Chris Hirschy

Pastor of Salem Magley Church in Decatur, IN. MDiv from @denverseminary. Just a #millennialpastor trying to follow the way of Jesus and bring others along too.

[Chris Hirschy @therev_chris]

The self-help industry is lucrative because we know we have a problem that needs fixing, but unfortunately we're looking in all the wrong places. We can't find the help we need apart from the good news of Jesus.

[Chris Hirschy @therev_chris]

The idea of unconditional forgiveness sounds good from the offender's end, but it never works when someone has actually hurt you. Then it suddenly feels impossible. This helps us understand the severity of sin and it's impact on our relationships, with one another and God.

[Chris Hirschy @therev_chris]

We've turned sin into a personality quirk. "I'm just a work in progress." Meanwhile it's quietly wrecking marriages, friendships, and your ability to connect with God. Softening the word doesn't make the problem smaller.

[Chris Hirschy @therev_chris]

If you could ask God one honest question about why suffering still exists, even after Jesus supposedly already won, what would you ask?

[Chris Hirschy @therev_chris]

Sin. It's a human problem that's bigger than just stealing a candy bar, saying a mean thing to someone. It's a problem that infects every inch of our world.

[Chris Hirschy @therev_chris]

So no, God couldn't just skip a step and just decide to forgive. The effects of sin were too deep and pervasive. They broke things at a fundamental level, but God was willing to make things right. That's what the cross and resurrection did.

[Chris Hirschy @therev_chris]

Why did Jesus have to die? People ask this like it's a gotcha question. It's not. It's central to why he came, and what he set out to do. Let's talk about it. 🧵

[Chris Hirschy @therev_chris]

Paul writes about the resurrection like trash talk aimed at death itself: "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" (1 Corinthians 15:55). Death lost its leverage the moment that tomb came up empty.

[Chris Hirschy @therev_chris]

Whoever wants to save their life will lose it. Whoever loses their life for Jesus and the gospel will save it. Jesus said this to a crowd, not just to the disciples. He wasn't describing a special category of radical Christians. He's describing what following him costs, everyone.

[Chris Hirschy @therev_chris]

"I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Jesus said this at dinner with tax collectors, the most despised people in Jewish society. The people who thought they had it together were suspicious of him. The people who knew they didn't kept showing up. Nothing's changed.

[Chris Hirschy @therev_chris]

The mustard seed parable is one of the most underrated things Jesus ever said. The kingdom starts small. Looks insignificant. Then it becomes the biggest thing in the garden. If you're discouraged by how small the work feels right now, have faith, for the kingdom will grow.

[Chris Hirschy @therev_chris]

His brothers James and Jude eventually wrote two books of the New Testament. But at first, they thought he was out of his mind and went to bring him home. Faith in Jesus will push us to placed we've never been, but it's worth going.

[Chris Hirschy @therev_chris]

Jesus healed people on the Sabbath and the religious leaders plotted to take him down. The Sabbath was supposed to be about rest and trust in God. They turned it into a series of hoops. Where have we done the same?