For six and a half years we worked our way through the Psalter psalm by psalm (Psalm 1 through Psalm 150). After reading each psalm at the start of our Sunday morning class, we then prayed sentence prayers based upon that psalm. Then, as I taught through the Hebrew Psalter in seminary courses exegeting each …
As I enter yet another time of remembrance at the death of another friend and colleague, the experience brings to mind a mosaic. Yes, a mosaic like those on the ancient synagogue floor in Sepphoris near Nazareth in Israel. Each mosaic comprises the artistic gathering of a variety of images into one overall theme. Inscriptions …
Praying the Psalms brings songs to the heart. As the psalmist speaks, his words join with the music arising from his harp like incense rising toward heaven. Nothing prepares us for corporate prayer like personal prayer. Nothing prepares us for personal prayer like putting the prayers of the psalmists into our own words. Above all …
In a fallen world filled with conflict, uncertainty, sorrow, death, and disease God’s people often face suffering. God’s Word in both Old and New Testaments offers hope. That hope comes through direct teaching, instructions, and commands as well as through multiple examples from the lives of saints who have lived long before us. Steve Swarz’s Strength …
“Understanding Bible Translation by Dr. William (Bill) Barrick reads like an autobiographical journey through 50 years of faithfulness to the centrality of Scriptures for evangelization and local church ministry. Weaving together his formal training at Bible College and Seminary (so thankful some of this was at Grace), 15 years of front-line Bible translation work, and a …
Understanding Bible Translation: Excerpt & Endorsement Read More »
Over the past month I have produced some blog posts for ParkingSpace23’s blog and The Master’s Academy International (TMAI). The following listing and links will take you to those blogs on the topic of Pauline missions strategy (and methodology) and the subject of the Christian living in a time of violence (engaging in politics and/or governmental response …
9Marks produces a lot of good books for pastors and church leaders. Jeramie Rinne’s Church Elders: How to Shepherd God’s People Like Jesus stands out as one of the best. Our board of church elders chose this book to read individually and discuss as a group chapter by chapter. We have found this little volume worth …
My Recommendations: Book of the Week, October 15 Read More »
Psalm 6:9-11 (Hebrew verse numbering) closes this psalm emphatically and dramatically. David’s depression has turned to triumphant confidence. His uncontrollable weeping and consuming fear finally disappear in his concentration upon Yahweh, his God. The Lord hears his weeping, hears his cry for a demonstration of divine grace, and accepts his prayer. What a glorious conclusion to those …
Psalm 6:7-8 (Hebrew verse numbering) describe David’s personal situation in vivid metaphors. As a result of his sin and his illness he has grown exhausted, reduced to weeping, and obviously severely depressed. This stanza of the psalm displays an opening tricolor, assonance, emphatic word order, repetition, and metaphor–all skillfully woven together to present what might be the …
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 …
