This commentary was prepared for Kairos Publications in Buenos Aires. It was composed specifically for the Latin American church. In some cases I have retained the words "Latin America," at other times I have substituted "the Americas." The bibliography reflects what is available to the Spanish-speaking church. We will publish it a section at a... Continue Reading →
Romans Commentary, Romans 1:1-17
This commentary was prepared for Kairos Publications in Buenos Aires. It was composed specifically for the Latin American church. In some cases I have retained the words "Latin America," at other times I have substituted "the Americas." The bibliography reflects what is available to the Spanish-speaking church. We will publish it a section at a... Continue Reading →
Romans Commentary, Introduction
This commentary was prepared for Kairos Publications in Buenos Aires. It was composed specifically for the Latin American church. In some cases I have retained the words "Latin America," at other times I have substituted "the Americas." The bibliography reflects what is available to the Spanish-speaking church. We will publish it a section at a... 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 →
My Time with the Koran, April 2016
Read the whole file here shogren_my-time-with-the-koran My reading the Koran is like a rock-and-roller trying to figure out what in the world that jazz trio is up to. Still, if I will opine that the Koran is right, wrong, or indifferent, I feel I should have at least a basic, first-hand awareness of what it actually... Continue Reading →
Busyness is no excuse for being an uncommitted Christian
With all due respect to the original, this is my thorough paraphrase, condensation, and updating of George Whitfield’s, “Worldly Business No Plea for the Neglect of Religion,” Sermon 20 of his Collected Sermons Matthew 8:22 – “Let the dead bury their dead.” When Paul preached at Athens, he observed that they were “very religious.” But... Continue Reading →
“Paul’s Frustrated Travel Plans” 1 Thess 2:17-3:13 [Sermon Notes on 1 Thessalonians, Week 9]
These are notes of a sermon outline, not a full message. 17 But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. 18 For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did,... Continue Reading →
“How do we know God is at work in us?” Part B [Sermon Notes on 1 Thessalonians, Week 3]
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 →
“How do we know God is at work in us?” Part A [Sermon Notes on 1 Thessalonians, Week 2]
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 →