Gary Shogren's Blog
It is no simple thing to preach the Word of God. Powerful dark forces are arrayed to draw us away from our task. They sometimes succeed in doing so, even without our awareness of it. I bring this up because this week I saw several FB references to “what [famous North American preacher] Rob Bell... Continue Reading →
The city of Bucharest in December, 1994 was celebrating the 5th anniversary of Ceauşescu's overthrow. I attended another celebration, the grand opening of the first Pizza Hut in Romania. It was also frigid cold. I was teaching Greek 1 at Timotheus Bible College. The building was still only a shell. It had sporadic electricity, but... Continue Reading →
Addendum from August 2020. In recent weeks (July, August 2020) some churches have decided to disobey the government's ban on large gatherings. In a fraction of these cases, their leaders assert that they are casting off government oppression. One California megachurch has reopened, without mandatory social distancing or face-masks and with congregational singing. They have... Continue Reading →
Kyle Anderson from Logos software just published a fine article on how to use Bible dictionaries. He warns against simply reaching for a commentary when we are studying the Bible. I heartily applaud this basic sentiment. As Christians, we are supposed to be enjoying the Bible, not reading the tale of how some other person... Continue Reading →
By Gary Shogren, Seminario ESEPA, San José, Costa Rica Originally published in Evangelical Quarterly 61 (1989): 99-108; bibliography and some ancient references updated in 2008. “Are any among you ill? Let them summon the presbyters of the Church and let them pray over them after anointing them in the name of the Lord with olive... Continue Reading →
Link - How to calculate when Jesus will come - without even being a prophet! My wish is simple, and it would make me so very happy. I'm going to campaign for it until the proper authorities take notice and step in. (1) I want us to identify all preachers who have mistakenly announced that it... Continue Reading →
By Gary Shogren, Seminario ESEPA, San José, Costa Rica I have at last spotted a creature that until now I’d only read about. It is the reappearance of a style of preaching which does an end-run around the rational mind and appeals to the non-rational. I’m probably the last one of my social set to... Continue Reading →
8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’... Continue Reading →
Note: In November 2012 I published a commentary of 1-2 Thessalonians for Zondervan (click HERE). The advice given below is applicable to all preaching and writing projects. I used to do business at a local office building. On the wall was an engraved map of the New World from the 1600s. It was a real... Continue Reading →
By Gary Shogren, Seminario ESEPA, San José, Costa Rica The Bible does not tell us to refrain from correcting our elders; this is a misunderstanding that arises from 1 Tim 5:1 KJV, “rebuke not an elder”. We should understand that there is more harshness implicit in “rebuke”; the NIV for example says “Do not... Continue Reading →
Open Our Eyes, Lord! 