When you hear "Canons of Dort" mentioned, do you ask yourself, "What is a Dort, and why are people shooting cannons there?" Those questions may be followed with, "And why exactly should I care about it?" What is a Dort, and why are people shooting cannons there? The Canons of Dort do not refer...
Rather than giving a “best of” list, reflections on 2017, or goals for next year, I thought it would be appropriate for my last blog of the year to include thoughts on approaching the last book of the Bible: the Book of Revelation. Over the past couple of months I have had several...
As we prepare for Christmas, the commercialization and busyness of the season often detracts from the true meaning of Christmas - the birth of Jesus, our Savior who came to save us and the world from the curse of sin. Another potential danger, however, is that our familiarity with the story of...
Over the past few weeks my posts have examined some commonly quoted and, at times, misunderstood Bible verses in their context to make sure we understand them properly. In most of these posts, the focus has been on the literary and/or historical context of the verse, looking at the verses around...
A principle about biblical interpretation that I read a number of years ago, really liked, and have since taught is that the Bible is not written to us but is for us (I read this quote in a book by Australian scholar Michael Bird called Introducing Paul). What this statement means is that the...
A friend of mine told me that the best-known Bible verse very well may have shifted from John 3:16 (“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” ESV) to Matthew 7:1. While that reference does not jump...
When you think of Thanksgiving, what do you think of? Outside of food and pilgrims, I suspect that two of the most common associations with Thanksgiving are football and shopping. Football because (to the excitement of some and the chagrin of others!) it is on TV all day, and shopping because...
