Unless you’ve recently arrived from another planet, you already know that most Christian people believe that Jesus was crucified on Good Friday and he was raised from the dead on Sunday morning. But if you …
Christian Holidays #6
Sometimes the simplest answers are the best. I’ve asked again and again why it was that, thirty years after the ascension of Christ—long after everything that was nailed the cross was nailed there—a gentile church …
God Unleavens Us
View PostThe Book of Ezekiel #16
Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man from their territory, and …
The Resurrection of Jesus
There is one event upon which all of history turns. It is an event attested well enough that millions of people believe it, and yet vague enough that some do not; although most of those …
Christian Holidays #5
It seems odd, doesn’t it, that a Gentile church, 30 years after the ascension of Christ, was observing the Passover and the seven days of unleavened bread that follow it? And just as odd that …
Three Days and Three Nights
I love a good mystery. Puzzle solving is a favorite pastime of mine. So perhaps I can be forgiven for saying in a recent radio program that God also loves a mystery. Sometimes of course, …
Christian Holidays #4
There’s an old hymn I remember singing in church when I was just a boy. It’s striking to me today, because it represents an understanding of the Bible in earlier generations that I think has …
Christian Holidays #3
How is it possible that a Christian church, some 25 years after the ascension of Christ, was still observing the oldest known Jewish holiday? And they were. It is easily demonstrated. And they weren’t even …
Passover Service 2010
View PostThe Book of Ezekiel #15
[…] Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong, and that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand. And I …
Christian Holidays #2
Not long ago, a woman asked me a hard question: Why did God have to kill all the firstborn children in Egypt. After all, he is God. He is sovereign. He can do anything he …
Christian Holidays #1
Are you ready for a quiz? Grab pencil and pad and write down the names of the two most important Christian Holidays. It should only take you a few seconds. No consulting your calendar allowed; …
Jesus and the Oral Law
The Sermon on the Mount is easily the best known of all Jesus’ discourses, probably because every beginning preacher is encouraged by his mentor to speak about that sermon. So even if you don’t read …
The Authentic Jesus #2
Poor Joseph. It is hard to imagine what a shock it was to him when he learned that his betrothed wife was with child. Understand that, in that society, at that time, this was a …
The Authentic Jesus #1
There are so many mysteries in the Bible. Yes, it was written in another language and in another culture, and there is much we simply don’t know. But I am not talking about that. I …
Agape: Love or Charity?
View PostThe Book of Ezekiel #14
You are the anointed cherub that covers; and I have set you so: you were upon the holy mountain of God; you have walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. …
The Lion of Judah
In the book of Revelation, Jesus is called the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Someone recently noted that this Lion of Judah is not a tame lion. Which led me to ponder what we …
Jesus and the Jews
Why did the Jews reject Jesus? The apostle Paul seems to have been very troubled about the issue, and he engages in a remarkably frank discussion of the question in his letter to the Romans. …