Welcoming the Nations
Galatians is arguably the most misunderstood book in the New Testament. (Revelation makes a strong claim as well!) This letter contains Paul's most confrontational rhetoric. But why was Paul so…
Family Division
The book of Galatians is perhaps the most misunderstood book in the New Testament. For most evangelicals, Paul's epistle to the Galatians soundly refutes "works" based righteousness. That is, our…
Kingdom, Present & Future
The death & resurrection of Jesus are obviously the central events of the Christian religion. But evangelicals often fail to grasp the full meaning of these events. Easter sermons frequently…
Seated Beside Royalty
The gospel of Matthew records how Jesus went up to Jerusalem for the final time, knowing that a horrible fate awaited him. At just this moment, the mother of John…
The King Takes the Throne
All three synoptic gospels reach an initial climax by describing Peter's confession of Jesus as the Messiah. This blog has previously addressed the Hebrew term Messiah and it's Greek equivalent…
The Choice
Bible scholars have long recognized that Genesis 1 & 2 offer two complementary creation narratives. Genesis 1:1-2:3 contains a comprehensive account of how God formed the entire cosmos by bringing…
The Fall
I recently heard a Christmas sermon which purported to offer a broad overview of the Biblical story leading up to Jesus. Unfortunately, this sermon was flawed in ways which are…
An Unexpected Ally
King David is a towering figure in the Old Testament. His story is told in the books of 1 & 2 Samuel. The writers of scripture regarded David as the…
The Lion of Judah
The book of Genesis lays the foundations for the story of the Bible. It begins with the creation account whereby God brings the universe into being by the power of…
The Fruitless Fig Tree
Mark 11 contains an excellent example of a literary "sandwich." The meat of the sandwich is the so-called cleansing of the temple. Many Christians fail to grasp the importance of…