Word of Life Church Podcast

The Uncreated Light of Tabor illuminates the Old Testament. The Light brighter than the sun that shines from the face of the Transfigured Christ turns the Old Testament into a brand-new text. At the Transfiguration we learn that Jesus is the telos of the Old Testament.

Everyone is searching. Everyone who hasn't given up and succumbed to despair and surrendered to nihilism is searching for something. And ultimately, whether they know it or not, they're searching for Jesus.

The fame of Jesus spread throughout Galilee, then Judea, then the Roman Empire, and then throughout the whole world, so that Jesus of Nazareth is far and away the most famous person in history. Fame is connected with fascination. We're fascinated by famous people—we want to know more about them. And fascination with Jesus Christ is the essential thing. But wherein lies the fame of Jesus? What is Jesus famous for?

To follow Jesus is to embark upon the risk of becoming—it’s the lifelong journey of becoming who you are meant to be. And this journey is always a risky adventure. There are gains and losses, successes and failures, victories and defeats. Sometimes you walk on water for ten seconds—and the next moment you're crying out, “Lord, save me!” And in that moment of risk Jesus does save you. But the greater truth is this: As long as you're moving toward Jesus, there’s really never any risk at all.

The story of Jacob's Ladder in Genesis has a powerful influence upon our theological imagination:It speaks to us of the reality of another world called heaven.It speaks to us of another order of being called angels.It speaks to us of the possibility of a ladder of interaction between these two worlds.

One of the reasons that after nearly fifty years of following Jesus and after over forty years of full-time ministry that I’m not bored, burned out, jaded or cynical, is that many times and in many ways—including by dreams—I’ve been warned and wooed by the Holy Spirit to travel by another road.

Ours is an age of acute empirical perception that affords spectacular scientific and technological developments, but our age is also an epoch of dire spiritual dullness leading to a deep poverty of the soul. This lack of spiritual perceptivity engenders a profound sense of emptiness and meaninglessness. To recover meaning we need to rediscover the paths of unseen existences.

MonstersDave Matthews BandBroke old toy soldiers lined up one, two, threeLittle kid and everything I did just to save my paper queen'Cause love won't let me goYeah, no army's gonna save my soul'Cause love won't let me goNothing in the closetNothing underneath the bedJust the monsters in your headI hear strange voices at every step I takeNo, you can't cross the ocean if you can't get past the breakEven if fear don't put you downWon't you lean on me while I'm aroundOh, no rope to hang the deadNo line to save the drowning manJust the monsters in your headNothing in the closetNothing underneath the bedJust the monsters in your headSee killer's eyes and painted facesThe Devil wants your soul, but Jesus savesTraffic jam is an angry mazeThe Devil wants your soul, but Jesus savesChutes and ladders, pick-up sticksCounting cars and counting bricksDriving past the ol' five-and-dimeCan't get nothin' for a nickel since a long, long timeI won't let you downNothing in the closetNothing underneath your bedJust the monsters in your headNo rope to hang the deadNo line to save the drowning manJust the monsters in your headLove won't let you goLove won't let you go