Gary Shogren's Blog
Note: this sermon outline is based on my volume in the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary of the New Testament; readers might want to acquire that commentary if they wish to see the exegetical work behind these talks. These posts are Sermon Notes, not polished messages. Introduction A few years ago I went to a reunion; there were people I hadn’t... Continue Reading →
You go down town to the park where there are always people begging for money; selling something; preaching some message. So you circulate around to see what new doctrines are in the air. Over there is a new guy, talking earnestly to a small group. You pick up a few words of his discourse: “Now... Continue Reading →
My last surviving grandparent, Doris Wills, passed away March 9, at age 94. Her ashes will be taken back to Rhode Island, where we all came from originally. We plan to see her again at the resurrection. She was one of the Swedes in our family, the daughter of emigrants Henry Swanson and Claire Ahlstrom.... Continue Reading →
So: two kinds of Christian. The normal - "normal" according to God's definition, that is - walks in the Spirit, and through His transforming power enjoys a life of miraculous love, joy, peace, and all the rest. The subnormal - the person who lives by his or her own strength (or as Paul would say it,... Continue Reading →
If someone desires to give the church a certain percentage of their net or gross income, I honor that as their right and privilege. As for me, I promote that all Christians should give generously and cheerfully. But first, a full disclosure – I believe that tithing was an Old Covenant rite by which about... Continue Reading →
Post after post announces that young people are leaving the church. I’ve read some good insights on the problems and the solutions. But it makes me ponder: Why didn’t I drop out? Full disclosure: I first went to church because that's what the family did; later I came to believe that it was part of my new... Continue Reading →
Notice that I didn't say how they get there, I mean why they have traveled there and then returned to tell us all about it. For the past few decades, people have dived into writing up their experiences of heaven – and a few times, of hell – published bestselling books and hit movies. For... Continue Reading →
[One of my few blog entries on politics, and how it relates to psychology, sociology, and modern apocalyptic eschatology. Here is a full pdf version: Paranoid Style Turns 50_Shogren] Because of his ability to describe and predict American political behavior, Richard Hofstadter’s “The Paranoid Style in American Politics” should be required reading for the citizen. And... Continue Reading →
As a Christmas gift this year, I have bundled together some of my blog posts that have to deal with "How to Life the Christian Life: throw out the old rules and play by the New Covenant." Over a hundred of you have downloaded it already - enjoy! Simply click here: How to live the Christian Life_Shogren I... Continue Reading →
[The following thoughts are taken from my new commentary on Romans in the Comentario Bíblico Contemporáneo, to be published in 2015 by Ediciones Kairós. It is also available in pdf forms as a small book, How to Live the Christian Life - in the right-hand column look under "Four of my books".] A “paradigm shift” is... Continue Reading →
Open Our Eyes, Lord! 