Jesus Came Proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom – What is the Gospel?
We have been following through the ministry of Jesus and are just now only in the very beginning stages. I have written an article on the beginning of Jesus’ ministry over at Wineskins that will serve as the next post in this series. You can read it here. Jesus Came Proclaiming the Gospel of the […]
Striking Parallels Between Jesus’ & His Disciples’ Ministry in Matthew
I am working through the Gospels in the Sunday morning sermons right now because I believe Jesus is to be our single, solitary focus and that everything else must find its place around him. We have been through his birth, his baptism and his temptation. At this point in the Gospels, Jesus launches into his […]
Am I Theologically Conservative or Progressive? The Answer May Surprise You
Labels are everywhere. You cannot avoid them and in many ways they are helpful in making sense of our world. Labels are shorthand for understanding things…we are always trying to understand things but we don’t have the mental capacity or the discipline of our attention to fully comprehend anything much less reasonably comprehend much of […]
Interview With Michael Heiser
Michael Heiser is the author of two recent books that have both been reviewed here on the site: The Unseen Realm & Supernatural. We recently recorded a conversation about how to get our eyes and ears more open to scripture. From that topic we launch into how our understanding of our spiritual identity is a […]
Supernatural by Michael Heiser
Michael Heiser begins his book “Supernatural” with the question, “Do you really believe what the Bible says?” This is a very important question for us to answer. Most of us would answer quickly in the affirmative. However, in all humility we also understand the Bible says many things that we are not really very aware […]
Antidote to Fear from Ezra-Nehemiah
Ezra and Nehemiah tell the story of the exiles returning from captivity to resettle the promised land. They come back to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple and the walls of the city. These rebuilding projects are external signs of a deeper inward rebuilding project. That project is the rebuilding of a holy people to the […]
The Ministry of De-escalation
There has been a lot of news lately about law enforcement and their use of force. I am not so sure this is happening more than it used to but with the advent of cell phones the video of these instances heightens our awareness of it. In law enforcement there is a time when an […]
Jeremiah 29:11 Part 2 – Saying the Text Had a Meaning is Not Legalism
On my last post I had a few facebook comments that surprised me a bit. I just didn’t see it coming. They said that my take on Jeremiah 29:11 was legalistic. I presume they said that because my point was that the verse gets hijacked from its original context to be made to say whatever […]
Layers of the Good Samaritan: More than Meets the Eye
The story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 is a complex one. On first glance it is relatively simple…be kind and compassionate even to people who are hard to love. The more you dig into this parable the more you see that there is a richness and depth to this parable that isn’t obvious […]
Revelation, Seven Churches and Teasing Out the Parts from the Whole
To Ephesus: “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary…Yet I hold this […]