Learning to Pray with Jacob
Christians must learn to pray effective prayers. Jesus tells us as much in the Sermon on the Mount. First he rebukes the heathen, who assume that their wordiness is what makes prayer effective. Then he provides a model for truly…
Blessed: A Survey of Romans 4:1-25
Author’s note: This blog post is part of an ongoing series about the book of Romans. To see other Romans resources, click here. Paul concluded his chapter on mankind’s depravity with a startling proposition: the only way to be declared…
Timeline: Biblical History
An ongoing effort in my own biblical studies is to be able to visualize the storyline of the Bible using timelines. I’ve dabbled in timelines for literally years – and I’d like to share with you my ‘Biblical History Master…
Justified: A Survey of Romans 3:21-31
Author’s note: This blog post is part of an ongoing series about the book of Romans. To see other Romans resources, click here. When Paul began his letter to the Romans, he quickly launched into praise for the Gospel. He…
Worthless: A Survey of Romans 3:9-20
Author’s note: This blog post is part of an ongoing series about the book of Romans. To see other Romans resources, click here. Morally, mankind is worthless! That is the prosecution’s case. Paul, the lead prosecutor, has already amassed a…
Demonic Forgetfulness
“When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.” (Matthew 13:19) When was the…
David’s Dread of Yahweh
“And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and he said, ‘How can the ark of the LORD come to me?’ So David was not willing to take the ark of the LORD into the city of David.” (2…
Our Great Patron
Patronage is a social system in which people do favors for each other, and it’s important for understanding the setting of the New Testament. It wasn’t until I read Honor, Patronage, Kinship, and Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture that I…
Jesus Changes Everything
“This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.” (John 2:11) The first miracle that John records about Jesus is the turning of water into wine at…
The Gospel from a Covenant Perspective
The Bible is covenantal – that is to say, the structure of the biblical narrative is based on covenants. These covenants function as the ‘spine’ on which the story hinges. We often speak of the Gospel as if it was…
