“Excuse me, could you help me with this?”

The man from Ethiopia (present day Sudan) needed help to understand the Scripture! That much is clear. Some say it was because there was no New Testament to aid him in interpreting the Old Testament text (Isaiah 52:13-53:12) he was reading. It is suggested that if he would have had the complete Bible he couldContinue reading ““Excuse me, could you help me with this?””

A look at Romans 1:14-17 (1)

Why aren’t more people more enthusiastic about the gospel (i.e., the gloriously good news about what God has done for us through Jesus)? How does this revolutionary message become secondary, peripheral, and even ho-hum? I suppose there are many reasons. I think it’s important to make it clear at the beginning that the gospel isContinue reading “A look at Romans 1:14-17 (1)”

Approaching Romans

The Louvre in Paris is home to the Mona Lisa—one of the most famous paintings of all time. It was done by Leonardo Da Vinci in the early sixteenth century. If you want to understand what went into the painting and why it is the way it is, the place to start would be with understandingContinue reading “Approaching Romans”

Grace, Faith and Transformation

God is in the transformation business—He’s always changing things. He changes caterpillars into butterflies. He changes the seasons. He changes CO2 into food for trees and oxygen for people. He changes the food we eat into energy and replenishment for our cells. And while it’s true that God does these things through the natural world HeContinue reading “Grace, Faith and Transformation”

The Genesis Of Jesus

Matthew offers us several beginnings regarding Jesus in the introductory portion of his gospel (1:1-4:16). There’s the beginning of the preaching concerning the kingdom Christ is bringing in the work of John the Baptist (3:1ff). Then there’s the beginning of Jesus’ public life marked by His baptism (3:13ff) and the beginning of His ministry inContinue reading “The Genesis Of Jesus”

Dealing Decisively With Sin

It can be a challenge to see sin for what it is—especially when it’s our sin. Sensitive people fight the tendency to make too much of their sin and see themselves as the chief of sinners while the less sensitive struggle not to trivialize their transgressions. For all of us, there’s the need for aContinue reading “Dealing Decisively With Sin”