I hold John Wesley in very high regard (I am, after all, Methodist!). The guy was simply amazing on so many levels. The thing I love the most is how many churches were planted under his leadership (it’s estimated that at his death Methodism...
Interestingly, scholars have long debated how the Joseph story fits into the broader Genesis narrative. Unlike the story of Abraham, whose role in the book’s literary structure is more apparent, the Joseph narrative contains fewer explicit...
Let me first say that I am a fan of David Jeremiah. He’s a great preacher and a faithful, courageous follower of Jesus. Secondly, when it comes to theological discussion, I orient myself around the famous phrase, “unity in the...
I’ve said many times in many places regarding theological discussion, “Unity in the essentials, freedom in the non-essentials, and love and charity in all things!” What’s this mean? It means that God has revealed himself to...
Rapture theology, the belief that Christians will be taken up to heaven before a period of tribulation on earth, is a widely popular eschatological framework within certain evangelical circles. Made famous by the Left Behind series and reinforced by...
We always need to be ready. There is no time to lose. There is no room for negligence. Are you ready? There is an interesting little story in the Bible that Jesus tells about ten bridesmaids. Not a lot of people know this story, and rather than...
In light of current events, it is often times difficult to believe that Jesus is, in fact, in control. The mobilization of militant Islam, the quagmire of American politics and international relations, unending wars and threats of wars, the...
At first blush, the Synoptic Gospels (Matt, Mark, and Luke) are so different from the gospel according to John. Two of the three Synoptics start with the genealogy of Jesus (Matt and Luke). Mark jumps right into the story with John’s ministry...
This is a short excerpt from Holiness in Fresh Perspective: Covenant, Cross, and Kingdom. Wipf and Stock, 2014. All rights reserved. Consider Romans 1:1–4 for a moment. This is Paul’s salutation to the churches in Rome. In this salutation, Paul does...
The people of Israel, while defeated and sent to exile, maintained hope for restoration. The catalyst for hope came through both the prophets (the exilic and post-exilic Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Obadiah, and...