In this study we read through Richard Beck’s book Trains, Jesus, and Murder – The Gospel According to Johnny Cash. The book grew out of a bible study Beck leads at a local maximum-security prison. In the book, Beck shows us how Cash, like Jesus, brings us into the presence of the marginalized and forgotten people of our society – the imprisoned, the heartbroken, the beaten down, Native Americans, common laborers, drug addicts and those who have never felt the love of Jesus. For the men that Cash sang to and about or the men that Beck leads in bible study, sin and its consequences and the promise of one-day being free are not theoretical ideas to be discussed, but an ever-present reality that is lived. In many ways, Cash’s songs are a psalmody for our time. This Epiphany Lesson covers seven weeks.
Johnny Cash
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For our (virtual) Epiphany study this year, we will be reading through the book Trains, Jesus, and Murder – The Gospel According to Johnny Cash. …
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The song uses the physical presence of Greystone Chapel as a metaphor for the vibrant spirituality that can be found within prison. It is a …
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It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more …
The gospel message in “Delia’s Gone” is that the sin is its own punishment. The man doesn’t need to wait on the civil authorities or …
The story ends with Cash singing with weakness and humility. It ends with God’s grace being perfected within him. It ends with him having solidarity …