Matthew BoffeyI’ve been in church all my life, and I’ve been in volunteer leadership positions long enough to know that planning a service simply takes time and energy.
Guest AuthorJeffrey Tripp received a doctorate in New Testament and Early Christianity from Loyola University Chicago, and now teaches Math at Rock Valley College. He often incorporates statistical methods into his biblical research, which focuses on the New...
Patrick SchreinerWhen I first started teaching, I began each class speaking not only about what we were to read in Scripture, but how we were to read. I would play a video from N. T. Wright where he discusses reading large swaths of Bible books so one might gain a...
Typically when seminary students begin their theological education journey, they anticipate writing lots of papers, listening to long lectures, and digging into new, deep topics they may not have explored before. They don’t often consider their time...
Logos StaffThe holidays—Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the new year—are a special time in ministry. Not only do we celebrate the birth of Jesus but we also get the chance to welcome visitors in our churches—many of whom will be attending for the first time. It’s...
Lexham PressSometimes Jesus’ words are confusing—like when he told the thief on the cross, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise” in Luke 23:43. What did he mean? In Navigating Tough Texts: A Guide to Problem Passages in the New Testament, Murray J. Harris...
Joel ArnoldSome learning curves are difficult to climb because the concepts involved run against the grain of the human mind (for some people, math). Sometimes there’s the challenge of where to start with intertwined concepts woven in a thick web, such as in...
Jacob CeroneLexham Press has just made a significant contribution to biblical studies with the translation, editing, and publication of the massive 3-volume Strack-Billerbeck Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and Midrash. Every verse in the...
Mark WardA quiet revolution, a renaissance, has gone on in Bible design in the last decade or so. Have you noticed? It used to be that nearly everyone at my church had a Bible that looked like this, and hardly anyone seemed to mind. But ask yourself a few...
In this “Word Nerd: Language and the Bible” video on the word Jehovah in the Bible (full transcription below), Mark Ward (author of Authorized: The Use and Misuse of the King James Bible) explores why God’s name is not Jehovah—and two excellent...
By Reuben Evans The new series Angels follows up The Unseen Realm and Demons. It’s available for purchase on Faithlife TV. Pop culture and church tradition have a lot to say about angels. However, in this documentary series, Dr. Mike Heiser takes...
Michael S. HeiserThis excerpt on the return of Jesus is adapted from Dr. Heiser’s book I Dare You Not to Bore Me with the Bible (see all Dr. Heiser’s books). *** Few things in the Bible attract more attention than prophecies about the end times. Even people...
Peter SantucciThough Eugene Peterson is now known as a writer, this wasn’t always the case. His first attempts at writing books only brought him frustration along with a string of rejection letters. In fact, because of this lack of traction, he told me he ghost...
David P. BarshingerEphesians 5 is both celebrated as a beautiful picture of the husband-wife relationship and debated for its calls of submission. John Chrysostom (347–407)—the “golden-mouthed” preacher, as he came to be known—sought to illuminate the teachings of...
October 31 marks a momentous day in Church history—its 504th anniversary, to be exact. Though eclipsed by other holidays, Reformation Day deserves an observance. How much do you know about it? Whether you know a little or a lot, here are three...
by Luke Nagy We’ve all heard the saying, “this world is not my home; I’m just a passing thro’.” The words are from a hymn penned in 1919, and arranged in 1937. It reflects a popular attitude among Christians in America at the time, and currently. A...
Happy Reformation Day! In this guest post from Dr. Jim West, professor of biblical studies at the Quartz Hill School of Theology, we are reminded of the great Reformers and how they changed the course of history. *** The temperature outside the...
This excerpt on circumcision in the Bible is adapted from Dr. Heiser’s book I Dare You Not to Bore Me with the Bible (see all Dr. Heiser’s books). *** Circumcision is a topic mentioned nearly 100 times in the Bible. It is a central focus for...
Douglas Moo writes, “The apostle Paul has arguably had a greater impact than any figure other than Jesus Christ Himself.” Moo, a New Testament scholar and professor at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, has spent more than 30 years in intense...
The first time I met Eugene Peterson, he called me Steve. I’d signed up for half an hour with him in his office and somehow he’d heard “Pete” as “Steve” and I didn’t have the nerve to correct him. He had just published the first...
You know about Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Ulrich Zwingli. You may even know about Thomas Cranmer and John Knox. . . . But what do you know about the forerunners of the Protestant Reformation? Learn how one pre-Reformer set the stage for Martin...
1. 2 Samuel 14:25 As far as Absalom, there was not a more handsome man in all of Israel to admire so much; from the sole of his foot up to his crown, there was no physical defect on him. Read 2 Samuel 14:25 2. Esther 2:2–3 And the king’s...
Karen EngleBible commentaries are one of the best tools to have on hand when doing deeper Bible study, researching for a paper, or prepping for a sermon. They can bring clarity to language issues, affirm interpretation, bring deeper insight into what a book or...
Bible Study MagazineColossians 3:8 leaves many believers hesitant to merge the worlds of philosophy and Christianity: See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world...
“I am not the head of the church. Jesus is.” As a pastor, I had not only heard that many times, I had said it many times myself. And I really did believe it. But it left a major question unanswered for me. If I am not the head, what part of the...
Wrenching a Bible verse out of context isn’t the only bad Bible-quoting habit out there. There is a more subtle set of unfortunate customs we use in evangelical churches when we quote the Bible. Here’s an example: a relative of mine was reading to...
Did you know it’s easy to find Jesus in the Old Testament? Once you know how to look, you’ll find him everywhere—through prophecies, typology, and much more.
Why were John Calvin’s writings more popular than one of Martin Luther’s disciples, Martin Bucer? In this video excerpt from the Mobile Ed course Understanding the Protestant Reformation: Precursors and Legacy, Gerald L. Bray, author of Doing...
Mary JahnkeAccording to Hallmark, Clergy Appreciation Month (aka Pastor Appreciation Month) started in 1992 “with a mission of uplifting and encouraging pastors, missionaries, and religious workers.” I don’t know about you, but I think it was long overdue...
Sunday, October 9, is Pastor Appreciation Day, a special reminder to encourage and pray for your pastor. We’ve pulled together eight prayers from Scripture and respected pastors to guide your intercession. Feel free to use them as-is, drop in your...