Latest Posts

The next reflection, “Submit, Resist, Draw Near, Wash, and Be Purified” (13 mins), explores James 4:7-8, with some additional material from a previous message, “Jesus & Politics.” . James 4:7-8… Read More

Christian Ray Flores  How do we overcome trauma and transcend it? The Phoenix has endured as a symbol of rebirth across many ancient cultures My first childhood memories are from… Read More

To listen to “The Worldly Church” (15 mins), the 24th reflection in our series, click, on the play arrow. . James 4:4-6 The adultery referred to in James 4:4 refers… Read More

To listen to “Waging War,” our 23rd reflection on James, click on the play arrow. The talk runs 12 mins. . James 4:1-3 Context: link with chapter 3 – peaceful… Read More

Click the arrow to hear the book of James read in the NASB (15 mins) . To appreciate James and the logical flow of the letter, it is vital to… Read More

. Begin the New Year grounded in the Word and inspired by the message. Forty Days with James (the brother of Jesus) will take us through this powerful letter by… Read More

Click to listen to today’s reflection (14 mins). It’s called “Genuine Wisdom.” . James 3:17-19 In 1st-century Palestine, James was a force for unity and peace. “James is burdened with… Read More

Our 20th reflection on James is “Pseudo-Wisdom.” Click the play arrow to listen to the talk (11 mins). . James 3:13-16 Intro In our next 2 reflections, James considers two… Read More

Podcasts are added every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. You can check them out anywhere you normally listen to podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Podcast & Radio Addict (at Google Play Store),… Read More

Reflection 19, on James 3:9-12, is titled “Cursing & Praise” (14 mins). . James 3:9-12 So many images in this chapter: (tongue), bit, rudder, spark, taming (animals), poison, spring, fig… Read More

To hear reflection 18, on James 3:7-8, “The Untamable” (12 mins), click on the play arrow.   Reminders: All of chapter 3 addresses the tongue, and has special relevance for and… Read More

To hear “The Rudder,” on James 3:3-5 (10 mins), just click on the play arrow.   .Review: “The Tongue of the Teacher: (no. 16) James 3:1 applies to all Christian… Read More

Click on the play arrow to hear “The Tongue of the Teacher” (15 mins) on James 3:1-2. . James 3:1-2 What is the context of James’s warning? James is the… Read More

To listen to the reading of James 1-5 in the popular paraphrase The Message (15 mins), click on the play arrow. Next: We begin James 3—with important insights on spiritual leadership.

To listen to today’s talk (12 mins), Faith without Deeds (3): “The Epistle of Straw” . Luther’s translation of the N.T. (1522) Separated 4 books from the other books of… Read More

To hear Faith Without Deeds (part 2), “The Magic Wand & the Touch” (14 mins), simply click on the play arrow below. . Further comments on Jas 2:14-26: Re: deeds… Read More

If you are interested in taking part in the biblical training program AIM UK & IRELAND, please click on this link. Principal teachers: Malcolm Cox, Andy Boakye, Douglas Jacoby (see… Read More

Why Atheists Need Faith By Paul Caron Wall Street Journal op-ed:  Why Atheists Need Faith, by Michael Guillen (Author, Believing Is Seeing: A Physicist Explains How Science Shattered His Atheism and Revealed the Necessity of… Read More

To listen to today’s talk (12 mins), click on the play arrow. It’s Faith without Deeds (part 1): “Cold Deeds with Warm Words.”   Notes on James 2:14-26: The word… Read More

To listen to reflection 11, “The Royal Law,” on James 2:8-13 (13 mins), just click on the play arrow below. Why is this a “royal” law? It’s the Law of… Read More

Click on the arrow to hear “Oppressors & Oppressed” (13 mins), for Day 10 of our series. Intro Was Jesus a “carpenter” (Mark 6:3, Matt 13:55)? Tekton = builder. “Carpenter,” esp…. Read More

Click on the arrow to hear the 9th reflection in our series, “The Chair & the Floor” (11 mins). Intro Might we have a wrong view of religion – could… Read More

To hear the recording (16 mins), please click on the arrow. Interesting facts about James James appears immediately after Acts in many early NTs. Some scholars think James was the… Read More

Do you think the remains of James the Just are in the church of St. James of Compostela (Santiago de Compostela) in Spain?  Reply from Joseph Harris (Augusta, GA):  No,… Read More

To hear “Pure Religion” (12 mins), click on the play arrow.   There are five important themes in the latter part of James 1 (vs.19-27), the first three of which… Read More

To hear the message of Day 6 in the James series, “Listening & Looking” (15 mins), click the play arrow below.   The next two sections in James (today’s offering plus… Read More

Reflection 5, “God’s Perfect Gifts,” unpacks James 1:16-18. To listen to the talk (13 mins), click on the play arrow below.   Don’t be deceived. Don’t crack and crumble under the… Read More

For today’s reflection, “Victors, not Victims,” on James 1:13-16a (14 mins), click play below.   The trials of chapter 1 probably refer to persecution. Don’t give up! When we give up,… Read More

Listen to the reflection on James 1:9-12, “Pride vs. Humility” (14 mins):   The man James In the NT, James is by far the most significant (half-)brother of Jesus (Matthew 13:55,… Read More

Listen to the reflection on James 1:1-8, Pure Joy vs. Double Mind (11 mins): 1:1—the 12 Tribes = Christians (see Gal 6:16), probably from a Jewish background. The nature of James: A letter? A… Read More

The audio recording is a reading of the entire book of James, in the NIV. (14 mins) .  Resonance: Sermon on Mount (man phrases, and at least 6 points of… Read More

Learning from the LionA new podcast Learning from the Lion Tomorrow morning my new pod goes live. A daily devotional series based on the gospel of Mark. Why not start… Read More

Introduction C.S. Lewis used the term ‘a great cataract of nonsense’ to describe how people use a modern idea to construe Bible theology. One such example, perhaps the best example,… Read More

   Dear Discipleship-first friends,A logical fallacy is when you make an argument based on reasoning that’s just plain wrong. In a previous article, I argued Jesus taught that logical fallacies are… Read More

The Unifying Hope of the Nativity – B. Bradley and S. Tesar Before the Thanksgiving meal is cleared from the table, Christmas decorations are hauled out from attics and basements everywhere,… Read More

December 20, 2021  Jefrey D. Breshears “In the Fullness of Time” In Galatians 4:4 the apostle Paul writes that “In the fullness of time” God sent forth his Son to… Read More

AUTHOR Greg Koukl Published on 5/1/2013 https://www.str.org/w/two-miracles A Christian’s theology is minimally defined by two miraculous events. The first miracle no one ever saw, because it The first miracle no… Read More

Scott Elliott, a Texas minister, explains what this hit show about Jesus gets right. Scott Elliott Growing up in church is a great blessing, but it also means we know… Read More

I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. So I ran over and said “Stop! Don’t do… Read More

The story of the Black Death is the story of a perfect storm. A massive pandemic and plague that devastated humanity. It is the tale of a lethal bacterium that… Read More

The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara. At the time the area was Greek and is now on… Read More

A thoughtful American sister recently asked what I thought of evangelical scholar David P. Gushee’s Changing Our Mind: Definitive 3rd Edition of the Landmark Call for Inclusion of LGBT Christians with Response… Read More

Paul Copan Paul Copan is a Christian theologian, analytic philosopher, apologist, and author. He is currently a professor at the Palm Beach Atlantic University and holds the endowed Pledger Family… Read More

December 06, 2021 by: John Piper A Mysterious Star O​​ver and over, the Bible baffles our curiosity about just how certain things happened. How did this “star” get the magi from… Read More

What is the 10/40 Window? The Moroccan Arabs in Morocco are a large unreached people groups in the 10/40 Window.   The 10/40 Window is the rectangular area of North Africa, the… Read More

By Krista Wenzel On Monday evening I went to see the much anticipated documentary film, Patterns of Evidence: Exodus by filmmaker Tim Mahoney and Thinking Man Films. Filmaker Tim Mahoney in Luxor,… Read More

Art by Catherine Williamson | Learn more at www.catherinescolors.com “The extraordinary thing that is about to happen is matched only by the extraordinary moment just before it happens. Advent is the name… Read More

  Carefully Steward Your Power The following post are excerpts from “Emotionally Healthy Leader: How Transforming Your Inner Life Will Deeply Transform Your Church, Team, and the World” by Peter… Read More

​ I grew up in the late 70’s and the 80’s. I remember when everything was Satanic. Rock music was Satanic. Movies were Satanic. He-Man was Satanic. Even Johnson &… Read More

January Refreshment is Coming…. I know it’s only the start of December, but it’s never too early to start thinking about what’s coming round the corner. The seasonal rush will… Read More

​ ​ ​ What is the gospel? Why aren’t more Christians making disciples? The answers to these two questions are inextricably linked. Our definition of the gospel will affect if… Read More

From Mike: GratitudeSeveral new donors have joined us. Thank you!  ActivitiesIn November, the majority of my work involved editing a chapter I wrote, “Did Jesus think he was God?” that… Read More

All classes from 27 November’s UK Teaching Conference are now available. This highly interactive session involved participants from 12 countries. The principal speakers were Andy Boakye (Manchester), Malcolm Cox (Watford),… Read More

1095 Pope Urban II orders first Crusade On November 27, 1095, Pope Urban II makes perhaps the most influential speech of the Middle Ages, giving rise to the Crusades by… Read More

One of the classes I attended at the 2021 Evangelical Theological Society’s annual meeting was “Archaeology and the Exodus.” For several decades some biblical scholars have denied the historicity of… Read More

eventbrite From Douglas Jacoby: Brothers and sisters, if you’re in the UK and would like to participate in what I believe will be a truly encouraging event, please consider joining… Read More

Watch this short video and see! What People Are Saying about the Biblical Study Tours

Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason exposes the faults in the challenge that the details about Jesus came from taking bits and pieces from ancient mythologies.

Joy Fueled – Guilt or Joy? The following excerpt from chapter three of Joy Fueled is posted by permission from co-author Dr. Kent Smith from Abilene Christian University. Posted November… Read More

 On October 4, I debated atheist New Testament scholar Dennis MacDonald. For two decades, MacDonald has been contending that the Gospels are almost entirely literary fictions, created to imitate and… Read More

Feast on God’s Word Jesus insists, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4, quoting Deut. 8:3). As bodies… Read More

Author Greg Koukl Published on 11/01/2021 This wise man fought for justice, championing the cause of the poor and the oppressed. He rejected organized religion, showing tolerance—not judgment—for the outcast… Read More

Christians must reclaim Jesus from his church. By Peter Wehner, Oct 24, 2021 About the author: Peter Wehner is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy… Read More

I’m delighted to promote a new course on Apologetics from Genesis 1-11 crafted by my friend Arturo Elizarrarás, Evangelista y Maestro de la Biblia (Mexico City). The series is in Spanish. View… Read More

In ‘A Church Called Tov,’ Scot McKnight and Laura Barringer argue that churches can be places of love and healing. Jennifer Shewmaker Sharp divides have split congregants at the 2021… Read More

October 2021 Video Highlights The Short of It: One-Minute Video Some of today’s most commonly-quoted and best-loved Bible verses are frequently taken out of context. One example is Philippians 4:13: “I can… Read More

Meaningful Membership What is church membership? It’s the commitment Christians make to keep one another accountable for regularly gathering and centering their lives together on the gospel. That commitment and… Read More

Iconic Christian Teachers Their Expertise, Platforms, and Styles By Steve Staten Books and films hold up eminent teachers for their contributions to public education and academia. These individuals capture the… Read More

I Have A Better Idea – Francis Chan Written by Francis Chan, Until Unity, Page 67-68 (digital book – Scribd), 2021 Sometimes the dream of a united church feels unattainable,… Read More

Eddie Jaku, holocaust survivor, shares his inspiring story (at age 99). He passed away at 101 in 2021. Watch this Ted talk (less than 12 minutes), along with the transcript… Read More

A member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses church, his beliefs prevent him from bearing weapons and from joining any organisations intended for war. So at age 20, he refused to attend… Read More

This article is part of the ESV 20th Anniversary series. This year we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the publication of the English Standard Version. In this article, you will hear the… Read More

If you missed The Genius of Jesus’ Teaching, with Dr. Peter J. Williams, the recordings have graciously been released by FOCL. American Friends of Tyndale House is pleased to share the… Read More

The Bema Podcast has been very helpful in providing the Jewish / Eastern context of the Scriptures, as well as many things I have missed for many years. It has… Read More

I have a question about John 1:19-28. I noticed that the priests and Levites asked John the Baptist whether he is the Messiah, Elijah or the Prophet, multiple times. Additionally,… Read More

I’m inspired by the teachings of “Christian Spirituality,” found at https://www.glz.org/en/knowledge/introduction. Much is well explained in the many books that I am currently working through (transcriptions of medium transmissions in deep trance). In… Read More

I was reading an article [by Richard Rohr, an American priest focusing on spirituality] and came across the following explanation of metanoia, and it surprised me. “Remember, presence does not happen in the… Read More

Guest Q&A from John Oakes, of evidenceforchristianity.org. Recently, a friend who is a minister in a Christian church was approached by a few members to sign a request for a… Read More

Read this article, by Sam Laing, here.

The latest article in this series explains Biblical Justice and compares it to other justice philosophies of the world. CLICK HERE for the article.

The Rise of the Liberal Latter-day Saints And the battle for the future of Mormonism (Pete Ryan for The Washington Post) By Emily Kaplan Photos by Katherine Frey Tom Jones:… Read More

CGU Podcast on our website CLICK HERE  CGU YouTube Channel CLICK HERE See past CGU essays  CLICK HERE          To find out more about the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement (who or what it… Read More

The Nature of Christian Unity: Historical Understandings of Churches of Christ Written by Douglas A. Foster, The below are excerpts from a paper presented at the Stone-Campbell Dialogue in June… Read More

A few years back J. Warner Wallace and I spoke with a dozen pastors who were skeptical about the importance of apologetics. I followed Jim—which is not an easy task—and… Read More

Great Evidences Book     Richard Knopp Today I want to tell you about a new work of Christian apologetics (defense of the faith). It’s Truth God: What Can We… Read More

A Church Called TOV (Good) Review written by John Teal, September 17, 2021 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was… Read More

Britain’s first drunk driving arrest, according to History.com, took place in 1897, when a taxi driver slammed into a building at a speed of 25 mph. It’s obviously a good… Read More

SPENDING TIME WITH GOD, PART 2 Adapted from Part 1 of Be Still My Soul Spending time with God outside our usual routine and environment is helpful and essential in developing intimacy with Him. We see… Read More

Most adult US Christians don’t believe Holy Spirit is real: study By Leonardo Blair, Christian Post Reporter Parishioners of Lakewood Church led by Pastor Joel Osteen pray together during a service… Read More

DR. JAMES GORMAN – SLAVERY’S LONG SHADOW Here is a conversation that Nadine Templer and I had with James Gorman on the impact of slavery on our culture and our… Read More

Does God actually hate divorce, as we have often heard? The older rendering of Malachi 2:16, “I hate divorce,” is taken to imply that the Lord disapproves of all divorce… Read More

United but with Disagreements Written by Alan Rouse – repost from christianunityblog.net  / Editors note: While Alan addresses a current point of disagreement, this essay provides biblical guidelines for any disagreement. Thank… Read More

The following is a study conducted by the Oak Hills Church (San Antonio) on the role of women in the church. It’s a great study, not so much for the… Read More

I’ve had reservations regarding the COVID-19 vaccine, and believe Satan has been attacking me with doubt, through the scripture about “the mark of the beast.” I keep thinking about how… Read More

by Sam Laing, June 12, 2021 In this article, I am excited to introduce a new series based on my book Be Still My Soul: A Practical Guide to a Deeper Relationship… Read More

Thanks for getting back to me. I recently listened to one of your audio CDs. It was the disc about atheism in “From Facts to Faith.” My question concerns your claim about… Read More

Tell me, Douglas: I want to “up my game” in memorising scripture. Is there any good literature you can refer me to where I can learn effective techniques? There are… Read More

Video: Panel discusses how Christians should respond to same-sex marriage | The Christian Chronicle In a special live event Monday, The Christian Chronicle’s Editorial Board talked to Sally Gary and… Read More

In Luke 4:23 we read “… You will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself’…” Do you know the origin of this proverb? – B.B. I don’t know its origin, though… Read More

The Qur’an mentions prophets being sent to other nations, and records dialogues with the nations, but where in the Bible is it recorded that Iddo, Jonah, Joel, Obadiah, Habakkuk, and… Read More

What Can We Learn from the Jerusalem Council? Reprinted from https://ca.thegospelcoalition.org/columns/ad-fontes/what-can-we-learn-from-the-jerusalem-council/ Paul Carter, July 27, 2020   The Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 provides a fascinating window into the way… Read More

By J. Richard Middleton On July 28, 2021 This is the first in a four-part series as biblical scholar J. Richard Middleton answers the often-asked question, How should we interpret biblical genealogies? In this… Read More

  EDITORIAL   Editorial: Same-sex marriage and gender questions ‘As the culture around us shifts, we remain committed to the spiritual design of marriage.’ Continue reading here.

    DIALOGUE   To affirm or not? That is the question As same-sex marriage gains increasing societal acceptance, how should Christians respond?  

New post on Stepping into the Jordan The Deconstruction Zone by Rob Kranz My wife recently confided to a friend that “she couldn’t talk to me about the Bible anymore.” I… Read More

June/July 2021 • Volume 50, Number 6/7 • Abigail Shrier Abigail Shrier Author, Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters Abigail Shrier is a journalist and author. She received her A.B. from Columbia College,… Read More

New Perspectives Vol. 37 Strength in Weakness is a place to connect, a place to feel seen, heard and valued… we find strength in connection. READ A Parent’s Story Loving Our Transgender… Read More

OPINION Image via Pixabay.com Writer recounts the night church stopped being her safe place. Deana Nall Correspondent I was only 13. I was in eighth grade at a Christian school… Read More

The day of small things “Who dares despise the day of small things…..?” (Zechariah 4:10) The story of Christianity is the story of the underdog. It is the story of… Read More

Where can we find hope? Watch this sneak peek of Thursday’s conversation, Being Human with Jane Goodall and Francis Collins This is the textbook definition of being out of one’s league—but, wow, was… Read More

New post on Stepping into the Jordan Does the Old Testament Matter? by Rob Kranz A few years ago, a well-known American evangelical pastor made headlines for writing a book in which… Read More

(It seems fair to say we Christians don’t do very well when it comes to hashing out difficult topics—at least without descending into quarreling or acrimony. This is largely (I… Read More

Barry Hankins | The Guardian Rightwing Southern Baptists believe they must ‘save’ white Christian America by embracing Trumpism. A more moderate faction just won control – by the tightest of… Read More

Written by Derrick Jones, July 3, 2021 On the surface, the above title might sound like a good thing, but in my view, it is not. Let me elaborate on… Read More

The Story: A majority of pastors believe it’s important to incorporate patriotic elements in worship services during July Fourth weekend. Yet a majority also believe their congregation sometimes seems to… Read More

We welcome you to take a look at the 2021-2023 Academic Catalogue for the Rocky Mountain School of Ministry & Theology, including its mission, vision and philosophy. CLICK HERE.

Summer solstice, 2021 In our corner of the northern hemisphere, this week’s solstice has brought amazingly long days—with first light at 3:26 am and last light at 11:06 pm. Everyone’s… Read More

Providing authentic answers to questions about the resurrection of Jesus and the historical reliability of the Gospels www.risenjesus.com NABEEL QURESHI Author, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus Mike Licona was instrumental in… Read More

Strength in Weakness: An Interview with Dr. Douglas Jacoby on “Gay and Christian?” The following interview appears in Guy Hammond’s new book, Gay and Christian? How Pro-Gay Theology is Crashing… Read More

by Greg Koukl Pronouns matter. I realize they seem like inconsequential little things—him, her, he, she. No big deal. But if pronouns really were “inconsequential little things,” then why has… Read More

​ Discipleship-first Friends, Today’s guest blogger is John Whittaker. John has spent 30 years as a pastor and Bible college professor, and helped thousands of people follow Jesus by learning… Read More

Stepping into the Jordan And Your Little Dog Too! by Rob Kranz Tone of voice can make all the difference. Is a statement meant to be serious? Humorous? Sarcastic? Without other… Read More

. When Otoma Edje approached me a few months ago and asked if I’d like to join an interview with Kristin du Mez (Calvin University), I declined. My slate was full, and… Read More

BioLogos Insights on Faith & Science The Bible is the foundation of our Christian faith and knowing what it means can sometimes be a challenge. It was written for us, to speak to… Read More

I recently took an afternoon to hang out with a pastor friend of mine. Nice guy. But the impression he left me with as I got on the highway to… Read More

By Fiona Veitch Smith I first considered writing a children’s book dealing with the intersection of science and faith when my daughter had just turned 10. She went to a state… Read More

About the Webinar Pro-gay theology is a relatively new phenomenon in the debate of sexual ethics. Its advocates have propagated the notion that an individual can participate in homosexuality while being… Read More

Insights on Faith & Science Biologos has produced a series of short animated videos, designed to ask the big questions. Like the one asked of Francis Collins early in his career as a… Read More

Relational Unity Written by Alan Rouse, May 29, 2021 Here is holy ground; here is the gate of heaven. No such prayer was ever heard before or since. It could… Read More

​ Thou Shalt Not be a Jerk: Eugene Cho LEE CAMP *  PODCAST New on the Tokens Podcast: ​ Eugene Cho is a Korean-born immigrant to the United States and now… Read More

Greg Koukl and Tim Barnett talk about some negative reactions they’ve received (and seen others receive) to their Christian convictions and give some thoughts on how to respond. Watch Greg… Read More

Wallace Henley, former Senior Associate Pastor of 2nd Baptist Church in Houston, Texas.  | Photo by Scott Belin The Church of Scotland’s General Assembly will soon consider a proposal to erase… Read More

Has the Cross Lost its Shame? by Rob Kranz Two weeks ago, I received my MA in Old Testament from Abilene Christian University, which is another step towards my goal. My path,… Read More

. I. Meeting the Kandos How much do you know about the Dead Sea Scrolls? If you’re like most people, you have heard of these ancient artifacts. Most people leave it… Read More

Daniel McCoy | Bio *Editor’s Note: For Part 1 (“How to Read the Bible like a Progressive”), click here. In 2014, the late Rachel Held Evans wrote an autobiographical account called Faith Unraveled. It… Read More

Economy of Grace: An Early Christian Take on Vulnerable Mission, by P. Kent Smith Contextualizing principles like those identified by Vulnerable Mission may be used to avoid creating unhealthy dependency…. Read More

By P. Kent Smith What will it take for Americans to come to know God for who God really is? In the face of the epidemic distractions presented by American… Read More

We’re about to Make a Big Mistake – Reflections on Rebecca McLaughlin’s “The Secular Creed” Daniel McCoy | Bio In describing the big mistake our culture is making, I’m going to point… Read More

Following is a question I’ve come across only twice in my life, but it’s a good one, emerging from a Western cultural perspective, and deserves a response. It has to… Read More

  “the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.” (Psalm 139,12) Darkness can be terrifying. It contains the potential for great danger. A female friend… Read More

OTHER WORLDVIEWS Freedom Fading Greg Koukl Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn—Russian dissident, 10-year forced-labor Soviet Gulag inmate, Nobel Laureate, Christian—lamented the “fallacious belief” that “here such things are impossible,” that totalitarianism could not… Read More

Men and Women in Eschatological Perspective: A look at Inaugurated Eschatology in the Understanding of Major NT Gender Passages There have been a multitude of articles and books written on… Read More

http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/lessons-from-dunning-kruger/#more-7303 . Not sure how I found this, and I’m not really a reader of psychology blogs, but I found this to be very interesting. I’m not sending to you… Read More

journey together. humbly. respectfully. We’re Excited to Announce our Spanish Website A Message from Guy Hammond, Executive Director of Strength in Weakness Ministries A Message from Rolando Gonzalez, Leader of… Read More

Written by John Teal, April 24, 2021 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry…. Read More

How to read the Bible like a progressive—is that really a good idea? No, I’m not suggesting you try this. In fact, I’m going to suggest that you learn how… Read More

“The One Thing” by John Porter At the end of your life, if you could pick one thing that you would like to have accomplished, what would that one thing… Read More

Click 2021 New Releases for the most recent releases from Illumination Publishers.

Click below for this extensive, and continually developing, bibliography, for the reading Christian. Helpful Books 1 Aug 2021  Version XXIX

In 1 Corinthians 15:4 I read about Christ “that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” What scripture was Paul referring to? —… Read More

Does the Roman Catholic church correctly interpret the nature of the eucharist [the Lord’s Supper]? Is Christ’s body sacrificed in this ceremony? My friend told me that’s not what they teach…. Read More

REAL LIFE WITH GUY HAMMOND Four Strategies to Living a LIFE of Daily PEACE Strategy #1 Spend time with people who will complete you, not those who will deplete you. Take just 10 mins… Read More

At the end of your life, if you could pick one thing that you would like to have accomplished, what would that one thing be? Generally people do not answer… Read More

Bobby Harrington | Bio *Editor’s Note: “The Historical Evidence for the Death, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus” was originally released in 2019 and we’re bringing it back to everyone’s attention at an… Read More

Here you will find a talk plus notes on Easter (7 minutes). To download the podcast, right click on “download” and select “save link as” or “save target as” and you… Read More

I. FOUNDING In the wake of the Second Great Awakening, many sects emerged in 19th century America. A combination of religious liberty and a strong spirit of individualism fostered numerous… Read More

Treating Every Person with Dignity, Kindness and Respect, While Standing for Biblical Truth Can a Person be Gay and a Christian at the Same Time? One of the greatest problems facing… Read More

Join us for a conversation. Common Grounds Unity presents this conversation with Dr. Nick Zola & Dr. Douglas Jacoby on Saturday, March 20. Details on the flyer. Zoom meeting link… Read More

The following is a response to my podcast “Jesus & Politics” from a thoughtful brother one generation behind me. I listened to your talk “Jesus in politics,” and I couldn’t agree… Read More

It’s time to bestow America’s highest civilian honor on the renowned civil rights attorney and preacher. Trindi G. Mitchell Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and John Lewis are three… Read More

How can we know we’re in Jesus’ kingdom, and live in it with his intensity? In Colossians 1:13 the apostle Paul assures us that God has brought us into the kingdom of… Read More

If Jesus is real, why are there so many different churches? Because there are many different Jesuses (2 Cor 11:4)! The only way to know we are following the real… Read More

Does Jesus’ appointment of 12 apostles connect to the 12 tribes of Israel?  Yes, indeed. The 12 patriarchs (Levi, Judah, Benjamin, Dan…) were the 12 sons of Jacob, whose covenant name… Read More

Why did Jesus speak Aramaic and not Hebrew?    Why don’t Italians still speak Latin? Why don’t Britons speak Middle English—or even early Modern English (Shakespeare, KJV)? Because languages are constantly… Read More

Any thought on the hair length of Jesus as he is currently portrayed, in light of historical norms? In far too many films and works of art, Jesus is portrayed… Read More

Since most atheists require evidence, what would be the best way to approach them, aside from using scripture? Why not the way Paul approached the Athenians (Acts 17), or the… Read More

Famous Christians 2: Patrick Here are a podcast plus notes on St. Patrick’s Day (8 minutes). To download the podcast, right click on “download” and select “save link as” or “save target… Read More

BibleBrew https://www.biblebrewpodcast.com/ Available on Spotify (Coming soon to Apple Podcast as well….) Instagram: @biblebrew BibleBrew is a space for respectful dialogue as we journey through 21st century popular topics such… Read More

The following contribution is from J. Tyrone Marcus, author of Unbeatable! Seven Pillars of Personal Excellence and co-teacher in the Damian Jean-Baptiste Caribbean School of Ministry. You can follow his… Read More

Hugh Hewitt begins In, But Not Of—his wonderful handbook for cultivating one’s professional life as a force for Christ—with these words: The effective and mass communication of the gospel depends upon… Read More

Written by Clint Mosley, February 27, 2021 As we close out Black History month, I will call our attention to a pair of individuals who embodied an exemplary posture of… Read More

What was Jesus’s approach to politics? And what are the implications for us today? Opening thoughts     Politics is the management of power. Dictionary def: “the activities associated with the governance… Read More

Dr. Francis Collins, NIH Director and founder of BioLogos, receives the Moderna COVID-19 vaccinee. Should you get the COVID vaccine? Many Christians are saying “no” or “not yet.” Here are… Read More

James: background There are many Jameses in the Bible. This translates the original name Jacob. This James is the younger brother of Jesus (the 2nd of Mary’s 5 sons). Ya’akov was… Read More

February 2021 If Jesus is God, and Jesus is praying to God, then Jesus must be praying . . . to himself. Well, if that’s what you think, this video… Read More

From Wikipedia: “Panentheism (‘all in God’), from the Greek πᾶν, pân, ‘all,’ ἐν, en, ‘in,’ and Θεός, theós, ‘God’) is the belief that the divine pervades and interpenetrates every part… Read More

This world has so many problems. We try to solve them through political means and through our freedoms to protest—and even aggressively comment about our leaders. When we think about… Read More

“As you can no doubt imagine, we often say in despair, ‘What’s the point of the war? Why, oh, why can’t people live together peacefully? Why all this destruction?’ “The… Read More

To listen to CLEAN podcast 28, Eutychus (15 minutes), click on arrow. To download and listen later, right click here and choose ‘save target as’ or ‘save link as’. Introductory The miracle will take… Read More

I recently came across something claiming to be “The Very First Bible.” It claims to be an authentic translation. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this—whether we need to know… Read More

Listen to The Dangers of Critical Theory from Reasonable Faith Podcast on Apple Podcasts. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dangers-of-critical-theory/id252618197?i=1000451243699

To listen to CLEAN podcast 27, Tabitha (Dorcas) (13 minutes), click on arrow. To download and listen later, right click here and choose ‘save target as’ or ‘save link as’. Introductory Today’s reanimation is well-known… Read More

Review: ‘Irreversible Damage’ by Abigail Shrier JANUARY 29, 2021  |  SHARON JAMES “Dancing mania” hit the city of Strasbourg in 1518, and some people danced until they died of exhaustion. Numerous children… Read More

The Torah intimately connects justice and righteousness: If we don’t treat our fellow humans justly, our religion is a sham. In Isaiah’s time, God’s people are spiritually unhealthy—at an all-time… Read More

The Glory of the Lord We’ve covered a lot of territory—66 chapters of the Word of God (5.5% of the entire Bible), rich in content, metaphor, and power. As we… Read More

Social media has become an inferno of insults and anger. And sometimes even professing Christians add to the rage without thinking about the foolishness of spewing verbal abuses. We need… Read More

No Eye Has Seen, No Ear Has Heard… The people’s prayer, which began in chapter 63, continues… 64:7—The Jews request Yahweh to come in judgment / vindication. Touching the mountaintops alludes… Read More

Plandemic? QAnon? Bill Gates creating COVID-19? As the novel coronavirus has traveled around the world, so too have conspiracy theories about the origins of the disease and the winners and… Read More

If you had asked me ten years ago whether evangelicals would ever give up ground on the issue of homosexuality, I would have said “no way!” Sure, the evangelical movement… Read More

To listen to CLEAN podcast 25, Jairus & Daughter (13 minutes), click on arrow. To download and listen later, right click here and choose ‘save target as’ or ‘save link as’. Introduction Review: There are three… Read More

Trampling Out the Grapes of Wrath Chapters 62-66 pick up a number of themes from the first few chapters of Isaiah. Try to listen out for them—see how many you can… Read More

Zion’s Day Dawns* In the previous reflection we saw that caring for the poor isn’t just an add-on to our Christian discipleship. (“… If you pour yourself out for the hungry… Read More

​ ​ ​​ ​ Dear Discipleship-first Friends, This post is part of series by Discipleship.org leadership, which gives reasons why we believe that Jesus-style disciple making is the best path forward for… Read More

True Fasting, Wickedness, Justice & Judgment In Isaiah 56-57, there is a strong contrast between the unity of the Lord’s people (56:1-8) and division in the present community (56:9-57:21). Similarly,… Read More

A House of Prayer for All Nations 56:1-8—Justice and righteousness intimately connected. “Son of man” (v.2) is a Hebraic expression meaning mortal. No one is excluded, e.g. foreigners and eunuchs…. Read More

Join in for this webinar sponsored by Tutku Tours on January 30, 2021, 9-11am, EST. Click here for the pdf with the speakers & topics. TUTKU EDUCATIONAL TRAVEL Israel, Jordan,… Read More

Christ, New Jerusalem, Fresh Start We now come to the 4th Servant Song. But who exactly is the servant this time? It can’t be Israel. He appears to be a… Read More

Awake and Depart! We now enter a new section of Isaiah (chapters 49-55), where there is no Babylon or even mention of Cyrus. The servant figure becomes more prominent – three… Read More

Potter, Predator, Peace Context:  Cyrus has claimed to be divinely appointed by Yahweh to free the Jewish exiles, resettle Judah, rebuild the Jerusalem temple, and reign over his people. 45:9—The… Read More

The Servant of the Lord & a Pagan Messiah  42:1-8—Behold (= lo, in Middle English)—Look at this! This behold is part of a much longer series, and contrasts with my… Read More