Author: Michael Salsaa

It seems that we have to linger a bit on the death of Jesus. That sabbath day that he spent entirely in the grave, dead. I think for us as Christians, there is a special symbolism for this particular sabbath day in the Old Testament: Yom Kippur; the sabbath of sabbaths, (in Hebrew, Shabbat Shabbaton,…

Last class, we discussed the crucifixion and how the symbolism in Revelation connects to Jesus’s death on the cross. The dramatic events in Revelation serve as the spiritual backdrop to the physical events of the crucifixion. However, one key image remains unexplored: the crowds present at the cross. You might wonder: If the end of…

Do you recall the beginning of the biblical chapter on Job? The chapter starts by offering us the backstory of why the events unfolded in the life of Job as they did. We, as the readers, are witness to an engaging discussion between God and satan. This backstory provides us the answer to the “why”…

Today’s class is mostly taken from previous classes. In it, I would first like to answer a question Carloyn asked about the glory of God. Second, I will attempt to answer the question, what is this grace upon grace that we’ve been given according to Jesus. Jesus encourages obedience, which we’ve defined as “doing things…

Genesis 1:1-5 – “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth… And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” Have you ever noticed that God created time on the very first day of creation? By doing so, He established time as sacred, setting it apart to mark His will and the…

Is God funny? Does God tell jokes? Have you ever considered whether God has a sense of humor? This may not be a topic that you’ve heard a preacher talk about during a church sermon, but is there something we can learn about God’s sense of humor? I think God does have a sense of…

I have always searched for answers, for the truth. Socrates said “The unexamined life is not worth living”. If I knew what is important from what isn’t, I reasoned, then I can live a better life, a life worth living. It annoyed me but also amused me that most people didn’t seem to contemplate or…

I would like to both acknowledge and dedicate this class to my friend Debora who has been instrumental in bringing this to life.   Last week I received a message from Alice. It was quite obvious from her message that she had experienced a moment of awe. When Moses asked God for His name, God…

Last week the question was: “Do you see this world, this life, as essentially good or as essentially evil?” Perhaps what we were missing from this discussion is that the designation of what is good and what is evil is relative. It is based on the observer. It comes from a human centric vision. When…