I have been an observer, studier, ruminator and meditator of Scripture. I have seldom been a memorizer. It’s not out of any philosophical approach to learning Scripture that I’ve not made Bible memorization a staple of Bible disciplines. It’s more out of reasons that I think are common to most, namely, impatience. And these … [Read more...]
A.D. The Bible Continues…A Bible Background Brush Up
If you haven’t checked in yet with A.D. The Bible Continues, you might want to. As a point of confession, I am not hugely enthusiastic over Bible story depiction. I’m not sure why, partly because the depictions over the past decades tend to run through the filter of western Christianity and come off, well, cheesy. … [Read more...]
Summer Missions: The Power of Hear and Do
It’s a rhythm through all of Scripture. It’s what keeps our foundation solid. It’s what produces a crop exponentially greater than what was sewn. It’s what keeps us from fooling ourselves. It’s the steady sway of Hear and Do. Understand and practice. Know and keep. It’s why summer missions experiences are … [Read more...]
5 Ways to Mark 50 Days
The Easter season gives us a unique opportunity to use the calendar as a tool to jump start our spiritual lives. We have the 40 days of Lent before Easter. We have the six-day countdown between Jesus’ Triumphal Entry on Sunday and His crucifixion on Good Friday. We even have a more hourly record during the crucifixion. And of … [Read more...]
Bible Time: Ministry Prep vs. Personal Prep
We know the maxim: Live it before you teach it. But is this always practical, or even necessary? Depending on the setting, answers, like car mileage, may vary. It’s noble to distinguish our professional Bible time—prep for talks, sermons--from our personal Bible time. We all know the value of wrestling with an issue or a … [Read more...]
Does Bible Literacy Matter?
The importance of Bible literacy is a fair debate. Even the Bible itself tells us that knowledge, just for the sake of knowledge, can be detrimental—it puffs up and leads to pride (1 Cor. 8:1). And if Bible knowledge runs the risk of making us prideful (and in turn, self-righteous), why not simply focus more on the … [Read more...]