,” Robin Wolfer urges women to see the management of whatever space God has entrusted to them as a divine trust, and gives encouragement for the difficulties that come with this. “Being a steward is very simple, yet it often takes years, if not a life time to perfect. Its principles are simple, yet life offers us many ways to apply them. We are in charge of transferring what God has given us to the people He intends it to benefit.” Subscribe to receive new essays by email!

Forgiving doesn't mean downplaying wrong. True forgiveness is a powerful response to wrong that calls sin what it is, and often involves confronting the wrongdoer. Forgiveness derives from trust in God's overwhelming competence and care, but it does not ignore the very real harms and wrongs of sin. Forgiveness differs from forbearance precisely in this respect. Forbearance, or bearing with another person, does not necessarily mean we are claiming they have wronged us; forgiveness does. Both forgiveness and forbearance involve releasing resentment and both flow from the life of Christ. Subscribe to receive new essays by email!

It began for many of us like a rather normal year. There was the usual anticipation of spring and summer. Suddenly it seemed our world had become a quandary of unknowns, and a frantic search for facts and reason. We had witnessed flu seasons before and many of us had already had our turn with what seemed like ordinary winter flu, with some even experiencing it in overdrive. But we had recovered and we assumed time would now carry us into the spring and summer normality's of life.Essay originally published 02/2021. Audio narration just released.

Many Mennonites fought in the Civil War. However, this development roused others to renew the teaching of non-resistance and led to the Mennonite publishing movement. In “Losing and Recovering Non-resistance in the Civil War Era,” Chester Weaver describes prosperity that lead to a “spiritual sluggishness” leading up to the war. Fortunately, men of God realized the trajectory and articulated a recovered vision of non-resistance.

“Why would the descendants of Swiss and Dutch Anabaptist martyrs identify themselves with one of the most evil regimes in human history? A very good question. The short answer: God has no grandchildren.” In “Why did the German Mennonites Become Nazis?” Chester Weaver traces cultural and historical moments on the road that led to descendants of Anabaptist martyrs taking up the Nazi cause. “And then World War 1 happened. By 1914 the loss of non-resistance was largely complete. One hundred years had erased the non-resistance. Jesus was replaced with German. German was the new heady ideal. The German Volk!”