Friday, April 29, 2016

What Does It Mean to be Born in Jerusalem?

One of the wonderful things about the Bible is that there are so many layers of meaning to the things it says. Take Psalm 87 as an example. This psalm was written as a song for worship in the Jerusalem Temple. Its purpose was to describe the blessing of being born in Jerusalem, which meant to belong to God in a special sense. This was because Jerusalem was the spiritual and political capital of God’s earthly nation Israel. However, it is possible to apply it to the life of Christians today.

Friday, April 22, 2016

Why Can't Women Lead in Church?

I received this question a few weeks ago, and I have spent that time considering the best way to respond to it. It’s very difficult to know where to start, because it is definitely a loaded topic. No matter what I say, someone is going to take offense. Still, it is discussed in the Bible, and one of the major purposes of this ministry is to show there is no reason to shy away from the difficult questions. If I could ask one thing, it would be that you listen to the recording rather than just merely reading the article. That gives me my best chance to get my attitude across, and not just my ideas.

Friday, April 15, 2016

Can We Justify Ourselves?

This article is going to be off to an odd start, because it is in response to a story I do not want to tell, or share. Suffice it to say, there are indications that incest is going to become another battleground in the war for our society’s soul. Now of course, what I saw may easily have been a hoax. We all know how the internet is, so I am not saying we should become indignant, at least not until the truth is more firmly established. What we need to do right now is be vigilant and sober. That is the reason why I am writing this. I want to respond to the supposed justifications the people in the story offered, and I want to provide a reminder of why we must continue to stand against the tide.

Friday, April 8, 2016

Was David as Terrible as He Seems?

As regular readers know, David has been a frequent subject of my posts. He is just such a compelling character, and his life offers so many illustrations, I can’t seem to get away from thinking about him for long. Fortunately for me, I am not the only one. I received a question this week about the life of David, and in particular, about his behavior in 1 Samuel 27.

Friday, April 1, 2016

Is Anything Lost in Translation?

The first Quest Forums discussion meeting is coming up this Sunday, and I have been thinking a lot about its topic. We are going to be talking about the Bible itself, which seems like a good place to start. My preparation has been to collect some information about its composition, its trustworthiness, and how to read it. The great thing is, there is no way for me to exhaust the subject in one hour. The real difficulty is in knowing what is most important for me to say in such a short time. It isn’t really up to me, though. Not entirely, anyway. The goal is to discuss questions, not just for me to get up and share information. Hopefully we get some interesting back-and-forth going.