March 3, 2020. Welcome back to the New Year, New Creation series where we are exploring the biblical picture of the Christian hope and ultimate destiny. If you have missed part 1, part 2 or part 3 of this series, I encourage you to go back through and read them as they present the main…
Tag: creation
New Year, New Creation Pt. 2: God cares about creation.
January 26, 2020 Welcome back to the New Year, New Creation series where we are exploring the biblical picture of the age to come. If you missed part 1 of the series, click here! Today we are going to set a little more of the Old Testament (and New) context for the relationship God has…
New Year, New Creation Pt. 1: God, humanity, and the good creation.
January 21, 2020. Happy (a little late) New Year, everyone! I wanted to take some time to explore a topic that has been near to my heart for the past few years, and I thought there was no time like the new year to talk about new creation! Though we will get into some significant…
Genesis One: God as Creator.
October 2, 2016. Today I am beginning a class on Genesis of which a friend asked me to cover the first four lessons. We are going to be discussing topics in Genesis throughout the class and drawing truths and applications to our own lives. We aren’t going to go through every chapter, verse by verse,…
God as Sustainer.
July 18, 2016. “Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’” (Acts 17:27b-28) It’s been quite a while since I last wrote, and I really have…
Ecclesiastes 7-8: Contrasts.
November 19, 2015. Daily Reading: Ecclesiastes 7-8. Background: Ecclesiastes 5-6. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 7 Contrasting: In this chapter, the preacher sets forth many contrasting ideas and reveals wisdom from these juxtapositions. The first half of the chapter is dedicated to proverb-like sayings, focusing at first on the contrast between death and life, sadness and…
Psalm 102-104: Bless the Lord, O my soul.
September 23, 2015. Daily Reading: Psalm 102-104. Background: Psalm 99-101. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 102 A cry of the afflicted: This psalm is a prayer of the afflicted who is pouring out his troubles and complaint before the Lord. The psalmist diligently seeks the audience of the Lord in the first stanza and asks for…
Psalm 96-98: A joyful noise to the Lord.
September 9, 2015. Daily Reading: Psalm 96-98. Background: Psalm 93-95. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 96 Ascribe to the Lord His glory: This psalm is a psalm of worship and praise, ascribing the due glory and power to the Lord of Heaven, Creator of all. The opening calls all the earth into chorus to sing a…
Freedom… to become slaves.
July 4, 2015. “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1) Independence day is one of my favorite holidays of the year. It is a great time to be with family, without the stress that usually comes with the holiday season, eat together and celebrate the…
Job 40-42: Conclusions.
May 14, 2015. Daily Reading: Job 40-42. Background: Job 38-39. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 40 Seeing the glory of God through Behemoth: The Lord again addresses Job in a rhetorical way to emphasize the immense difference between man and God, and Job promises silence out of his shame for contending with the Almighty. This chapter…
Job 38-39: God answers Job.
May 7, 2015. Daily Reading: Job 38-39. Background: Job 35-37. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 38 God speaks out of the whirlwind: After a long collection of dialog back and forth between Job and his friends, Job finally gets his wish: and audience with God. The old adage might be fitting here, however, as Job really…
Romans 7-8: Flesh versus Spirit.
January 25, 2015. Daily Reading: Romans 7-8. Background: Romans 5-6. Concepts and Connections: Chapter 7 1. Old Law and Christ: As we have seen from the previous chapters, Paul is making an argument of the difference between being under the Old Law given by Moses and being in Christ. Though the law in an of…
Twenty Eight Eighteen 