Shepherd!
There are several of these images in the İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri (Istanbul Archeological Museums): the Good Shepherd statuettes.
In the early centuries of the church, no images of Christ were sculpted, painted, or drawn. Rather artists depicted Jesus symbolically, and one of the commonest depictions was of him as the Good Shepherd.
This metaphor is derived from Jesus’ teaching in John 10.
“I am the good shepherd,
Defense!
Ye olde city of Dallas invited me to sit on a jury the other day.
With the force of the law behind them, and threats of dire retribution in front, I was notified that they wanted me there, on that date, at that time, for that case.
I went, I sat, I was selected.
Voir dire, they call it. I don’t know why. It is a Latin/Old French legal phrase that means something like “tell the truth.” It is the process by which jurors are questioned about backgrounds and biases
Preaching is Pastoral
In Nehemiah 7:73b–8:18, when the people assemble for the reading and explication of the divine law, it is the leaders of the assembly that are at the forefront of this endeavor. Thirteen named leaders of the community stand by Ezra the protagonist, on his right and his left, as Ezra does his thing. The leaders of the assembly thus are the prime activators of the reading of the God’s word for God’s people.
Ezra the scribe stood at
Surrender!
The oddest thing happened the other day.
Usually, the capture of a Taliban commander calls for expending vast resources, maintaining constant vigilance, and conducting complex operations.
Not for Mohammad Ashan, a mid-level Taliban honcho in Paktika province of Afghanistan. The man was wanted on suspicion of plotting attacks on Afghani security forces. Officials peppered the locality with wanted posters with his name and picture.
Well, Mr. Ashan, our man himself, last week,
Gratitude!
It’s a weird structure. The Basilica Cistern (or Yerebatan Sarayı = Sunken Palace) in Istanbul. Right across from the Hagia Sophia. Apparently there was a great palace on top in the 3rd and 4th centuries—hence “Basilica.” Later, it was converted into a cistern, mostly underground, by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in the 6th century.
It is appropriately named, though. The cistern is the size of a palace and actually looks like one. It is a huge underground chamber
Adam and I: An Interview
Abe’s Editorial Note: The other day I had the privilege of being interviewed by one of my former students, Adam Cavalier. This young man (and his wife Magan), after graduating from DTS, headed out to parts Far East to be a light for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What a pleasure it is, to see the Cavaliers diligently doing the Lord’s work! Though I had only a small role to play in Adam’s life, it is a delight to see any
God-Man!
It was called Chalcedon (sounds like “Kal-see-dun”), an ancient maritime town in Asia Minor, on the coast of the Sea of Marmara, at the mouth of the Bosphorus.
Today it is called Kadıköy and it is a district of Istanbul, located on Istanbul’s Asian side.
I was wandering around in Kadıköy, a few weeks ago, in search of the best boregi (layers of phyllo, buttered and soft, dusted with sugar, drenched in custard). And I found the perfect sample in Bizim Ev,
Abe Kuruvilla is the Carl E. Bates Professor of Christian Preaching at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY), and a dermatologist in private practice. His passion is to explore, explain, and exemplify preaching.