Dr. Brent Sleasman preached a great message in EBS chapel today. He talked about how Jesus turned human culture on its head by challenging the social protocol of reciprocity. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus not only changes the Mosaic law (as the...
The placement of Isaiah 6 is a tough nut to crack. Why is the call of the prophet not in chapter 1 but in chapter 6? The question is whether this is chronological placement or thematic placement. That is, does the call of Isaiah come after the...
Why did God let Pharaoh think that he was in control? This is one of those parts of the Exodus account that intrigues me. Certainly God could have freed Israel in one fell swoop. Are all those plagues really necessary? If it was the death of the...
God meets our needs to prepare us for greater things. Often times we make the mistake of thinking that God meets our needs for our purposes. He certainly meets our needs because he love us, but his meeting of human needs is never the end game...
The powers of the world are relentless. This comes out in the story of the Exodus. It’s a story we all know so well. One of the more memorable parts of the story is at the end where the walls of water come crashing down on Pharaoh’s army...
Holiness in Fresh Perspective: Covenant, Cross, and Kingdom is the title of my book that is schedule for release in 2015 (Wipf & Stock). The goal of Holiness in Fresh Perspective is to take fresh look at Paul’s understanding of...
The Old Testament prophets always seem to be so angry with God’s people. One time I was leading a BIble study when someone said, “I don’t read the prophetic literature because it’s so full of anger, judgment and wrath. I...
I’ve been known to point out that the resurrection of Jesus is not about dying and going to heaven, but about the new creation. This theme of new creation is crucial in the gospel accounts and we often times miss it, unfortunately. The goal of...
John’s gospel is unique in so many ways in comparison to Matthew, Mark and Luke. One of the things making John’s gospel unique is the story of the wedding at Cana; it’s one of my favorite stories in the gospel material. One of the things that I love...
The start of a year is the time to reflect on history. We remember the highlights of the previous year. The good things, the bad things, and perhaps even the mundane things. Each year we look forward, in light of our past, with new goals in mind...