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…
The Vineyard
Isaiah chapter 5 contains a song about a landowner who made every effort to cultivate a flourishing vineyard: "My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug…
Life Insurance
How can a Christian know that they'll be saved? On the day of God's final judgment, can we be certain that we shall be vindicated and welcomed into God's glorious…
Elucidating Ephesians
In the evangelical world, perhaps no passage of scripture is cited more often than Ephesians 2:8-9: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this…
Heresy and the Canon
Around 140 AD, a wealthy shipowner named Marcion arrived in Rome. He was originally from Sinope, a city in Asia Minor on the coast of the Black Sea. Although he…
Is Your Bible the Right Size?
Over the last 500 years, Protestants and Catholics have disagreed over the content of the scriptures. The Catholic Bible contains 7 additional Old Testament books: Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon,…
The Other Joseph
The book of Genesis describes the dramatic story of Joseph, son of Jacob. Sold into slavery by his own brothers, he eventually rose to power in Egypt. But there is…
The Bible Examined
The Bible has had a profound effect upon Western Civilization in general & the United States in particular. Depending on which survey you look at, the typical American household owns…
Obedience Unto Life
Every year since 1973, the epic movie The Ten Commandments has aired on network TV at Easter. This film was directed by the legendary Cecil B. DeMille & released in…
The King of Israel & the Rescue of the World
Last week we learned that when the first Christians went out into the world to proclaim the message about Jesus, there was one thing above all else that they said:…