Jeanette PiferI love teaching and I know well why I chose this as my vocation. Yet it can be easy to get caught up in the day-to-day grind. So I find it helpful to regularly revisit why—the telos of teaching. To that end, allow me to provide five bedrock reasons...
Mark WardWhat’s the key to effectively teaching the Bible to others, whether in a Bible study, a sermon, or a Facebook conversation? Loving God is most important, of course, but it’s possible to love God supremely and yet fail in your efforts at...
Daniel StegemanI was a young pastor attending a ministry conference at a well-known church. I will never forget it: The host pastor boasted that his church was the healthiest in America. I immediately wondered, How does he know that? Pastors and ministry leaders...
Kirk E. MillerWhat’s the Song of Solomon really about? Is the Song a literal love poem, an allegory of God’s love, or something in between? In this episode of What in the Word?, Kirk E. Miller is joined by Fellipe do Vale to explore the interpretive challenges of...
Phillip CaryGod says to put God first. He also tells us to love our neighbor. But why does God command us to love him? And why does Jesus identify it as the greatest commandment?
Rebekah EklundFor me, the most challenging command Jesus ever gave is to love my enemies. What does it mean to love? Who is an enemy? Why did Jesus command his followers to love their enemies, and what does that actually look like in action?
God himself is love (1 John 4:8). Love for God is the greatest commandment. Love for others is the second (Matt 22:34–40). Love is the greatest Christian virtue. But what is love? That is a rather important question. Similar questions come to mind ...
What is the most violated verse on the internet? Probably love the Lord your God with all your heart. Every online sin draws its nourishment from that root. But right behind that violated verse might be—our second-place winner—Paul’s words: Speaking...
Elyse FitzpatrickJesus’s words frequently shock me. They bring me up short. Honestly, sometimes when I read them, I think, I wonder if he knew to whom he was speaking. Of course he knew, I mean no disrespect. But still. Really? Telling Nicodemus he must be born...
When Jesus is asked to sum up the law, he responds with two commands involving love: In both commands, the English translation “love” translates the Greek verb agapao. Partly because agape is one of those Greek words that many theologically literate...
Mark Ward explores what agape love means by sharing a tip for using Greek in Bible study—and then shares how to apply that tip. *** “Love” is the third most commonly looked up word at Merriam-Webster.com. Do you want to know what...
One fine South Carolina day my little family was driving down the road listening to the radio, and on came “Rudy Mancke’s Nature Notes,” a delightful little minute-long feature by a local naturalist who talks about flora and fauna in the Palmetto...