Baptism – Transliteration, Translation and Meaning
Before getting into a broader discussion of Christian baptism I want to talk about what the word baptism means from a first century perspective. I know this topic can be an emotionally charged one so I hope you read my thoughts here realizing they are said as humbly and as biblically as I know how […]
Why?
I mentioned in the last post that Jonah, who is almost three now, has a favorite question and that question is, “Why?”. Why is a very important question so I am very proud that he likes to know why things are the way they are or why things need to happen a certain way. Of […]
Because I Said So Finally Makes Sense! Answering a Two Year Who Likes to Ask “Why?”
Jonah loves to ask “why?” He does it all the time and will ask it over and over again. Apparently Missy was the same way when she was little so he must be genetically predisposed to wonderment. When I was a kid I never liked the answer “Because I said so” but all of a […]
The Glory of God
I have been studying the glory of God over the last week or so and I am convinced that my view of what glory is all about has been way too small. I think I have confused glory as just a synonym for amazing but it is far more than that. I have eaten some […]
Keeping God the Center of Worship
In theory God is the center of our worship but on an individual level it is not always the case. We realize we are singing songs to God but sometimes we push God aside and place ourselves in the center of it all. That sounds harsh but it happens. It happens when we get more […]
When Our Kids Teach Us About God
Today Jonah, our two year old, shed some light on why God doesn’t always give us the things we really want. Missy had baked some cupcakes and he really wanted one. He threw a fit trying to get one so we didn’t let him have one until he calmed down and asked nicely. Then he […]
Getting to Know the Holy Spirit
Can you imagine trying to describe your neighbor to someone if you had never seen your neighbor before? Not only that you pretty much figured that while they lived there you never would actually see them in the flesh. What is more you had never actually had a conversation with them either. You know they […]
Reflections on Genesis 2
If Genesis 1 doesn’t make you feel special by being God’s final, very good creation Genesis 2 should do it for you. Of all six days of creation the story focuses on the sixth day when God created man. God takes the lifeless dust of the ground and forms a man out of it. God […]
Reflections on Genesis 1 – God Our Creator
In John Walton’s NIV Application Commentary he points out that the verb “Bara”, translated “to create” occurs 48 times in the Hebrew Old Testament. Every single time God is the subject of the verb and when God creates he doesn’t manufacture out of existing materials. God creates from nothing (ex nihilo). God is on a […]
Reflections on Genesis 1 – Background
I recently realized that our men’s class hadn’t studied a single Old Testament book in depth in at least five years. So last night we started a class on Genesis and from time to time I want to share some reflections that come out of preparing to teach that class. Beginnings: First there is the […]