Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
From time to time, when I’ve lectured on how to read the Bible, I’ve used art-music as one example thereof. When we listen to a simple folk song, we hear the same melody over and over again, but this is not how composers write "high" music. Let me amplify. A…
Sermons are rarely more tiresome than when they strive for relevance. Drawing from the latest headlines transforms the preacher into a one-man MacLaughlin Group, a Crossfire without the cross though perhaps with some of the fire, and leave the congregation thinking, "If I wanted Meet the Press, I could have…
Part One: The Old Testament “Drink is in itself a good creature of God, and to be received with thankfulness, but the abuse of drink is from Satan, the wine is from God, but the drunkard is from the Devil” Increase Mather in Wo to Drunkards (1673). 1. The “wine”…
28. These are the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away into exile: in the 7th year 3023 Jews. 29. In the 18th year of Nebuchadnezzar 832 persons from Jerusalem. 30. In the 23rd year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile 745 Jewish people; there were 4600…
Revelation 21:24 says, concerning the light shining from the New Jerusalem, "and the nations will walk by her light, and the kings of the land will bring their glory into her." Similarly, Revelation 22:2 says, concerning the Tree of Life, that "the leaves of the tree were for the healing…
Jeremiah and the Beginning of Jehoiakim’s Reign Now comes Jeremiah, at the beginning of Jehoiakim’s reign, with similar words (Jeremiah 26). Harken to God’s law, he said, or else God will destroy the Temple the same way He sent the Philistines to tear down the Tabernacle at Shiloh (Jeremiah 26:6;…
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David Hart notes, in a discussion of Derrida and Milbank on gift, that “absolute ‘selfless’ gratuity, which will not submit to reciprocation, is pure power; but interested exchange - even though sin inevitably corrupts all exchange with the shadow of coercion and greed - is not simply an economy over…
In my sermon notes from last week, I took the position that Jesus makes a transition in verse 14 to talking about a final judgment, and the time between Jesus’ ascension and the end of this creation. Two details hint that Jesus has changed theme. First, 25:13 matches 24:42, and…
INTRODUCTION The three parables in Jesus’ Olivet Discourse all emphasize that Jesus assesses His disciples according to their performance. The judgment scene at the end of Matthew 25 makes the same point: The ones who enter life are the ones who have acted righteously toward the least of Jesus’ brothers.…
Matthew 25:21: His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your lord. The master in the parable of the talents distributes talents based on ability right…
Matthew 25:3-4: The kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the prudent took oil…
“Repent the day before you die,” the Rabbis said. It sounds as if they’re encouraging wickedness. We can do what we like, sin to our heart’s content, and then reverse it all with a deathbed conversion. But the Rabbis were sly. The kicker is that we can never know the…
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