Without a doubt, the last book written by Paul in our possession, 2 Timothy is an intimate look into the relationship that exists between the apostle and the protege. The letter is a spattering of the glory of the Lord and the gloom of life. Throughout it is a book of hope for both Paul…
Revelation
No other book in the New Testament fascinates and yet puzzles today’s Christian reader like the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation. Alan Johnson writes, “Indeed, it may well be that with the exception of the Gospels, the Apocalypse is the most profound and moving teaching on Christian doctrine and discipleship found…
1 Thessalonians
The letters to the Thessalonians form the first group of the books we have written by Paul. Theodor Zahn believes that Galatians was written even earlier than these letters. William Ramsay places these just before Galatians. 1 Thessalonians serves as one of the earliest witnesses to the content of the gospel messages. Harnack sees the…
Galatians
The epistle of Paul to the Galatians was the trumpet call for the Reformation. Luther considered it his most important and favorite book. The destination and date of the epistle have been debated for centuries, but the authority and apostolic authorship is rarely questioned. The work served the first century church as an apologetic opposing…
Grab Your Passport | 04 | The City of Lystra
“The City of Lystra” from the lesson series Grab Your Passport, April 2021 our Scripture Paul also came to Derbe and to Lystra. Acts 16:1-5 ESV Acts 16:1-5 NASB Acts 16:1-5 NIV Acts 16:1-5 NLT Acts 16:1-5 MESSAGE Other Scriptural References: Acts 14:6-18 2 Timothy 3:10-11 Lystra was a mildly important city in the…
Grace to You
We are starting a small group study in the book of Philippians. Philippians is a book of joy and grace. If I were writing a commentary on the book, I would probably title the work, “Faith Makes My Heart Smile.” You can study by talking about the context and the background of the writing of…
Salvation | What It’s All About
“Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” The lament came from the lips of Charlie Brown in the animated Christmas classic, A Charlie Brown Christmas. Charles Schultz’ lovable gang of kids and a dog subtly offer answers to that question throughout the thirty minute extravaganza. Who would have guessed the question was…
As Most Important
If you pick up a Bible study or commentary on the important teachings of the book of 1 Corinthians, or if you listen to a sermon series studying through the book, you are most likely to hear that the church in Corinth was a problem church – a church that wasn’t very grounded in the…
Communicating Sound Doctrine
From the days that I sat at the Seminary listening to seasoned, biblical scholars, sound doctrine stirs me. The professors were people who knew the Scriptures and taught them with confident authority. How do we teach the content of sound doctrine to others in the church? There are so many different opinions about Scripture, how…
Stressed Out: Anxiety and Hypertension
There is an old Greek proverb that speaks about being stressed: You will break the bow if you keep it always bent. Just finished listening to a series of sermons about stress in our lives. It wasn’t a bad collection of messages. But to be honest the series left me … ummm … stressed. The…