Kingdom Living
Cheap Grace and Consumer Christianity
Category: General
Tags: Atonement, Consumerism, Kingdom Living, Penal Substitution View of Atonement
Topics: Atonement and The Cross, Following Jesus
The “cheap grace” Gospel sells well in America. We live in a culture of consumerism that conditions us to habitually look for “the best deal.” We’re more or less trained from birth to live in…
Sermon Clip: Tough To Love
Category: Sermons and Video Clips
Tags: Christian Life, Kingdom Living, Love, Sermons, Woodland Hills Church
Learning how to love the people in our life that we find challenging to deal with is often very difficult. This week in Heart Smart Greg Boyd looks at some biblical examples and instructions on…
The Danger of the Penal Substitution View of Atonement
Category: General
Tags: Atonement, Forgiveness, Jesus, Kingdom Living, Penal Substitution View of Atonement, Sin, Transformation
Topics: Atonement and The Cross
About 25 years ago I was traveling on the freeway to somewhere or other and I stopped at a truck stop to get a bite to eat. I sat down at the counter next to…
Does Nonviolence Work?
Category: General
Tags: Kingdom Living, Myth of a Christian Religion
Topics: Following Jesus
The teaching of Jesus on nonviolence strikes many as ludicrous, impractical, unpatriotic, irresponsible, and possibly even immoral. “Surely Jesus expects us to take up arms against Muslim extremists to protect our country and families!” If…
Sermon Clip: Brain Reign
Category: Sermons and Video Clips
Tags: Christian Life, Kingdom Living, Love, Sermons, Woodland Hills Church
In this short clip, Greg Boyd discusses the 3 parts to who we are to help understand the brains role. What does role does the mind, body, and spirit play in who we are? In…
Sermon Clip: Hunger Games
Category: Sermons and Video Clips
Tags: Bible, Kingdom Living, Sermons
To begin the series on emotional intelligence and the roles this plays in our relationships, Greg Boyd introduces the foundational teaching of the entire series. Here’s a hint, it’s LOVE. In the full sermon, Greg…
Our Insatiable Hunger
Category: General
Tags: Kingdom Living, Life, Longing, Present Perfect
The only kind of life animals care about is biological. If their basic physical needs for food and shelter are met, they’re satisfied. Humans also want their basic physical needs met, of course, but that…
Doing the Kingdom, Not Voting It In
Category: General
Tags: Kingdom Living, Love, Myth of a Christian Nation, Unsurpassable Worth
Our central job is not to solve the world’s problems. Our job is to draw our entire life from Christ and manifest that life to others. Nothing could be simpler—and nothing could be more challenging….
Sermon Clip: Extravagant Forgiveness, Extravagant Love
Category: Sermons and Video Clips
Tags: Greg Boyd, Jesus, Kingdom Living, Love, Sermons
Greg Boyd had the wonderful opportunity to guest speak at a great church in Carlisle, PA called Carlisle BIC. He spoke on the topic of forgiveness and love. In this short clip, Greg describes how…
How Judging Blocks Love
Category: General
Tags: Judgment, Kingdom Living, Love, Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
Topics: Following Jesus
What keeps us from fulfilling the law of love that is exemplified by Jesus and laid out in the Scriptures (Matt. 22:39-40; Rom 13:8,10 Gal 5:14)? In a word, we like to pass verdicts. To…
What Kind of Sinners Feel Welcomed by Your Church?
Category: General
Tags: Church, Homosexuality, Judgment, Kingdom Living, Repenting of Religion, Sin, Sinners
Perhaps the greatest indictment on evangelical churches today is that they are not generally known as refuge houses for sinners—places where hurting, wounded, sinful people can run and find love that does not question, an…
The Distinctive Mark of Jesus Followers
Category: General
Tags: Enemy Love, Jesus, Kingdom Living, Love, Love Your Enemies, Myth of a Christian Religion, Non-Violence
Topics: Following Jesus
Jesus’ teaching to love our enemies was understandably shocking to his original audience—just as it is to us today. Jesus expected much, which is why, after telling his audience to love their enemies he added…
Be the Change Now
Category: General
Tags: Justice, Kingdom Living, Non-Violence, Racial Reconciliation
Topics: Following Jesus
Ghandi once said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” It’s a profoundly Kingdom teaching. It seems to me, however, that few people adopt Ghandi’s philosophy. It’s far easier to focus our…
How Are We To Love the Soldiers of ISIS?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Enemy Love, ISIS, Jesus, Kingdom Living, Love Your Enemies, Non-Violence, Sacrifice
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence, Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
Over the last several weeks I’ve received some form of this question almost every day. In some cases the question is asked rhetorically, as though the very question exposes the absurdity of suggesting we are…
Loving Enemies in the Day of ISIS
Category: General
Tags: Enemy Love, ISIS, Kingdom Living, Love, Love Your Enemies, Myth of a Christian Religion, Persecution
The following excerpt from Myth of a Christian Religion discusses Jesus’ command to “turn the other cheek.” Whatever our response to the persecution of Christians in the world, we must take this passage seriously. While…
Revolting Against the Cosmic Hitler
Category: General
Tags: Hitler, Kingdom, Kingdom Living, Nazi, Revolt
Greg returned last week from Europe where he was able to visit some Nazi death camps. In the following, he reflects on a story of a German teenager who actively resisted the Nazi agenda…
Your Spiritual “Say-So”
Category: General
Tags: Kingdom Living, Prayer, Relationships
In yesterday’s post, I summarized what Jesus and the rest of the Bible says about prayer. For many, that is enough. “God said it, I believe it, that settles it for me.” But for others, like…
Does Prayer Really Make a Difference?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Kingdom Living, Prayer
Topics: Hearing God, Prayer, Open Theism
I know the traditional cliché that prayer is for our sake, not God’s. It changes us, not God, or God’s plans. Even C .S. Lewis said that! I have the greatest admiration for Lewis, but…
The Kingdom of God While Mowing the Lawn
Category: General
Tags: Blessing, Discipline of Blessing, Ed Silvoso, Kingdom Living
The Kingdom of God is first and foremost characterized by the kind of love Jesus demonstrated on Calvary and throughout his life. Everything we do, Paul says, is to be done in love (1 Cor….