Preaching and Teaching Mark: Opportunities and Challenges
We made it: Nineteen months and fifty-three sermons later, our congregation completed a Sunday morning series on the Gospel of Mark. As I said in an earlier post, we regularly study through entire books of the Bible as part of the pulpit ministry. We don’t always do this, but we often do. And seldom do we proceed through an extended study without several planned breaks (usually due to holidays, guest speakers, or other series). This...
Art and Christian Excellence
As I was browsing home décor items recently, I encountered some interesting (to use a kind word) pieces. One was a reprint of DaVinci’s Last Supper, which is all well and good, but this was not the only image in the picture. Superimposed over the famous painting in a 1990s holographic nightmare was an atrocious rendering of Jesus on the cross. I don’t think this particular piece nor two other similar works were intended to mock the...
Says Who? Trusting Our Hearts, Heads, or Something Else Entirely
An earlier edition of this article was first published in The Brink Magazine, Spring 2017. Invariably, when I watch a Disney Channel movie (not that I do, anymore), I’ll hear one line shoehorned into every single film: “Just follow your heart.” The charge is always the same: Do what your feelings tell you to do, no matter the cost. Even outside of kid’s movies, we watch made-for-TV movies, fairytales, and romantic comedies that all...
How and Why Pastors Should Study the Biblical Languages
In today’s age, countless translations of the Scriptures exist. Some translators attempt to convey the most literal meaning of the original text while others try to contextualize Scripture in ways that help the English-speaking, modern reader understand what the text is saying. Some translations are mostly word-for-word while others are thought-for-thought. Though each method serves its purpose, nothing plumbs Scripture’s depths like...
Recommended Books (Spring 2017)
When the sweet showers of April have pierced The drought of March, and pierced it to the root, And every vein is bathed in that moisture Whose quickening force will engender the flower; And when the west wind too with its sweet breath Has given life in every wood and field To tender shoots, and when the stripling sun Has run his half-course in Aries, the Ram, And when small birds are making melodies, That sleep all the night long with...
The Doctrine of Scripture: An Overview
God has revealed Himself to humankind in two ways: First, He’s revealed Himself primarily in Jesus Christ and in the Christian Scriptures, referred to as special revelation.[1] Second, He’s also revealed Himself externally in the created order and internally in the human conscience and heart, referred to as general revelation.[2] This article will highlight the importance of the doctrine of Scripture and provide an overview of the...
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