The Gospel Coalition just published a very interesting article, one which seemed to resonate with at least one friend. The author writes: Do you make visitors feel conspicuous in the worship service? Stop it. Seriously. Please stop. Some visitors don’t care and will actually appreciate the attention. But many of them will not. This will be... Continue Reading →
False teachers: a bad road to a bad end
Few individuals set out to be heretics. But there are those individuals who believe the devil when he says they will get money, power, cars, houses, sex, bestsellers, huge crowds, lasting fame. "Just give your doctrine a bit of a twist," he whispers, "and in exchange for a few tiny drops of falsehood you'll get a... Continue Reading →
Holy books, wholly understandable
I try, every year, to read the scripture of some other faith. That is, read the books themselves, not just a second-hand analysis of them In 2016 it was the Koran, which I found well worth the read, if a little repetitious. It is about 4/5 the length of the New Testament. In 2017 I... Continue Reading →
How to Read Romans [Studies in Romans]
Certeza Unida and Kairos will publish my Romans commentary as part of their Comentario Bíblico Contemporáneo (Contemporary Bible Commentary). More than 160 scholars participated in the project. What follows is adapted from the section "How to Read Romans," in which I show its particular application for Latin America. The epistle to the Romans meets the... Continue Reading →
Bible study – a work of prayer!
This is a prayer of the great church father Augustine, which he was accustomed to use after his sermons and lectures. I have updated the version found in NPNF 1,8, p. 683. We now turn to the Lord God, the Father Almighty, and with pure hearts we offer to him, so far as we can... Continue Reading →
Act now!
Last month I was waiting my turn at the barber shop, and a homeless woman stuck her head in and said she was hungry. I didn't want to lose my place, but I told the barber, "Uh...hold my spot, be right back!" I popped over to the bakery right next door and got her some food... Continue Reading →
Will it Kill your Pastor if he Visits You? A Response to Thom S. Rainer
Thom S. Rainer is the president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources and has a very popular blog on church life. Having read with approval a number of his other articles, I was surprised to find one that I roundly disagreed with. It is titled “FIFTEEN REASONS WHY YOUR PASTOR SHOULD NOT VISIT MUCH” And he... Continue Reading →
Thoughts on Hebrew and Greek from a Scholar: Will Varner
Thanks to Dr. Will Varner for this article, to which I here post a link. It's a topic that interests me, but once in a while I come across an article and have to conclude, "This person expresses it so much better than I could, so I'll just link to their article!" DO WE NEED TO... Continue Reading →
Strong’s Concordance – a Good Tool Gone Bad
To download the entire article, click here Shogren_Strongs Concordance For Bible students who don’t use Hebrew and Greek, the Strong Concordance is a popular tool, available online. [1] But it has a serious limitation – namely: the “dictionary” in the back of Strong’s is not really a dictionary at all, and should not be used... Continue Reading →