I came across a video recently in my social media feed of a preacher making a claim that the church should be about entertainment. Is that true? Let's unpack it. Pastor Ed Young of Fellowship Church, in Grapevine, Texas, sparked controversy in a recent sermon. Young drove onto the stage in an expensive car. Specifically he drove a Rolls-Royce, which typically costs around $200,000 to $600,000. (It's possible he may have rented the car, which can also be pretty expensive.) The

As I reflect on Scripture, I am astonished that God inspired divine words and delivered them to us. Imagine how it would be if we didn't have clear and authoritative words from him. But, thankfully, we do! And God ensured that those words were recorded in a book. Further, they have been preserved faithfully by the Spirit for thousands of years. Now, one of the most basic ideas in all of theology is the fact that God has revealed his thoughts through words (i.e., special revel

Ok, let's get straight to the point: Over the past 4 years or so, I have heard of cases where Matthew 18:15-17 is interpreted in many bizarre and harmful ways. In this section of Scripture, Jesus gives some principles for handling conflict when a person sins against another. Some apply this Scripture to all cases of disagreement and conflict (including marital, parenting, friendships, workplace, church relationships, leadership, staff issues, etc.). Some apply it to particula

"For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished." -Matthew 5:18 (ESV Throughout) About 15 years ago, The Passion Translation (TPT) emerged on the scene as a Bible translation. It didn't initially appear in whole Bible format. Instead, books were released one at a time (and the work appears to be continuing). Soon the whole New Testament was completed. But it didn't take long for controversy t

Meals are powerful moments of connection. There is something about sharing a meal that builds community. Because the Bible has many pages, the theme of sacred meals can easily be lost. In the following article, we will look at the biblical theology of sacred meals in two sections: (1) the Old Testament and (2) the New Testament. OLD TESTAMENT Meals appear throughout the Old Testament. Occasionally meals are used to make covenants with people while other times they are used to

One of the most confusing concepts I ran across in seminary was "biblical theology." The terminology seems straightforward. I knew what the Bible was; I knew what theology was; but when you put the two words together it seemed like everyone defined it differently. When I tried to wrap my head around the concept, my head started spinning. Initially, it was hard to appreciate what I could not define. It is sometimes difficult to see the value in something that you don't underst

We Need Wisdom What do we need at work? Wisdom. How about in marriage and in parenting? Wisdom. What do you and I need as we approach the various challenges in our lives? Wisdom. What do we need in financial management, in time management, in leadership, in reading books, in choosing the words we speak, in relationships, and in every other aspect of life? Wisdom. What is wisdom? How do we get it? Wisdom is a theme that shows up from the beginning to the end of Scripture. Most

“And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.” -Revelation 21:22-23 (ESV throughout) Scripture shows a nuanced story of God's presence from the beginning to the end. It's artistic, symbolic, and easy to miss. In this article, we will look at how God’s presence was lost and how God gradually invaded enemy territo

"17 He (Jesus) said to him the third time, 'Simon, son of John, do you love me?' Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, 'Do you love me?' and he said to him, 'Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.' Jesus said to him, 'Feed my sheep.'" -John 21:17 (ESV throughout) In our day, we often see a striking overemphasis in churches on either evangelism or shepherding. It seems like one of the two, evangelism or shepherding, is pursued wholeheartedly wh

“It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” -Romans 4:24a-25 (ESV throughout; emphasis mine) In Romans 3, Paul claims that no one is righteous (Rom. 3:10). Everyone has sinned . Everyone has fallen short . There is no human being that has lived righteously . C. S. Lewis has said, “Christ takes it for granted that men are bad. Until we really feel this assump

"The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing." -Zephaniah 3:17 ESV A few weeks ago the Puritan John Owen blew me away as he was talking about God's love which rests because he is satisfied with us. (I will give the full quote later.) He was commenting on Zephaniah 3:17, which is a powerful verse demonstrating God's joyful love for his people. Bef

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us . . . " -John 1:14 ESV Yesterday, I was reading John 1:14 as I reflected on the birth of Jesus during our wonderful Christmas Eve service at church. As I read a very familiar text, something jumped out at me from the text. In this familiar text, I saw something that I haven't seen before. You could say that what I saw was an unexpected Christmas miracle. You could say that what I saw in John 1:14 was an unexpected Christmas mirac

You've probably heard the Christmas song, "Angels We Have Heard on High." It is based on Luke 2. But have we really heard the nuances of what this text is teaching? Now, let me be clear: I’m not questioning if the angels actually sang. I’m not questioning whether the shepherds really heard the angels. I’m not questioning whether God heard the angels (obviously!). I am not even questioning if we have comprehended the basic ideas. Instead, I’m questioning whether we have fully

It's easy to find reasons to avoid reading the Bible. Here are a few that come to mind: Busyness Difficulty Complexity Tiredness Conviction And its length. I thought I would look up what Scripture says about itself. I put together this list, and it became a compelling list for me to pick up the Bible and read it today. Here are 20 reasons to read the Bible from the Bible : All Scripture is inspired by God and helpful for our growth (2 Tim. 3:16). The Scriptures give us inst

Like Paul and the Colossians, we live in a time period where there are many false teachings. Those false teachings are not only wrong, and lead astray, but they lead us away from true gratitude. However, other times, maybe the teaching isn't necessarily the problem. We may have to look inside and probe our hearts to examine why good teaching and following Jesus isn't leading us to "abound in thanksgiving." Let's look at Colossians 2:6-7. Colossians 2:6 ὡς οὖν παρελάβετε

Picture this: You are standing in the mountains, and in the distance, you can see a shepherd with his flock. At first, you are amazed at the scenery. But, as you look closer, you are shocked. You discover that the shepherd is beating his flock with a staff. He will not allow them to eat, drink, or rest. He is abusing them and driving them hard. He won't allow them to sit down, but instead, he is making them move at a pace that they cannot sustain. What would you think? What w

Type of Doctrine: Typically secondary or tertiary "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." -2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV Why Does It Matter? We believe that Scripture is inerrant and inspired in the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek writings by the original authors. However, many of us don't know these languages so we need t

"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary...

" . . . and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." -Ephesians 4:24 ESV Sometimes...

" . . . set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." -1 Peter 1:13b ESV You need...