#preson phillips

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I've moved to Substack! 🚚

Wordpress is not the best medium for the kind of writing I do, so I have moved to Substack.

I have started to write casual, semi-regular commentaries, starting with Revelation, but in the process I realized that WordPress is not the best medium for the kind of writing I do, so I have moved to substack. So far we are on part 9 of our journey through Revelation and we’d love to have you join us. I post some scripture and commentary a couple of times a week, and I am working on some…

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Romans pt15: Zeal is Timeless

Zeal and Identity V1-3 “Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.  3 Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. If you want to read this passage…

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Romans pt12: Election and Predestination. (Ro 9:6-14)

The big question we need to ask is: “What is God choosing/electing/predestining people FOR?"

The Main issues in 9-11 It is popular to quote excerpts from Romans 9-11 in sermons about matters of reformed theology; individual salvation, predestination, salvific election, etc. But when we address these topics in individual verses removed from the context and dynamics of the church between Jews and Gentiles,  we are in danger of missing the forest for the trees. But when we “read Romans…

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Romans pt11: Introduction to ch. 9-11

The role of power is not to lead or take charge, it's not to coerce and make demands, and it's not to drag everyone into some “great new future.” It is to listen, to understand, to serve, and to bring others to flourish.

This is the Hard Part This is the part where Romans loses most readers, and it is precisely why most people never make it past chapter 8 when reading Paul’s letter to the Romans. So let me give you a lens through which you can read these passages.At the end of chapter 15:23-29, Paul gives us a typical newsletter that you might receive from any missionary out on the field. He writes about where…

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[presonphillips]

The Relationship Between Christology and Power

In Romans 15:3, Paul is having a conversation with the church about power and how it works in the world versus how it works in the kingdom of God. Paul wants the Christians in Rome to see that unity in the church doesn’t come via conquering each other through argument and coercion, which are the tools of earthly empires. Rather, unity in the church comes through cross-shaped actions, like grace,…

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Romans pt 7: The Seat of Judgement, Ro 14:10-12.

by Tommy Preson Phillips Judging  When Paul writes this line, he is within walking distance of what in Corinth is called the Bema seat. From this platform the city elders would judge the misdeeds of the people, day in and day out. They would stand on the ground below the court, seated above on beautifully painted marble thrones, and they would hear the trials and pronounce judgement.  Many…

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Romans pt 6: The Weak and Strong (Ro 14: 1-10)

By Tommy Preson Phillips Paul starts chapter 14 by addressing the strong and talking to them about addressing the weak. Now, without a good understanding of these two terms, no healing work can be done here, so let’s start with the one central question for this chapter: “Who are the strong and the Weak?” When I was eighteen and in Bible college, I remember a conversation about who is strong and…

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[presonphillips]

Romans: pt 3 - The Women of Pauls Letter to the Romans

This week I'm writing about the women of the church in Rome and Corinth, the contribution they made, and how church history has treated them rather poorly.

This is part three of this series on the book of Romans, CLICK HERE to start at part 1. Paul’s letter to the church in Rome challenges the reader in many ways: from how we form our identities, to the way we use power in the church, to how the power of God can create evenness among people who, in society, are not so equal. But beyond all that, in spaces mostly closed off to the average layperson…

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