Peter KrolSadly, the daily news plods forward with report after report of some Christian leader’s downfall. Some such cases arise from sexual impropriety. Others center on the abuse of power. Yet others involve financial mismanagement, unresolved conflict, or...
Mark WardLots of people want their Bible translations to be “literal.” But what does “literal” even mean? The NASB has called itself “the most literal” English Bible. The CSB calls itself “highly literal.” My own church’s ESV is “essentially literal.” The...
Robby LockettThe dates will always be easy to remember. January 6—the day the electoral votes were counted and the Capitol was stormed—was the day we learned the cancer had spread again, this time into places you can’t live without. January 20—Inauguration...
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...
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...
A 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...
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...
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...
In this “Word Nerd: Language and the Bible” video (full transcription below), Mark Ward (author of Authorized: The Use and Misuse of the King James Bible) explores the origin of the word “Lord” in the English language—a word that, of course, shows...
According to its opening verses, the book of Proverbs was written to help you 1) know what wisdom is, 2) recognize wisdom when you see it, 3) do wise things, 4) keep growing, and 5) remain anchored in God’s Word. The wisdom of Proverbs is neither a...
Marty O. WynnNow you’ve done it! You said yes to teaching an adult Sunday School class. And you are asking yourself, “What was I thinking?” Please permit me to offer you some encouragement. You can do this by God’s strength—you are embarking on the blessed...
Do you know what a ramification is? Yeah, you do; you’ve heard the word, and you’ve probably used it. It’s kind of hard to come up with a definition on the spot, though, so I will help you. My dictionary defines a ramification as “a consequence of...
Meisha CurryThe temptation is there—to just skim the Bible stories you’ve heard numerous times. Noah, animals, lots of water, check, got it! The path of least resistance for any Sunday school teacher is simply reciting the provided curriculum word for word...
Ben BrowningYou just decided to read Paul’s epistles. Great choice! They are filled with deep theology, pertinent pastoral advice, and valuable instruction for Christian living. However, you may face some difficulties. At least Peter thought so. He...
Douglas EstesMany people start their Bible study in the Gospels. Over time, the word “gospel” has come to mean several things, such as the good news that Jesus has victory over sin and death, but in this case “Gospel” means a particular type of literature...
Michael LefebvreJesus studied the books of the Old Testament from childhood (Luke 2:46). He was guided in his ministry by what he learned from them (Luke 4:4-12, 16-21). And they formed his curriculum for training the disciples (Luke 24:44). When we study the New...
What happens when a scholar dies in the middle of writing a New Testament commentary? Lexham Press’s Scott Corbin talked with New Testament scholar and Regent College (Vancouver, BC) professor George Guthrie about the well-loved Osborne Commentary...
Dave JenkinsIn the 66 books that constitute the word of God, Christians have every divine word they need for life and godliness. But studying the Bible can be a daunting task. Depending on what part of Scripture you are studying, there are somewhere between...
Murray J. HarrisTruly I tell you, among those born of women no one greater than John the Baptist has appeared, but the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. (Matt 11:11 CSB) How could any person possibly be greater than the man chosen to announce the...
We see our pastors each week on-screen or up front. We typically recognize key ministry leaders. We know (and ask God to bless abundantly) our children’s nursery workers who graciously receive our crying babies each week with smiles on their faces...
When is your son or daughter old enough to date? Should you pay off your mortgage or increase your investments? Should you ask your church for financial help or take on that second part-time job? What is the best way to bring up that painful yet...
Lindsay John KennedyIt is an understatement even to say you have written much on the Gospel of John. What sets Signs of the Messiah apart? Signs of the Messiah started out as a series of talks I gave to a group of pastors and serious Bible students over the course of a...
Todd HainsHow would you describe the church’s contemporary division over baptism? Baptism is supposed to be a sign of unity (Eph 4:4–6). Everyone is baptized into one Christ, becoming a member of the one body, members of one another. Baptism is a...
Lindsay WilsonAs I wrote my commentary on Proverbs (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, 2018), I began to realize how often Proverbs was useful for dealing with conflict. However, I also discovered that it is not always as straightforward in its application. Are...
Many of the 150 canonical psalms have superscriptions or titles, like: “Of David,” “For the choirmaster,” and “According to the lilies.” Are these superscriptions in the psalms original? Or were they added at a later time? In this excerpt...
Sean McGeverIt was well past midnight as I stared out the window of the church retreat center at the falling snow. I was 19 years old and exhausted from 36 hours of nonstop work running my first weekend retreat for 200 teenagers. While it was quiet and serene...
There are many available postures in the fraught North-American discussion of race and ethnicity. They’re all visible on Twitter—sorrow, anger, resignation, indignation, sarcastic dismissal. I’m not saying these are all wrong; in my mind, each may...
Freedom means different things to different people. To a man like John Knox, it meant being released from the harsh labor of serving on a French galley ship so he could preach the gospel. To the American Sons of Liberty, it meant taxation with...
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven. (Matt 16:19 CSB) Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will...