“First they came for the socialists and I did not speak out—because I am not a Socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out—because I am not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out—because I am not a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me” (Martin Niemoller) I begin with a question: Which item do you suspect... Read more
“Got a big week coming up. Lots of exciting things!” As soon as I say this your mind likely begins to consider what I might possibly be talking about. “Oh yea, obviously,” you think to yourself, “we have church on Sunday and it falls on a special day: All Saints Day.” All Saints Day is a holiday that the church has celebrated since the 7th century. On it we remember all those who have gone before us in the... Read more
I am working on a new commentary on the book of Revelation and I thought it might be relevant to post the following. What I hope to accomplish in this commentary is to provide the average reader of the Bible with an understanding of the depth and beauty of the book of Revelation—and, perhaps, the Bible as well. I believe that the book of Revelation is a story in which the people of God are called by God to faithfully,... Read more
Whenever I teach on the crucifixion of Jesus, I often make note of Mark 15:31: “In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were mocking Him among themselves and saying, ‘He saved others; He cannot save Himself.’” Jesus does not reply. He not only does not get down from the cross, which was in His power to do, but He does not even respond. I suspect that it is human nature, at least a part of... Read more
You may not be aware but the single issue that resulted in the formation of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), which is the largest Protestant denomination in the US, was slavery. The southern churches wanted to be able to elect pro-slavery advocates to denominational posts and the northern churches would not allow it. So, the SBC was formed in 1845. In 1995, on the 150th anniversary of the denomination, they issued a resolution at their annual meeting repenting of racism... Read more
It is not uncommon today to see the polarized camps of the right advance the slogan “Make America Great Again” only to have pundits on the left reply, “When was America ever Great?” Others have cleverly taken this slogan and its characteristic red hat in order to market their own agendas: Those in the cheese industry have suggested putting a ban on pre-shredded cheese so that we can “Make America grate again.” A bookstore sign states, “Make America Read Again.”... Read more
I had just finished preaching a sermon during advent when, instead of congratulating me on another great sermon (okay, maybe it wasn’t great), I was greeted with this question: Why did you have to ruin our manger scene? What I had noted, as most NT scholars would affirm, is that Jesus was not born in a cave out away from everyone (as most manger scenes depict), but that He was born in a home. The “guest room” (kataluma)[1] or... Read more
In part 1 of this series, I argued that we should have a goal to seek the truth at all times and then follow it! After all, if we believe that Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6), we have nothing to fear. All truth will only point us to Christ! –which is the goal of the Christian life: as Paul says, “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ” (Col... Read more
Did God promise the physical land of Israel to the physical descendants of Abraham; i.e., Israel? One way to answer this question is to say, absolutely. But, then I would contend that we must ask: but, “who is Israel”? To which I believe that the theological answer is “Jesus!”[1] But isn’t this just playing games with the Scriptures? After all, some will contend, the Bible is clear. The OT promises the physical, territorial land to the physical descendants of Abraham.... Read more
I am very excited to announce that this Friday, June 19, 2020, at 11am PDT (2pm EDT) I will be moderating a live zoom discussion on the Bible and the Land of Promise: A Christian Conversation. You can Register by following this link What does the Bible say about the land of Israel? Did God promise it all to the descendants of Abraham? Where does that leave the Israelis and the Palestinians today? Did the coming of Jesus alter... Read more
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