The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

The four horsemen of the apocalypse are incredibly terrifying both on a visual level and a theological level. But understood correctly, it's not quite as theologically concerning as you might think—you just need to see it in the light John is painting.

The Lion is the Lamb

We often sing songs about God being a lion and a lamb. This is all well and good as the Bible likens God to a lion throughout, but in John’s Revelation, there is no lion to be found. Yes, a lion is announced, but when John turns to see him, it is, in fact, a lamb—not a lion morphing into a lamb, but a lamb. And this speaks volumes to John’s message. Listen to this episode by subscribing to the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, or Google Play. 

Christmas Politics

In a time where the nation is vocally divided on politics, it'd be nice to give the whole thing a rest for Christmas. But the truth is that Christmas is about a baby king being born in our midst—and kings tend to be political.

The Great Symbiosis VS Christmas

The gods of the Ancient Near East expected humanity to serve them and in return they would give humanity what they needed. The Hebrews, however, saw their God in a different light—and Christmas amplifies that light to an incredible degree.

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, or Google Play. 

Beyond the Crystal Sea

Revelation 4 is a powerful scene of God's throne room and it's there that we find all kinds of strange things we don't know what to make of. But once we learn about these strange things we begin to see God glorified even more.

For a deeper look at my "snow globe" analogy, check out this infographic to see how the ancient people of the Bible viewed the cosmos.

Check out this podcast episode on 1208GREENWOOD’s webpage or simply subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, or Google Play. 

The Letters to the Churches

The letters John wrote to the churches of Revelation are not churches in the future. They were real churches that existed at the time he wrote them and they were specifically written to them in their context. Jamin explains how each letter related to their particular environment.

1208 on MLive

“‘It gets disheartening to never have answers for people’s big problems,’ Bradley said. So 1208Greenwood is working to launch Empowerment Houses, which will provide transitional housing for the homeless and work with them to provide basic needs and help stabilize their lives.”

Thanks to Marie for writing up this article for our #GivingTuesday campaign! Check out the whole article here and see the fundraiser here.

#Giving Tuesday: Empowerment Houses

You can give on our Facebook fundraiser page today!

After our neighbor Loretta became homeless and passed away from an ongoing condition, we at 1208 Greenwood Church decided it was time to have some answers to the housing crisis in Jackson. So we set out to create what we call, "Empowerment Houses."

While we still have much to learn about these houses, they are meant to provide temporary housing for those in Jackson who need it while they find stability and move towards a flourishing life. We sense that many of these houses could be established with grant money in the future, but first we need to pilot our program to prove its effectiveness and work out the kinks. That’s why we want to start this project by raising money for our pilot house, “The Loretta House.”

Thank you to the wider Jackson community and beyond for partnering with us this #GivingTuesday to help this project get its feet on the ground!

Revelation 1 Q&A

Revelation is a very confusing book, but it's more understandable than you might think if you come at it from the perspective of the scholars and theologians who know it best. In this introduction to our new series, Jamin invites to see this book as letter, prophecy, and apocrypha. He then answers any questions people have on the first chapter of Revelation.

Clarification: Christians go to Heaven when they die, not Sheol/Hades. They are saved by Christ from going to that place and go to Heaven instead

The Clash of Kingdoms

The Bible is framed as a clash between the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of this world. What does this mean for us, our expectations of the world, and our interaction with it? Jamin covers these questions in the close of his miniseries on social justice.

Spiritual Social Justice

Last week Jamin showed his love for social justice and social activism. This week he offers some critique on the subject, for the way the world does social justice and the way that Jesus does social justice are grounded in very different themes.

My Social Justice Journey

Jamin begins a new miniseries on social justice. In this first message, he shares his own journey into the theme.

Pursuing God with Creativity

Joel Bradley preaches about an intriguing thing God called him to do this past month and where it led him. In his journey, many seemed to find a word for themselves. Sarah Crane followed it up with a call to communion in connection to Joel's message. See the pictures below to follow along with Joel’s story.

The man reached for the ring hoping it would give him all he would need, but when he put it on he was bitten by the bat.

This sent him into a mindless state where the bats cries echo their loudest.

He became the ideal bait and the lies and deception started to set in.

The man began to freeze as his realities began to shift

He migrated from his mind to his heart and began building and fortifying a wall around it.

As he built a husky sat and watched over him.

He built his walls higher and by the time he was done he had built an enchanted kingdom upon his heart.

A frail man entered the kingdom and approached the husky. He placed his hand on it and said to the man “Don’t be afraid. The husky and I are here to crush the legion of bats that plagues your mind.

The frail man sat on a swing with the husky close beside him. They looked out beyond the horizon keeping watch for the bats

The man had a vision of a pattern of ripe crops. While he didn’t comprehend the meaning, for the first time since the bats attacked he felt at ease.

The peace lasted only momentarily as the cold season got colder and the snow began to fall.

In the man’s weakened state he was attacked by the dragon, the leader of the bats.

The dragon decimated the kingdom upon the man’s heart and it became impossible to distinguish between the ash and the snow.

Overgrown vines wrapped around the man’s heart. The thorns stung, but the man held onto hope. The bats had taken his mind but he wouldn’t surrender his heart so easily.

The man heard a legend of a being so powerful it could crush the head of the dragon. The man held on to faith that he would be delivered from the dragon’s reign.

The bats, the dragon and the vines ran wild. If the man were to see his heart he’s not certain he would even recognize it anymore.

The man saw the ring he once chased sitting on a pile of leaves. The ornament he once desired so much was now only collecting dirt. It was now that he could see the deception. He wished he could take it all back.

As the chaos ensued the man began to feel like a misfit within his own heart.

The man encountered a bat with a damaged wing. While he despised the bats for destroying his mind he couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. He wrapped the bats wing in a sling and in that moment the vines began to wilt and the dragon lost much of its power.

The frail man said “it’s time.” Then he and the husky tread towards the dragon.

The man went and found refuge in the deepest part of his heart. There he found a chest containing another ring. However, this ring was different from his first ring. The ring radiated with a sense of peace. He took hold of it and placed it on his finger. Upon doing so the dragon lost even more of its power.

After placing the ring on his finger a ghost appeared and startled the man. The ghost said “do not be afraid. I am here with the man and the husky. We are here to bring an end to this nightmare.”

The ghost joined with the frail man and the husky they spoke as one in an ancient tongue. The dragon and his legion of bats despised these words. One by one the bats began to fall.

The sheer mention of these ancient words made the dragon dizzy and the havoc it caused came to a screeching halt. The man felt a weight begin to lift from his heart.

Though the dragon was weakened it was not about to give up he spotted the man, and in a final burst of energy he flew after him shouting “tasty!”

In that moment everything went dark.

The darkness dissipated, and the frail man placed a coat around his shoulders. The husky sat next to him providing comfort and the ghost was dissolving what was left of the dragon. The battle had finally ended.

The husky offered to give the man a ride. He jumped on his back and together they went to reclaim his mind.

The frail man, the husky and the ghost healed the man’s injured mind and new life began to grow from him

A safety net was created to catch the man in case he was ever to fall again.

The man saw an orchard of ripe crops in the distance. As he approached he sat and rested. The frail man said “you survived the coldest season of your life and now the new fruits are finally ripe. Share these fruits with others and they too will witness new life.”

#NonfictionNovember

Jamin has written quite a few books while pastoring at 1208. Want a free audiobook of his from Audible? Leave a comment with some contact information or use our contact form and we’ll send you whatever promo codes you desire for his books!

Alien Life & Salvation

Did God make beings on other planets? And if he did, are they saved? Jamin offers some proposals to these strange questions at Nerd Church.

The Women of the Resurrection

As a scholar once said, "The women are last at the cross and first at the tomb." Their faithfulness is deeply and counter-culturally rewarded.

Earth in Context

The universe is big—like, 2 trillion galaxies big. And that’s just an estimate if there is in fact only one universe. Jamin takes us on a journey through the cosmos to see just how vast God’s creation is.

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, or Google Play. You can also continue the conversation with my book/auidobook, Alien Theology.

The Returned

Matthew puts a detail in his gospel that the other 3 gospels do not: Some of the dead returned to life and walked around Jerusalem. And this is not the only time in the Bible or in history that the Holy Spirit has brought people back to life.

Check out this podcast episode on 1208GREENWOOD’s webpage or simply subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, or Google Play. You can also continue the conversation with my book/auidobook, Alien Theology.

Blinded by Pride

Jamin continues his 1208-Bit *Nerd Church conversation on the topic of the church and science and offers us a few suggestions as to how to read the Bible well.

The God of Science

Our very first 1208-Bit *Nerd Church conversation took us into all kinds of territories—even into some hot topics.