Tag Archives: Bible

My ESV Study Bible

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It came today!  Some of you have had the ESV Study Bible in your hands for a month now.  I know because you’ve been posting pics of your Bible or pics of you with your Bible on your blogs.  Some of us didn’t get in on the first 50,000 copies run.  I knew back in the summer that I could pre-order a copy, but was kind of holding out for getting one as a birthday present (Dec. 11).  My birthday came early, so I can’t complain.  Special thanks to my secret Santa.

So if you’re already in Numbers, I’m now at least in the boat with you.  If you haven’t yet considered the ESV Study Bible, let me recommend it.  If you can’t afford an entire Bible reference library, this is like have a one volume set of the same thing.  The video below was produced by Crossway Bibles, and has been on YouTube since August.  It is highly informational, at least check it out.  Other ESV resources are linked on my ESV page tabbed at the top of this window, including my post on Why I Blog ESV. 

Vodpod videos no longer available.  

more about “Introducing the ESV Study Bible“, posted with vodpod

American Christians

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crystalcathedralpipeorgansAmerican Christians are just not exactly the same as “Christians.”  That’s a sweeping generalization that I know is not true in some cases.  There are plenty of exceptions I’m sure.  But by in large, Christianity in America is light-years away from the first century church described in the New Testament. Continue reading →

A Scriptural Perspective on Economic Collapse and Financial Bailout

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We live in the richest nation on earth.  It may be borrowed money, and we may be about to pay the piper for it, but Americans are simply the wealthiest society ever in history.  We currently consume over half of the world’s natural resources.  The poverty line in the United States is higher than the per capita income of many nations.  My dog drinks cleaner water than about half of the world’s children.  We spent more money last year on ice cream than NASA spent in the entire space program.  That is the beauty of capitalism.  The revenues generated go back into fueling the system.  Carl Marx predicted capitalism would destroy itself, but you see, greed makes it work.  Our greed drives us to work harder, put in more hours, educate ourselves to get higher positions, etc.  And what do we do with all of that additional hard-earned cash?  WE SPEND IT, creating jobs and providing increasing salaries for our friends and neighbors.  So what went wrong? Continue reading →

Come Visit Noah’s Ark

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Well, sort of.  This is a full size replica of the ark based on the dimensions given in the Bible.  The ark is 150 cubits long, 30 cubits high and 20 wide.  A cubit is about 18 inches.  Think of 2 cubits as 1 yard.  So an ark 150 cubits long would be about 75 yards in length, 2/3 the size of a football field.  A host of animals greet visitors as they enter, but the petting zoo is not quite finished on top.  (no joke)

To visit this ark, you will have to travel to the Netherlands.  Dutch architect Johan Huibers built the ark, and yes it appears to be floating in water.  Thank you Bethany Toranto for the story.  She has quite a few more pictures up as well.  Hey, I’d rather see the ark than the Creation Museum, but to each his own.

Was Jesus a Radical?

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The simple answer is yes.  Jesus was radical in his ministry and teachings.  He questioned the rulers of the Jewish faith, he threw people out of the temple, he pronounced woe to the scribes and Pharisees, he performed healings and miracles on the Sabbath, his disciples did not fast, and even ate without washing their hands.  His whole Sermon on the Mount turned the Jewish traditions and laws seemingly upside down.  The simple answer is that Jesus was a radical; however, I don’t believe it’s that simple. Continue reading →

Verse by Verse Bible Study

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I want to share with my friends and readers the different Bible studies I’m in right now, but don’t want to sound like I’m bragging. I work in full time ministry, so there’s lots of people leading many different activities all around us. I’m not trying to wave in anyone’s face how holy I am or anything like that.

I remember my dad teaching through the book of Matthew when I was in the 8th grade. We might do a few verses this week, or just one. Then we’d pick up next Sunday where we left off. It takes months sometimes to get through a book this way (or years) but it provides a thorough understanding. I seem to have wound up in several studies like that at the same time. The Sunday School class I attend is studying the book of Galatians. Anytime you study one of Paul’s letters you get some history of Paul, and often compare what he writes to one church with what is written to another.

Our Sunday a.m. text until advent begins is the book of Phillipians. The a.m. small group my wife and I lead is working through the Gospel of Mark. And our men’s morning devotional group is doing a verse by verse study of Nehemiah. That’s a total of 2 epistles, 1 gospel account, and one Old Testament book of history. I don’t always take enough time to study scripture on my own. This whole situation is a blessing to me because of the consistency.

After my own heart…

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God describes David as being a man after his own heart.  I found one of those tonight.  Thanks to internetmonk (this isn’t just a fan site) for turning me on to Ray Ortland, over at Christ is Deeper Still.  Consider this quote:

“What unifies the church is the gospel. What defines the gospel is the Bible. What interprets the Bible correctly is a hermeneutic centered on Jesus Christ crucified,”

That’s almost something I would write, only it says more in fewer words.  If you want to be a good writer, read people that are better than you.

Update for “Sue the Publisher”

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“Don’t like what the Bible says?  Sue the Publisher” is one of the more popular things I’ve written lately.  On Saturday, more people viewed that post than hit my site searching for Outrigger Island.  I’ve learned a little more about this story in the mean time:

Pictured above is Bradley Fowler.  In my original article, I mentioned several publishers that had better get ready to be next, and one of them was Thomas Nelson.  It turns out Fowler has already filed suit against Thomas Nelson as well.  Zondervan says Fowler is putting fault in the wrong place, pointing out that none of the translation they publish were translated in house.  Fowler’s claim is that these publishers intentionally crafted a religious judgment that homosexuals were sinners.  I wonder if Fowler ever read the King James Bible?  In the case of the KJV, it has been around so long it is public domain; there were no copyrights in 1611.  There’s no one to sue if you don’t like what the KJV has to say.  Of course, my original premise has not changed:

HOMOSEXUALITY IS A SIN, IT DOENS’T MATTER WHAT TRANSLATION YOU’RE READING! 

I’ve also learned that people having been sueing publishing companies in Canada – and winning – so we shouldn’t be surprised that it finally happened here.  Fowler is representing himself in both cases, and you know how that usually turns out.  Will someone please hurry up and throw this case out of court so the overworked system can move on to a real case.  May God have mercy on us all.

Christ Centered Preaching

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I’ve thought some more on what Christ centered means, and wish I could say this to every preacher everywhere: Preach the gospel.  Are you preaching on the Law being given to Moses?  Great; just make sure to mention how Christ fulfills the Law and the Prophets, and perhaps include Paul’s statement that the Law is like a tutor to him.  Teaching from Job?  Be sure to include “I know my Redeemer lives,” before you’re finished.  The story of how God deals with fallen man is the central thematic element that runs through the entire Bible.  Continue reading →

Leaps of Faith

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Remember those team-building seminars that had you fall backwards into the arms of your co-workers? That trust fall activity was about building trust and forming community, etc. The video below is something like that, but a lot more fun to laugh at.

Let me give you all the background first. In the Sunday a.m. service, I preach a straightforward, classic sermon on faith. Genesis 15 and Luke 8 were used as the main texts, and other examples from the Old and New Testaments were illustrated briefly. In the first text, Abram’s faith was counted to him as righteousness, and the second is the story of the woman with the issue of blood for twelve years. I explained that faith was more than believing, it was about trust. Faith causes us to act. In the Sunday evening service, I read the many examples of how people of faith took action found in Hebrews 11. Then we did the fun stuff.

Each of the volunteers was taken out of the room and kept in isolation, being brought back in one at a time. What they were told was that after being blindfolded, we would be raising them up 5 or 6 feet, and asking them to jump. I told each to have faith that we would be providing for their safety, and they wouldn’t get hurt if they took the leap of faith. In reality, they were never more than about 6 inches off the floor. They could feel the sensation of movement, while at the same time I’m kneeling down. In all the times I’ve done this, I’ve never had a kid not jump. Most fall (as do our 3 people of faith in the video), since they expect to drop several feet to the floor.