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…
Bearing the Right Fruit
The theme of fruitfulness can be traced throughout the scriptures. In the last blog, we examined Isaiah 5, which contains the song of the vineyard. God the landowner lovingly cultivated…
Turn Around
Each year, countless tourists flock to London, England. The city is full of delightful attractions. Perhaps the most popular site is the Tower of London, which has a fascinating (albeit…
The Boast of the Jew
Perhaps no passage of scripture is more frequently quoted in evangelical circles than Ephesians 2:8-9: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not…
The New Exodus
Holy week is already upon us since Easter comes relatively early this year. The method used to calculate Easter Sunday is quite confusing: it's the Sunday following the first full…
The Children of Abraham
We've recently examined the life of Abraham, the Patriarch of Israel. The promises God made to Abraham are foundational for Christianity. The Almighty pledged to bless Abraham and through his…
A Portrait of Salvation
Many of us grew up singing about Zacchaeus - the "wee little man"- in Sunday School. His story is found in Luke chapter 19. Jesus was passing through the city…
Letters to the Church
The ancient Jews believed that their God was the creator of all the earth. So even though the world was full of evil and injustice, they never wavered in their…
The Final Judgment
For over a thousand years, God made it very clear to the people of Israel that those who do what is right will ultimately find life and blessing while those…
The Very First Christmas Songs
Christmas is indeed a wonderful time of the year. For many folks, Christmas music is an especially enjoyable part of the season. In order to meet this demand, some radio…