“In the beginning, God” (Genesis 1:1). “The Lord God formed the man from the soil of the ground.” The Lord God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” “The Lord God planted a garden in Eden.” There, the Lord God “put the man he had formed.” “The Lord God caused to grow out of […]
Luke 14:15-24: Come, for the Feast is Prepared!
June 15, 2015 by
It’s a sight to behold! The table is creaking, laden with a load of food, all ready to be eaten. You can see baked fowl, roasted beef, a rack of lamb, fruits, bread, fresh vegetables, sauces for dipping, and wine for pouring. And more than that, the host of that banquet has lovingly prepared that […]
1 Corinthians, Lesson 20: How to Deal with Heresy and the Lord’s Supper
May 20, 2015 by
Last week, we heard Paul’s words of censure to the Corinthian congregation: “Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup [of the Lord’s Supper].” Paul had directed those words to those who had committed, or were capable of committing, heresy. “Heresy” requires three things for it […]
1 Corinthians, Lesson 19: The Corinthians Bring Heresy into the Lord’s Supper
May 10, 2015 by
Paul now deals with a topic that he had earlier touched on in 1 Corinthians chapter 10: The Lord’s Supper. In this section, Paul was admonishing the Corinthians for straying from what he had “traditioned” to them. “In following the command [the mandate of the Lord’s Supper], I do not praise you… For I received […]
Isaiah 12:1-6: Jesus is Our Salvation
May 3, 2015 by
The Old Testament isn’t easy to read. It has so much killing in it, people rebelling against God, and more history than most of us can handle. It’s also hard to understand. But don’t let that keep you from the Old Testament. If you have the patience to take in what God has for you, […]
1 Corinthians, Lesson 17: A Look at the Lord’s Supper
April 26, 2015 by
Last week, we finished looking into Paul’s use of Israel’s sins during the Old Covenant as examples of what not to do for the Corinthian Christians in the New Covenant. At first glance, it simply looked as if Paul’s examples were Israel being unfaithful to God (and they were, but the question is, “In what […]
Acts, Lesson 29: Paul Sets Sail to Rome
April 23, 2015 by
After being under house arrest for two years in Caesarea, and after speaking before Herod Agrippa and Festus, Paul’s appeal to Caesar now begins to take place. They deliver Paul to be taken by ship to Rome. Luke records these events in a parallel structure: A Paul journeys to Malta (Acts 27) . B Paul […]
1 Corinthians, Lesson 16: Don’t Keep God from Coming to You with His Life and Salvation
April 19, 2015 by
Paul continues to deal with the issue of whether it’s okay to eat the meat that was earlier sacrificed to idols. To deal with this issue, he continues to use Old-Covenant Israel as an example of what not to do and how not to approach God, all within a chiastic structure. A 8:1-13 Dealing with […]
John 6:51-58: Unless…
April 2, 2015 by
According to legend, in a time of starvation, a mother pelican may dig into the side of her chest until it bleeds to feed her chicks. And so starting from the 2nd century, the Church has adopted the pelican as a symbol for Christ. The pelican represents Christ on the cross because, like a pelican, […]
1 Corinthians, Lesson 7: Community, Holiness, and Covenant
February 1, 2015 by
In the first four chapters, when dealing with sin, Paul dealt with division in the Corinthian congregation expressed by favoring one pastor over another. In chapter 5, Paul switches subjects: he is still dealing with sin but the sin is related to the gift of sexuality. How are Christians living in Christ to live out […]
