Babel on...

This is just an old sermon of mine from February, 2007 on Genesis 11 and the Tower of Babel. To be honest I can't remember if it was any good or exactly how the message went, but here it is anyway for the benefit of those who requested it.

New evangelism strategy...

I couldn't resist sharing this...

ESV Study Bible Blog - First John

Not a bad teaser until the whole thing comes out in October. Can't wait!

ESV Study Bible Blog - First John

prepared to worship

Here's the question I left the group with last night at our Evening Fellowship discussion: "When do you feel most prepared to worship?"

The context was in our discussion related to the morning message I preached earlier that day from Psalm 51. Notice how David progresses from a feeling of distance from God to a nearness and readiness to worship.

So what about you?

OT --> NT?

NT Use of the OT -- Test Your View!

Single Meaning, Multiple Contexts and Referents view You seem to be most closely aligned with the Single Meaning, Multiple Contexts and Referents view, a view defended by Darrell L. Bock in the book “Three Views on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament” (edited by Kenneth Berding and Jonathan Lunde, Nov. 2008). This view affirms the singular nature of the meanings intended by the OT and NT authors when OT texts are cited in the NT. In spite of this essential unity in meaning, however, the words of the OT authors frequently take on new dimensions of significance and are found to apply appropriately to new referents and new situations as God’s purposes unfold in the larger canonical context. Often, these referents were not in the minds of the OT authors when they penned their texts. For more info, see the book, or attend a special session devoted to the topic at the ETS Annual Meeting in Providence, RI (Nov. 2008); Walter C. Kaiser Jr., Darrell L. Bock, and Peter Enns will all present their views.

Fun quizzes, surveys & blog quizzes by

No shame?

"Have we no shame? It really won't be much longer until we just say it: come to our church and we promise not to mention Jesus at all! Do we have nothing attractive to offer the world except what they've already got?"

Intrigued? Read the rest by going to Church Matters: The 9Marks Blog

Book Review: Sticklers, Sideburns and Bikinis: The military origins of everyday words… by Graeme Donald

My first official book review...more to come (I hope).

A Necessary Duty

Here's the short version (as short as I can get it). The conversation that I had with myself last night as I was driving home from a meeting went something like this: why don't I love prayer? Sound like an odd question? Here's my though process. I realized that I've fallen in love with the Bible. It started out as a love for reading and studying the Bible, a love that began in Seminary. But now the honeymoon is over, but I still feel that I love the Bible, just in a more mature, less emotional way. As a result I think I've fallen in love with Jesus. I think I'm masculine enough to say that and not blush. I guess I just did. The two go hand in hand it seems; it's hard to love the Bible and love the one whom it's all about. But here's the thing, the thought that isn't going away or getting answered. Why haven't I fallen in love with prayer? To be clear I'm not interested in falling in love with prayer itself; not the act of praying. What I want is to fall in love with praying with my God. I think that's the right way to say it; it's not praying to God that I want, it's praying with God. It's a conversation, right? Yet I know what I want, but I can hardly say that I've fallen in love with prayer. I'm not sure that I can say that I like it. I don't hate it, but today it feels like a necessary duty. I'm not comfortable with that, not just because I know it's the wrong answer, but because it feels wrong to not be passionate about speaking with the Father.

Wheeeww...glad I got that down in type. Now for your feedback.

I can do "all" things

If you've ever wondered about this verse here's a great post to get your thinking going.

Koinonia: I can do all things. (Monday with Mounce 6) by Bill Mounce