Today is publication day for my new book, Reading Romans Backwards. First, since most who read Romans are swamped by the theological depth and debates about it, by the time they get to Romans 9 they may be exhausted and even more if they get to Romans 12. If we don’t read it first we may never get to it, and if we never get to it we will not be reading the letter in its own, fuller context. Second, our... Read more

I post every Sunday the Sunday Collect from The Book of Common Prayer, but that prayer/petition/Collect is also to be used in daily prayers as the prayer of the week. O Lord, mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, and grant that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and... Read more

Ah, we had a wonderful week in England: London, Oxford, Cotswolds, and Bath. Tolkien anyone? Way to go Vineyard Ann Arbor: By Darcie Moran | [email protected] ANN ARBOR, MI – It’s Christmas in July for thousands of Southeast Michigan residents. Or, perhaps more accurately, Easter. The Vineyard Church of Ann Arbor used this year’s Easter donations to wipe out $2.9 million in medical debt for 2,120 people in Washtenaw, Jackson, Hillsdale, Ingham, Livingston, Monroe, Oakland and Wayne counties. Notification letters went... Read more

Known by God: A Biblical Theology of Personal Identity Brian Rosner is principal of Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia. He is the author of several books including the Pillar commentary on 1 Corinthians (with Roy Ciampa), and Paul and the Law and Greed as Idolatry. His book, Known by God https://www.amazon.com/Known-God-Biblical-Theology-Personal/dp/0310499828 frames this interview. The interview was conducted by David George Moore. Some of Dave’s teaching and interviews can be found at www.mooreengaging.com. Moore: You’ve written several other books, but... Read more

By Mike Glenn We can’t seem to go a day without someone releasing a report reminding us of how awful our public schools are. Facilities need to be repaired, text books need to be burned and rewritten and teaching philosophies revamped. Poverty, political agendas and the fracturing of the family issues have poured together to create a lethal stew of failure in the lives of our children. With all of our money and plans, at the end of the day,... Read more

Jonathan Moo and Robert White in Let Creation Rejoice: Biblical Hope and Ecological Crisis turn from the evidence for environmental crisis and global warming to a Christian response. There are plenty of secular people who think that the Christian response (at least the evangelical response) is to put our heads in the sand assuming that God will prevent any real damage of his good creation. As Moo and White point out, there is plenty evidence that some views of creation... Read more

This is the second post in a short series on the book of Acts, was written by a Christian colleague (JAG) who teaches in the School of Social Work. Both his professional expertise and his personal experience as a second generation immigrant shape his understanding of the book and bring insights that will help all of us read the book better. He presented the material in a well received class at our church and I am pleased to bring it... Read more

By John W Frye A series by John based on The Gospel of Ruth by Carolyn Custis James. Having established that The Book of Ruth is a nitty gritty Ancient Near Eastern story, not a “happily-ever-after” romance story, Carolyn Custis James offers her readers an unexpected perspective. Carolyn’s supported thesis is that Naomi is the central character of the book, not Ruth. Naomi goes to Moab with her husband and sons. Naomi’s family dies. Naomi pleads for her Moabite daughters-in-law... Read more

O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor: Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. BCP Read more

Hello from England, where we are taking a brief vacation. A little fun to fly to England on the Fourth of July! We will be visiting CS Lewis’ home, The Kilns outside Oxford, early next week. This is grace, but its Anne Marie Miller’s painful grace. Mark, here we are, face to face, 22 years after seeing each other for the last time. My heart is no longer broken. It has been rebuilt by love and faith and those who... Read more