Latest Blog Posts
Hebrew Whiteboard Update: Psalm 6:5-6
Urgent. Impassioned. God-centered. David’s prayer in Psalm 6:5-6 (Hebrew verse numbering) displays all three of these characteristics. In addition, he uses the literary skills God gifted him with in order to emphasize these three. Then David moves into the realm of the ungodly who have died to emphasize the fact that only in this life can one repent–after
Why is Bible translation an important missions ministry?
Churches and individuals too often neglect Bible translation as a missions ministry. After all, that’s something for the experts and for organizations like Wycliffe Bible Translators to handle, right? However, as long as churches remain committed to missionary evangelism and church planting they will need the Bible. Try doing missions ministries (spiritual ministries, not going to
My Recommendations: Book of the Week, May 1
For the past ten years I have had the great privilege and joy to take rafting trips through the Grand Canyon teaching from Genesis 1-11 about Creation and the Flood. Tom Vail, the founder of Canyon Ministries and a co-author of this book, has been one of my mentors in the canyon and has become a
Hebrew Whiteboard Update: Psalm 6:1-4
Psalms 3-7 all begin with God. David faces tremendous difficulties, some of them due to his own sin. Such disastrous experiences and perilous times make it nearly impossible to bear up under the weight pressing down upon him and the stress draining him. So what does he do?–he kneels, and prays. He turns to the
My Recommendations: Book of the Week, April 24
What Happened in the Garden: The Reality and the Ramifications of the Creation and Fall of Man, edited by Abner Chou (Kregel Academic, 2016) offers a collection of essays by Dr. John MacArthur and the faculty of The Master’s University. Its three parts consist of “Reality of Genesis 2-3,” “Theological Ramifications of the Creation and Fall,”
Hebrew Whiteboard
Structural or logical line diagramming serves as one of the chief means by which the exegete can identify verse structure in the Hebrew Bible. Since this method unlocks so much of the biblical text, I have begun a series of study helps in order to enable others to learn the method and to gain a better understanding of how it aids the
Hebrew Whiteboard Update: Psalm 5 Complete
The final two verses of Psalm 5 (vv. 12-13, Hebrew verse numbering) close out the psalm on a very high note. It expresses a climactic crescendo of rejoicing, a six-fold emphasis centering upon Yahweh Himself, and a series of parallels with the first stanza of the psalm (vv. 2-3, Hebrew verse numbering). A striking and memorable analogy completes this
Christ’s Resurrection and Missions
Resurrection Sunday has just passed and we have, hopefully, spent a significant amount of time contemplating the importance of our Savior’s resurrection from the dead. Our contemplation, however, might have neglected a key influence of Jesus’ resurrection with regard to His church: how the resurrection empowers, instructs, and provides the driving force for world missions in
My Recommendations: Book of the Week, April 17
The ministry of Bible translation has occupied a good portion of my own life and ministry. My shelf is filled with books about Bible translation and Bible versions, as well as Bibles in many languages. I first heard Dave Brunn speak about his book in a session he conducted at the national meetings of the Evangelical Theological
My Recommendations: Book of the Week, April 10
Have you been looking for a replacement for the magisterial Greatness of the Kingdom published years ago by Alva J. McClain? Look no farther. Dr. Michael Vlach’s He Will Reign Forever: A Biblical Theology of the Kingdom of God (Lampion Press, 2017) offers the most up-to-date treatment of the topic from a consistent dispensational viewpoint. This work goes beyond all