'Bible' Tagged Posts
The Surprising Story of Bill Beery
My brother pastored an unconverted man on the rolls of the church. When it was discovered, some of the men in the church began to share Christ with him and soon he became a true believer in Christ. His name was Bill Beery, a direct relative of the famous deceased actor Wallace Beery. Bill was a physically imposing mechanic at 6’ 6”. But Lou Gehrig’s disease, the illness that physicist Stephen Hawkins endured, soon wilted him into a shadow of…
Appreciating and Correctly Reading the Stories within the Gospels
If you have read Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John — the Gospels — you know that not only do they tell the story of Jesus’ life and present Jesus’ teaching, but they are made up of individual stories. I prefer to call these brief accounts “episodes.” So the one story about Jesus is made up of multiple episodes about Jesus. For example, we see the “leper” episode in Mark 1:40-45, followed by the “paralytic down through the roof” episode in…
How to “Get Over it” When You Taught Poorly
If you teach the Bible regularly, you know the experience of wishing you had done better — sometimes much better — immediately after you finished. I have been there. I once spoke at a men’s retreat of a church different than my own. About halfway through my message, I could feel in my soul that things were going poorly. The men seemed unenthused. Two guys were whispering to each other and laughing. I pressed on, but it never improved. Afterwards,…
Are You A Theological Ignoramus Like J.I. Packer Once Was?
J.I. Packer tells a personal story about his freshman year in college (see Bruce Milne, Know the Truth, IVP, 1998, p. 9). The chaplain at his school took some of the students on “pastoral walks.” Packer was on one of those strolls and said of the chaplain, “He was urging me to read theology, the subject which he himself taught, as a sequel to the classics degree on which I embarked.” Packer explains the exchange that happened next. I explained…
To Fly to Safety or Not: What to Do When the Arrows are Aimed at You
If you’ve ever been in a minor car accident, you might have called a loved one and immediately said, “Hey, everything’s okay; I’m not hurt. But I’ve been in a wreck.” David starts off Psalm 11 with “everything’s okay” type of language: “In the LORD I take refuge.” He was living in a society in which “the foundations” had been decimated (v. 3), probably meaning, “The foundations of law and order have collapsed” (New Living Translation). It was chaos all…
The Role of Timothy and Titus: Apostolic Representatives, Not Pastors
I sometimes hear respected Bible teachers refer to Timothy as the pastor of the church in Ephesus. One of my favorite expositors also refers to Titus as the pastor on the island of Crete. But were Timothy and Titus really pastors? Pastor Titus? Titus is never mentioned in Acts, but his name is found often in Paul’s letters. After Paul was released from his first Roman imprisonment (at the end of Acts, around A.D. 62), he ministered with Titus on…
My Best Books List for 2014
It’s always difficult to choose what books will receive my attention in a big way for the year ahead. There are dozens to choose from. Here is my list. I plan to read these books multiple times throughout the year until I know them well: Hebrews—this book is unparalleled for its ability to grasp ancient Jewish religious practice and make it relevant for today. It not only is interpretive of the past, but shows us unparalleled descriptions of the future,…