The New Testament scholar Craig Evans makes a compelling observation about how the academy can sometimes hinder the church through overly skeptical scholarship: Some scholars seem to think that th...
Mark 6:1-13, Isaiah 11:2, 1 Peter 2:8, Mark 9:42-47, Mark 14:27-29, Mark 4:16-17, 1 Corinthians 1:23
Context As we read the opening chapters of Mark, it becomes clear that Mark is not primarily interested in telling us things about Jesus but showing Jesus to us. We see Jesus the healer, the exor...
Mark 6:1-13, Isaiah 11:2, 1 Peter 2:8, Mark 9:42-47, Mark 14:27-29, Mark 4:16-17, 1 Corinthians 1:23
Context As we read the opening chapters of Mark, it becomes clear that Mark is not primarily interested in telling us things about Jesus but showing Jesus to us. We see Jesus the healer, the exor...
Preaching Commentary What, then, does the author intend to communicate in verses 1-4? He proclaims that an authoritative and authentic high priest must both identify with and be distinct from those...
What, then, does the author intend to communicate in verses 1-4? He proclaims that an authoritative and authentic high priest must both identify with and be distinct from those to whom he ministers. ...
Jesus did not tell his disciples that all authority is vested in the books that they would write; he insisted that it was vested in his own person. And yet Jesus’ authority operates through the New Te...
The fact as such that Jesus possesses supreme divine authority is, even apart from its being acknowledged by all New Testament authors and by the whole of the Early Church, of the greatest significanc...
Mark 13:1-8, Mark 11:, Mark 12:, Ezekiel 10:18-19, Ezekiel 11:22-23
Context In the Book of Mark Mark 13 contains the “Olivet Discourse,” also called “the Little Apocalypse.” At the beginning of this chapter (and our reading), the disciples marvel at Herod’s spectacu...
Mark 13:1-8, Mark 11:, Mark 12:, Ezekiel 10:18-19, Ezekiel 11:22-23
Context In the Book of Mark Mark 13 contains the “Olivet Discourse,” also called “the Little Apocalypse.” At the beginning of this chapter (and our reading), the disciples marvel at Herod’s spectacu...
John 1:1, Deuteronomy 10:2, Deuteronomy 31:24-26, 2 Kings 22:8
Love Loving the Word of God is a great pursuit, but it’s not always easy. Like most love relationships, there are inevitable highs and lows. And as teachers of the Bible, many of us walk a delicate...
Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? A Letter to Real People In the understanding of, and preaching on, any section of the Revelation of John , it is critical to know that t...
Why Are Our Bibles Different? Wait a minute… why does your Bible have lowercased lord while mine has capitalized Lord ? That was a question one of my small group members asked as we studied Ge...
Preaching Commentary Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? A Letter to Real People In the understanding of, and preaching on, any section of the Revelation of John , it is ...
Context Text Clues While all pericopes, of course, need to be read in context, sometimes we get clear textual clues that we are to do this. In this week’s text we get that by way of a bookended “fo...
Context Text Clues While all pericopes, of course, need to be read in context, sometimes we get clear textual clues that we are to do this. In this week’s text we get that by way of a bookended “fo...
Context Once Jesus ascends in Acts 1, the disciples are not immediately out on the street continuing his work. Many assumed Jesus’ mission would bring earthly power, but now they find themselves fear...
Context Once Jesus ascends in Acts 1, the disciples are not immediately out on the street continuing his work. Many assumed Jesus’ mission would bring earthly power, but now they find themselves fear...
Intertwined Narratives Jesus’ encounters with Jairus’ daughter and the bleeding woman are sandwiched together with the intention that the two narratives would unlock and help to interpret the other....
Intertwined Narratives Jesus’ encounters with Jairus’ daughter and the bleeding woman are sandwiched together with the intention that the two narratives would unlock and help to interpret the other....
What do you say to someone who is suffering? And what do you say when it is not just that they are in pain, but that they are being harassed and singled out for violence or slander because of their fa...
What do you say to someone who is suffering? And what do you say when it is not just that they are in pain, but that they are being harassed and singled out for violence or slander because of their fa...
Mark 11:1-11, Mark 14:, Mark 15:, Mark 8:32, Mark 9:32, Mark 10:37, Zechariah 9:9, Genesis 49:11, Mark 1:1, Mark 5:7, 2 Samuel 7:12-16, 1 Kings 1:38, Revelation 4:8, Psalm 146:2-8
Lent 2021: A 40-day Heart Restoration The Triumphal Entry Bonus Content: Video prep session with Heather Ghormley on Mark 11:1-11 . Passcode: 0DU^5?GZ AIM Commentary Ancient Lens What can w...
Mark 11:1-11, Mark 14:, Mark 15:, Mark 8:32, Mark 9:32, Mark 10:37, Zechariah 9:9, Genesis 49:11, Mark 1:1, Mark 5:7, 2 Samuel 7:12-16, 1 Kings 1:38, Revelation 4:8, Psalm 146:2-8
Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? Connecting the Triumphal Entry and the Passion At last we come to Jerusalem. On this sixth Sunday of Lent, lectionary-following congreg...
AIM Commentary Ancient Lens “ What’s the historical context?” Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled A contemporary commentator ends each daily program with these words, “Let not your hearts be trou...
KJV, ESV, NIV, NLT, NASB, RSV, NRSV, the Message—What's the Difference? If the people we serve are to be a people of the Book, they need to be a people who know the Book. Of course...
The prophet Isaiah describes God as a purveyor of righteousness and justice continually, and speaks to God’s expectation that his children will bring about righteousness and justice as well. Justice i...
Luke 9:28-36, (37-43a), Luke 9:28-43, Matthew 17:1-13, Mark 9:2-13, Luke 9:19, Luke 9:22-27, Exodus 14:19-20, Numbers 9:15-16, Ezekiel 10:, Psalm 18:, Isaiah 4:, Daniel 7:9-14, Exodus 34:29-35, Deuteronomy 18:15-19, 2 Peter 1:16-18, John 1:4-9, John 1:14, Revelation 1:12-16, Exodus 13:21, Exodus 24:15-18, Exodus 40:34-35, 2 Chronicles 5:13-14, Luke 9:37
Preaching Commentary The Context Introduction The Transfiguration stands out like, well, a bright light on a dark mountainside in the Gospel of Luke. The customary earthiness of the rest of the go...
Luke 9:28-43, Matthew 17:1-3, Mark 9:2-13, Luke 9:19, Luke 9:22-27, Exodus 14:19-20, Numbers 9:15-16, Ezekiel 10:, Psalm 18:, Isaiah 4:, Daniel 7:9-14, Exodus 34:29-35, Deuteronomy 18:15-19, 2 Peter 1:16-18, John 1:4-9, John 1:14, Exodus 13:21, Exodus 24:15-18, Exodus 40:34-35, 2 Chronicles 5:13-14, Luke 9:37
The Context Introduction The Transfiguration stands out like, well, a bright light on a dark mountainside in the Gospel of Luke. The customary earthiness of the rest of the gospel falls away as heav...
Preaching Commentary Plenipotentiary Anyone know what a “plenipotentiary” is? Try that compound Latin word on for size! It is derived from the Latin words plenus “full” and potens “power.” It r...
Plenipotentiary Anyone know what a “plenipotentiary” is? Try that compound Latin word on for size! It is derived from the Latin words plenus “full” and potens “power.” It refers to a person who p...