Comparing Our Worst to Their Best
I don’t know about you but I have a tendency to compare the worst moments of my faith to the best moments of those in scripture and wonder why I can’t be more like them or wonder why my faith is so weak. Wouldn’t it be just as easy to pick out their worst moments, […]
The Outcry Against Sodom and Gomorrah…Who Are Those Crying Out for Justice Today?
“Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.” – Genesis 18:20-21 Reading this story again last week […]
Religious Systematic Desensitization
Back in General Psych 101 you probably remember the term “Systematic Desensitization.” This is a treatment used for phobias where you take that person and slowly introduce them to their phobia first at a great distance and then closer and closer until they realize they aren’t really afraid of it anymore. You can’t just put […]
Learning from Jesus’ Disciples – Sin and Reconciliation
In Matthew 26 Jesus lays out a series of predictions regarding the failure and desertion of his disciples. He predicts Judas will betray him (26:21), that the disciples will desert him (26:31) and that Peter in particular will disown him three times (26:34). In the same chapter they go on from there to the garden […]
Dealing with Temptation – 1 Corinthians 10:13
In 1 Corinthians 10:13 Paul sheds some light on sin that gives us a lot of hope when it comes to dealing with temptation in our lives, No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But […]
God’s Desire to Dwell With Us
One concept that runs through scripture from Genesis to Revelation is God dwelling or being present with his people. We see God being present with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden (Gen 3:8-9). We see it in Moses’ days when the presence of God was represented in the tabernacle, specifically the ark. Once […]
Romans 8 Greek Wordle
I left out the articles, conjunctions, etc to help the main themes of Romans 8 stand out better. Here are some of the Greek wordles posted on the blog in the past: John 3 John 1:1-18
The Motivation Gap in Christianity
The track record on what we have used to motivate in the churches of Christ seems to shift to extremes at times. As with many other groups in Christianity the modus oporondi of the day decades back was guilt communicated through legalistic means. Feel guilty if you don’t come when the doors are open. Feel […]
Jesus’ Resurrection – More Than Meets the Eye
One thing I think we often fail to consider is exactly what was happening when it comes to Jesus’ resurrection. The standard thought is Jesus was raised from the dead and so we will be raised from the dead. But there is a lot more to it than that. The parts we often skip over […]
Must Have Bible Resources
My list of “must have” Bible resources has certainly changed over the last couple of years. This is certainly not an exhaustive list but it is a list of books that I believe you can’t go wrong in purchasing. 1) The Anchor Bible Dictionary (6 Volume Set) (David Noel Freedman) – This is one impressive […]