This article is a continuation of a series about the gospels. Each article is focused on one of the four gospels in detail to provide an overview of their unique makeup and focus. This article will be on Mark’s gospel. Mark’s Audience: Mark’s gospel is largely directed to the Gentiles (likely Roman). He does not state this explicitly, but several pieces of information lead us to this conclusion. Mark describes Jewish customs (Mark 7:3-4) and translates certain Aramaic phrases

In my last article, I introduced this little “series” about the gospels. In each article, we will be examining one of the four gospels in detail to get a better understanding of their unique makeup and focus. For this article, we will begin with Matthew. Matthew’s Audience: Matthew’s primary audience is Jewish. While Matthew never directly states who he is writing to, several pieces of evidence lead us to this conclusion. Matthew references the Mosaic Law and the Old Testamen

Paul David Tripp has written several books with the emphasis of helping Christians grow closer in their walk of faith and pursuit of discipleship with Christ. Some of these books address key topics such as marriage, worship, parenting, and other books dedicated to ministry. Although each of those books offer convicting and thought-provoking insight, Tripp’s book Lead brings another layer to practical insight for those who are in leadership positions in the church. This paper

Have you ever stopped and asked the question: “Why do we have four Gospels?” It may be something you’ve never really thought about until now. Nonetheless, it is a valid question. All four Gospels tell the story of Jesus' life, ministry, death, burial, and resurrection. They share many of the same events, teachings, and miracles. So why did God preserve four different accounts instead of just one? The beauty of Scripture is often found in asking these sorts of questions. Yes -

I’ve become an avid reader over the last few years. Im up to 20 books under my belt for 2026 with a few more months to go and 5 open books on my desk & in my kindle (some of you are cringing at that). Some of these are school books, but most are leisure. I often come across statements, chapters, or even whole concepts I fundamentally disagree with. I’ve learned over the years to “eat the meat and spit out the bones” as one of my preaching school teachers said. I challenged my

Let me start by laying my cards down. People throw around the term “false teacher” in a way that scripture does not. There is a tendency to label anyone we disagree with doctrinally as a “false teacher.”1 We take people who disagree with us and mentally burn them at the stake as if they’ve committed a flagrant blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and now deserve nothing less than a fiery crucifixion. Yes. That’s dramatic. But we do that to people we disagree with don’t we? Don’t get

Sex. Weird way to start an article. I know. Now that your attention has been captured, I’d like to talk to you about your cars extended warranty…. Jokes aside. Isn’t it interesting how that 3 letter word seems to bring us to a screeching halt? We want to know what dirty dark secrets lie in the sentences that follow. Fascination with things forbidden, I assume. Like staring into a campfire, you can’t seem to pull your gaze away. Interestingly Peter acknowledges how sex capture

The Gospel of Luke provides some unique, though similar descriptions and teachings that are found within the other two Synoptics. One passage that is unique to Luke’s Gospel and that has brought many questions and intrigue is found in Luke 16:19-31. This is commonly known as the parable Jesus tells, “The Rich Man and Lazarus.” This text has brought much intrigue and questions concerning the nature and reality that Jesus describes; however, prior to addressing the parable itse

God doesn’t cause bad things to happen; He only allows bad things to happen. This is a phrase I have heard and accepted from as early as I can remember. This “hardly questioned among Christians” theological framework makes pretty decent logical sense: God is perfect in love, so He wouldn’t cause bad. God is perfect in power, so He could stop all bad. Yet bad things still happen. Only one thing makes sense—God sometimes chooses not to intervene. He doesn’t cause bad; He allows

Introduction There is perhaps no greater challenge to the book of 2 Peter than the challenge of authorship. Duane Warren claims that this issue dwarfs all other introductory concerns to the letter.[1] This may strike some as odd since the letter opens with a clear claim to authorship: “Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ.”[2] With such a debate raging through both ancient and modern literature, it demands answers to two questions. First, who rea

THE LEVITICAL FOOD LAWS The Levitical food laws have long puzzled the modern mind. These laws are not difficult to understand, but the reasonbehind their distinctions seems lost to history. The clear rationale behind these food laws is one of sanctity.[1] God’s intention was for these laws to shape His people into a reflection of His holiness (Lev 11:45) resulting in a distinct identity among the Israelite people (Deut 14:2). Yet, the deeper and more pressing question remains

Ancient Near Eastern studies stormed the realm of Biblical studies in the early 1800s with the discovery of the Rosetta Stone. This discovery allowed scholars to begin to decipher hieroglyphic Egyptian writings. After this breakthrough, other ancient Near Eastern languages, such as Sumerian, Akkadian, Hittite, and Persian, began to be uncovered and deciphered. A later discovery that aided these Ancient Near Eastern studies immensely was the discovery of Ugarit which began in

The Wisdom of Solomon is an incredible piece of literature produced by ancient Judaism. Likely penned during the first century BC, alongside other writings,[1] this piece of literature would go on to heavily influence the religious climate of Jesus and His apostles, as well as the early Christian communities. This paper will be divided into two major sections. First, there will be a brief review of the content of the Wisdom of Solomon, outlining its organization and major the

“As a man’s body was cleansed by the water, so his soul was bathed in the grace of Christ.”[1] These words from the Scottish theologian, William Barclay, have resonated with the souls of thousands of saints. The sacred act of baptism has been a source of much debate, hostility, misunderstanding, and division. Yet through all the clouds surrounding the subject, Christians are still enthralled by the imagery and act of baptism portrayed in the New Testament. When reading the Ne

The Puritan theologian Thomas Watson wrote a short discourse on the Lord’s Supper. In his opening remarks to the reader, he said, “When I think about the holiness and solemnity of the blessed sacrament, I can’t help but feel a sense of awe and believe that I must hold this mystery in the highest respect. The elements of bread and wine are common in themselves, but under these symbolic representatives, divine excellencies are hidden.”[1] In this introduction, Watson captures a

A striking feature of the scrolls found at Qumran is the dualistic language that permeates the literature. The sons of light are set against the sons of darkness (1QS 1:10), the spirit of truth is set against the spirit of falsehood (1QS 3:19), Israel is set against the Kittim (1QM 1:3-4), the Teacher of Righteousness is set against the Wicked Priest (1QpHab 11:4-5), and on and on the scrolls go. This kind of dualism saturated the Qumran sect’s writings, convictions, practice

Several months ago, I made a short Facebook post that seemed to resonate with quite a few people. Looking back, I think that’s because many Christians have experienced the same struggle I did, even if they haven’t recognized it for what it is. This was the post: “I’m not advocating being uninformed. I’m not advocating being uninvolved. I’m not advocating being apathetic. But there was a time when I was obsessed with politics. I believed that if we could just get the right per

In the last article we looked at the human failure to be what God made us to be - royal rulers over creation. Instead of the glory of YHWH projecting from our lives, we sought our own glory, thus failing to launch God's human project. All of Paul's language surrounding sin is wrapped up in human failure to be the imagers God made us to be (Rom 1:23; 3:23). The last article ended with a look to the ideal human - Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus exerted his royal rule as an imager prec

Many exciting and wonderful scenes come to mind when we think about heaven. The prophets and John’s revelation speak of a time when there will be no sorrow, crying, or pain. They talk about a time when the faithful will eat of the tree of life and other trees on either side of the river that flows from the sanctuary. We anticipate scenes of gold and precious stones. We eagerly await the time to worship and praise God and the Lamb, who enlightens heaven and earth for us. Perha

In the last article we laid down a case from the ancient world for understanding what the image of God really is. Genesis 1 shows us YHWH building a glorious cosmic temple with humanity serving as the "image" displaying the glory of God and ruling over all creation. This is why David would say, "What is man that you are mindful of him? And the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your ha