First Samuel 1 tells the story of Hannah, who is ridiculed by her husband’s other wife (Peninah) because she can’t have children. It’s likely that the only reason her husband (Elkanah) has a second wife is because Hannah can’t bear children to begin with. This wasn’t uncommon practice in the Read more…
Psalms 74 and 75 speak to one another. In Psalm 74 we hear a desperate cry for help. The unthinkable happened when the Babylonians destroyed the Jerusalem temple. The psalmist in Psalms 74 says, Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place; they set up their own Read more…
Too often I pause and consider the state of affairs in the world and wonder, How in the world did we end up here? How did things become such a mess? Similarly, there are times in my life when I look at the mess that I’ve created for myself and Read more…
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. — Matthew 1:1 It’s not by accident that Matthew’s Gospel is the first of four in the New Testament. This is by design. The book of Matthew—as the first book of the New Testament—is intended Read more…
Dear blog subscribers, This fall I am teaching a full-length course on the Psalms at Wesley Biblical Seminary. This beloved book has shaped Christian faith and worship across the centuries. Many of us are familiar with the Psalms, but we often miss out on the riches of this book. The Psalms Read more…
The words you utter can defile you (i.e., keep you out of the presence of God). People who take holiness seriously must take sin seriously. This means that we must have clear definitions of what sin is and what sin isn’t. If sin keeps us from the redeeming presence of Read more…