Let’s engage in a thought experiment. Let’s assume that the Apostle Paul suddenly materializes in the midst of a Christian worship service today.
Assumptions about the Word of God
June 28, 2022 by
At the end of Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 film The Ten Commandments, Moses and the future leaders of Israel stand on Mt. Nebo surveying the promised land.
Scripture Matters: Wrestling with the Word
March 15, 2022 by
In Genesis 32, Jacob has a mysterious wrestling match with an unknown assailant. Everything about that wrestling match is strange. The assailant is unnamed and unidentified.
Formations 12.26.2021: The Word Became Flesh
December 19, 2021 by
Our favorite Christmas Bible stories usually involve angels, Mary and Joseph, shepherds, a stable behind an inn, animals, a tiny baby in a feeding trough, and wise men visiting from afar. This passage in the Gospel of John has none of those, and yet it is probably the most important Christmas story of all.
Not Another Word
April 7, 2021 by
Suffering in secret, it’s not what Jesus did—not that he had a choice in the matter, but it’s what his followers do religiously. Many of us believe talking about pain and subsequent grief somehow takes away from God’s glory.
Connections 07.21.2019: Starving for the Word of the Lord
July 14, 2019 by
Vacation Bible School (VBS) season is winding down. I grew up in the era when VBS food consisted of cookies and Kool-Aid.
Formations 12.30.2018: The Last Word
December 23, 2018 by
As the son of a high school basketball coach, I didn’t exactly grow up with the most positive opinion of sports referees. Dad has mellowed in his retirement, though. In recent years, I have even heard him admit—to the shock of my teenage self—that referees get a lot more calls right than they get wrong.
Try Writing with Friends for Lent
January 31, 2018 by
Writing in groups creates that kind of wonder. I’ve seen it show up around classrooms tables when people who had spent their lifetimes in the same congregation share their longing for a deeper faith for the first time.
Uniform 11.29.2015: Teaching God’s Word
November 22, 2015 by
When Paul’s missionary partners Timothy and Silas arrived in Corinth, they found him “occupied with the word” (v. 5; NRSV supplies “proclaiming,” which is not in the Greek text). What was he doing with the word with which he was occupied?
Very Short Commentaries
Recently, WIRED asked some science fiction, horror, and fantasy writers to follow in Hemmingway’s footsteps and write a short story in only six words. This project is crying for a biblical application.