Articles

Annual celebrations or holidays reveal brokenness within families and their need of redemption. Hannah’s story is such a story.  Early in Israel’s forty-year tenure in the wilderness, God instructs the community to set aside a number of days in their annual calendar to commemorate His activity on their behalf. Three of those feasts (holidays) require all of Israel to “appear before the Lord your God in the place which He shall choose” (Deuteronomy 16:16). Later, ... Read More

The Bible doesn’t give us a great deal of information about the devil. He appears in the first book of the Bible (Genesis 3), but we only know that it is he from the last book of the Bible (Rev. 12:9). He is the Serpent, the Tempter of Christ (Matthew 4:1, 3), and the leader of the forces that will marshal against God in the end of time (Rev. 20:8). The book that gives us the most information about the devil in the Old Testament, however, is the book of Job. Job gives us insights into h... Read More

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Alexander, T. D. From Paradise to the Promised Land. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002. Beale, G. K. The Temple and the Church's Mission: A biblical theology of the dwelling place of God. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press,  2004. Benware, Paul N. Survey of the New Testament. Chicago: Moody, 2003. ------. Survey of the Old Testament. Chicago: Moody, 2003. Chatham, James O. Creation to Revelation. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006. Chronological Guide to the Bible: Explore God’s Word in ... Read More

All chronological Bibles are not created equal! Why do publishers produce chronological Bibles that differ in their chronology? Each publisher has its own team of theologians who construct the timeline of the Bible according to their scholarship. The chronology that they develop is considered intellectual property of the publisher. How do I choose which chronological Bible to read? Tyndale offers three translations in their The ONE YEAR® Chronological Bible (NLT, NIV, and NKJV). The N... Read More

Have you ever bought a new novel, ripped out the chapters, reordered them, and then tried to read the novel as a story? Could you imagine the frustration? Such an approach makes no sense with a novel, but we have adopted this very method when we study the Bible. It is no surprise, then, that many become discouraged when reading the Bible. What if there was a different way to read Scripture—a way that brought order and understanding? What if you could know the storyline of the Bible an... Read More

The year is 930 BC. Forty years of relative stability have ended with a total collapse of government, as over 500 years of resentment and tribal differences have taken their toll on a fractured people. The nation of Israel has divided across lines of loyalty between Jeroboam in the north, and Rehoboam in the south. After a near miss in which Shemaiah the man of God kept Rehoboam from carrying an army northward to take back his kingdom, both kings have settled down to establish their bases of ... Read More

More than two billion people on planet earth call themselves Christians in some form or another. Evangelicals specifically claim to be followers of Jesus Christ and rest their faith in Him; they believe that He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died as a substitute for sinners on a Roman cross outside the city of Jerusalem, was buried, and was raised to life the third day. These truths—and faith in them—bring salvation to all who trust in Jesus as their Substitute. He is... Read More

A common complaint that non-Western cultures voice about Americans is that, if they want to make plans with us, they have to schedule everything two weeks in advance. With pressing work schedules, short vacations, a plethora of extracurricular activities, and the overriding sense of urgency, our lives leave no room for the lingering moment. We value the short, quick, and expedient. Sound-bytes dominate the airwaves, offering less and less while stealing more and more time, and the world moves... Read More

Leadership. The word itself conjures up martial and business images of take-charge, no-nonsense people who fight their way to the top even if they have to climb over the littered bodies of friends and co-workers. In fact, this mindset seems to epitomize the "American way." Is it possible, however, that we are wrong about the word? Does it really mean what we think it means? Three stories from the life of Jesus challenge our paradigm of leadership; rejecting the world’s model, ... Read More

One of the great values of reading through the Bible every year is the insight God gives over time. Each year new light shines on the pages of the Word, and each year God exposes some truth—there all along—that He holds in hand for the one who “listens daily to [Him], watching daily at [His] gates, waiting at the posts of [His] doors” (Prov. 8:34). Saul’s life offers lessons on leadership for those who learn by example and precept. Saul had the honor of reigning... Read More

Simon Peter is a wonderful disciple for many reasons, not least of which is his ordinariness. Peter had neither fame, riches, nor advanced educational opportunities. Peter made his living as a fisherman, an occupation that wasn’t at the bottom of the food chain but at the same time was certainly not at the top. He excelled at what he did, and his livelihood provided a house large enough to care for his extended family (Luke 4:38). He knew his business well and would have stayed with it ... Read More