I was blessed to be able to work with brothers that I love to create Baptist21. Our purpose from the beginning was to engage younger Baptists in convention life, and I think in many ways, we have been able to do that. When we started almost a decade ago there were very little venues at the annual meeting that …
The Book of Daniel, among many other things, gives us a clear picture of the upside-down (from our perspective) reality of the Kingdom of God–Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted (Matt. 23:12). For in Daniel we see the most powerful ruler humbled, made to be like a beast, and the kingdom and glory given to …
Daniel had a prophetic vision of four beasts coming out of the sea (Daniel 7). The beasts stand symbolically for pagan kings or kingdoms. But who were they? Since the visions and dreams of Daniel 2, 7 and 8 are parallel, three of the four beasts were actually named in Daniel. The first beast was Babylon as named by Daniel …
Growing up with the Sunday School felt board Bible stories we’ve all heard of the three faithful Hebrews in the book of Daniel–Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego–who trusted in the Lord and refused to bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar’s statute. As a result, the king had them thrown into the fiery furnace. Far from being an isolated story, this account …
With all of the heated conversations I’ve heard concerning immigration and the refugee crisis (often brought to the forefront by this election cycle), I’ve been constantly reminded of the parable of the Good Samaritan Jesus tells in Luke 10:25–37. As Christians we have to be careful to think about these issues biblically, first and foremost not as an American or Republican/Democrat, …
“If I close the sky so there is no rain, or if I command the grasshopper to consume the land, or if I send pestilence on My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and …
When the people of Israel had been in slavery in Egypt, God used Moses to rescue them and return them to their homeland. That event was called the “Exodus.” However, the Old Testament prophesied that Israel would sin against God, once again end up captives outside the land, and then God would perform a “New Exodus” where he freed them …
When I talk with pastors about Christ-centered interpretation and preaching, I’m often told, “I resonate with what you’re saying, but I don’t know how to do it. I was never trained to read the Bible or preach it like that. How can I do it?” Obviously the answer to that question is complex and takes time, but there is …
I’ve been told before that I can be too “Jesus-y” because I think the whole Bible – every part of it – points to Jesus. So yes, I’m the crazy guy who sees Jesus “under every rock.” But the truth is that I’m even crazier than that. I don’t just think this about the whole Bible; I also think the …
Recently, I was convicted about my lack of scripture memorization. As much as I tried to convince myself that memorizing things is a very difficult task, my constant quoting of Friends episodes and Chris Farley movies from the 90’s contradicted my excuses. Our church was approaching a sermon series in Galatians, so I decided to attempt to commit the …
