Gary Shogren's Blog
In 1 Thessalonians 1:5b-7, Paul is still thanking God for the Thessalonians, and his thanksgiving sets the pace for the rest of the letter. You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with... Continue Reading →
Paul has spoken about how he knows that the Thessalonians are genuine Christians: first of all, because they have the fruit of the Spirit. Words, yes, but also attitudes, actions, values that go beyond what we would expect from a human being, apart from Christ. You can’t see the Spirit, but you can see what... Continue Reading →
Paul was in a terrible fix: he had been forced to leave his new disciples in Macedonia, and he was particularly uneasy about the new Christians in the second church, planted in Thessalonica. After all, hadn’t Jesus taught that sometimes the gospel mission ends in disaster? (Matthew 13:20-21) The seed falling on rocky ground refers to... Continue Reading →
Note: this sermon outline is based on my volume in the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary of the New Testament; readers might want to acquire that commentary if they wish to see the exegetical work behind these talks. These posts are Sermon Notes, not polished messages. Introduction A few years ago I went to a reunion; there were people I hadn’t... Continue Reading →
My last surviving grandparent, Doris Wills, passed away March 9, at age 94. Her ashes will be taken back to Rhode Island, where we all came from originally. We plan to see her again at the resurrection. She was one of the Swedes in our family, the daughter of emigrants Henry Swanson and Claire Ahlstrom.... Continue Reading →
[Note: I spent a number of years writing a commentary on 1 Corinthians for a Latin American audience (you can get it free in English HERE). 20 pages contain the full exegesis of the passage; in this blog I will mainly spell out my conclusions]. Part of Bible study is not just understanding what the... Continue Reading →
Let's see what the Lord said: "And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come." Matt 24:14 "The end" = Christ's return. I've heard plenty of people say that the whole world has already been reached by the... Continue Reading →
NASA proved the Lost Day of Joshua, using a supercomputer! This story surfaces once in a while, and the internet only serves to give it more “credibility” by making it come at the reader from a hundred directions: So, what happened is, NASA scientists fed all the data of history into a big computer program, and... Continue Reading →
NOTE: Many thousands have read this little article, thanks so much! May I invite you to share it with your mission board; your friends; sign up for my blog, at right; to read an article about missionary letters; a recent article on Acts 1:8; and our missionary website where we describe our works as theological educators in... Continue Reading →
A missionary comes to your church to speak, and you absentmindedly turn to Matt 28:18 or Acts 1:8. Sure enough, this time he will speak about the Great Commission from Acts: You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea... Continue Reading →
Open Our Eyes, Lord! 