The Eclipse of the Old Testament

This week in my Hebrews class we were studying chapter 7, focusing on how the author of Hebrews uses the Old Testament (specifically the story of Melchizedek) to make Christological point. I asked the students the following question: How do we understand the importance of the Old Testament even though in one sense it hasContinue reading “The Eclipse of the Old Testament”

Book Review – The Kingdom of God by Morgan & Peterson

“Seek first the Kingdom of God….” Jesus was a man who practiced what he preached. He lived, ate, breathed the kingdom. He advanced it through his ministry and he opened the doors to it through his death on the cross on our behalf. In other words Jesus was all about the Kingdom of God. ChristopherContinue reading “Book Review – The Kingdom of God by Morgan & Peterson”

The Strange Fire Rationalists

I know a ton has already been written about the guys (I say guys intentionally because they didn’t have a single female representative of their position) over at strange fire, but I want to point something out that I think not many people have noticed, namely that these guys look a lot like 18th centuryContinue reading “The Strange Fire Rationalists”

Book Review – Fight: A Christian Case for Non-Violence by Preston Sprinkle

“I do not believe that Jesus wants Christians to use violence. And if I can be so blunt: I think that a large portion of the American Evangelical church has been seduced, whether knowingly or not, by nationalistic militarism. Yet our inspired Word of God aggressively critiques this very thing….” – Preston Sprinkle (Fight: AContinue reading “Book Review – Fight: A Christian Case for Non-Violence by Preston Sprinkle”

Book Review: Jesus on Every Page by David Murray

A few weeks ago Ed Stetzer began a series of blogs written by professors and pastors called Preaching Jesus from the Old Testament. The purpose of the series was to get people who have the responsibility of bringing the word week in and week out to their congregations to engage with these blog posts andContinue reading “Book Review: Jesus on Every Page by David Murray”

Christ-Centered Hermeneutics – 2 Corinthians 1:20

Recently on The Exchange, Ed Stetzer started a blog series devoted to the issue of Christ-Centered Old Testament Preaching (see Part 1 and Part 2). He has invited several respected scholars including Daniel Block, David Murray, Walter Kaiser, and Brian Chapell to weigh in on the discussion. But this is an issue that is soContinue reading “Christ-Centered Hermeneutics – 2 Corinthians 1:20”

Celebrating the Sabbath – 7 New Testament Principles

Its Sunday! Perhaps you have skipped out on church so you could read my highly awaited blog. Maybe you were up all night waiting… waiting ever so patientily for the 7 principles for Sabbath from the New Testament. But you probably weren’t Today we are doing part 2 of our Sabbath series. This time weContinue reading “Celebrating the Sabbath – 7 New Testament Principles”

That’s Not in the Text!!!

Recently I have been doing some thinking about how our contexts affect our reading of Scripture. In doing my own little case study of how this plays out in “real life” I came across three different interpretations of Luke 15:11-32: one by Donald Juel, one by N.T. Wright, and finally one by Allan Powell. ThisContinue reading “That’s Not in the Text!!!”

Some Thoughts on Ephesians Six and the Christian Community

I want to close off our time in Ephesians by pointing out the fact that Paul closes this letter in the same way he started it, by focusing on God’s mighty power. Ephesians 1:19 and 6:10  form an inclusio, an inclusio is a literary device that makes use of bracketing to clarify the concepts thatContinue reading “Some Thoughts on Ephesians Six and the Christian Community”

Some Thoughts on Ephesians Three and the Christian Community

Just as he did in Chapter 2, in Chapter 3 Paul continues to elaborate on the Jew-Gentile relationship that exists within the Church. The Gentiles were once without hope and without God, and the Jews were trapped under a Law they could not fulfill. These two groups were once divided, but in Christ God hasContinue reading “Some Thoughts on Ephesians Three and the Christian Community”