In living for Christ then disciples are proclaiming the reign of God as well as providing proof of such. By “living for Christ,” I don’t mean disciples are to be good people doing nice things—there are plenty of people doing that who (sadly) don’t belong to Jesus. By living for Christ I mean that ratherContinue reading “Proclaiming with Power and Authority (2)”
Tag Archives: Bible study
When You’re Feeling a Little Lost
“Lost” is a little word with enormous meaning. We use it spiritually, relationally, materially, athletically, financially, and in just about every other way you can imagine. In its ultimate sense, lost means to be estranged from God and the life He desires for us, but it’s quite possible to be in relationship with God andContinue reading “When You’re Feeling a Little Lost”
Through the Bible in 1 Year
The idea here is simple—I want to write through the Scripture in a year! Our congregation is using the E-100 Bible reading schedule in 2024. It consists of 100 readings from Genesis through Revelation. The idea is that going through these readings will give you the big, overarching story of Scripture. So that’s what IContinue reading “Through the Bible in 1 Year”
Revolution
You say you want a Revolution, Well, you know, We all wanna change the world. You tell me that it’s evolution, Well, you know, We all wanna change the world. John Lennon sang these words in 1968 in the Beatles’ classic, Revolution. Our country (and much of the world) was going through turbulent times—not a lot different than today in manyContinue reading “Revolution”
The Challenging Beatitudes
Matthew’s gospel alternates between six narrative and five teaching sections (5-7,10,13,18,23-25). Each of the teaching sections conclude with a statement to the effect of when Jesus had finished saying/teaching (all) these things (7:28,11:1,13:53, 19:1,26:1). Some think that Matthew laid the teaching of Jesus out in five sections to mirror the five books written by Moses. That mayContinue reading “The Challenging Beatitudes”
Jesus, Mary & Joseph
In the first part of his gospel (1:5-4:13), Luke goes back and forth between John the Baptist and Jesus (Krol). In 1:5-38, he presents us with the prediction of John’s birth in v. 5-25, and in v. 26-38 it’s the prediction of Jesus’ birth. Then there’s birth, circumcision, and naming of John (1:57-80) followed byContinue reading “Jesus, Mary & Joseph”
Two Voices for God
John the Baptist is referred to as “a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord,’” (3:4). It’s a bit unusual to for someone to be referred to as “a voice.” I suppose if you were a sports announcer, say for the Atlanta Braves, then you might be known asContinue reading “Two Voices for God”
I Have a Job for You
Isaiah’s ministry ended somewhere around the time of Hezekiah’s death in 687 BC. Sixty years later, Jeremiah was called to his ministry in the 13th year of Josiah’s reign (Jeremiah 627 BC/1:2). It would span the final five kings of Judah and extend into the period of the Babylonian Exile. While his focus was primarily onContinue reading “I Have a Job for You”
Staying Humble and Hungry
Most of us have heard of the John Godfrey Saxe poem, The Blind Men and the Elephant. It is based on a traditional Indian parable and tells of six blind men from Indostan who come across an elephant. As each touches a different part of the animal, they come to different conclusions about what theContinue reading “Staying Humble and Hungry”
Drilling Down in Isaiah 53
Isaiah 52:13-53:12 is a challenging text—there’s more involved than most people are aware of. Many people can only see Jesus in the text. While He is unquestionably all over the text, the question is: does the text have reference to anything else, or is it simply a predictive text that had no immediate message forContinue reading “Drilling Down in Isaiah 53”
A Taste of Grace with Bruce Green 