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”
Tag Archives: Bible study
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”
Reasons to Praise
The psalmist supplies us with several reasons for praising God. At the start of his list is “forget not all of His benefits” (103:2). In v. 3-8 he enumerates some of those. Applicationally speaking, this is a part of the psalm where there is plenty of room for us to personalize the psalm by thinkingContinue reading “Reasons to Praise”
If it’s not broken, God hasn’t fixed it!
Psalm 51 is a challenging psalm. There’s the historical context (it is likely a psalm written by David after Nathan exposed his adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah). Then there’s our context (i.e., most of us have not committed adultery and set a man up to be killed as David did). That beingContinue reading “If it’s not broken, God hasn’t fixed it!”