Preparing a new sermon on 2 Thessalonians last week, I carried a photocopy of the Greek text into the gym with me (as I often do). For about an hour, I couldn't make it past the first two words of the letter: "Paul and..."2 Thessalonians 1:1 And. Such a seemingly insignificant word. The ESV replaces … Continue reading The Blessing of “And”
On March 20, 1747, a twenty-nine year old David Brainerd said goodbye to his congregation of Delaware Indians for the last time. His long battle with tuberculosis ended in Northhampton, Massachusetts, on a bed in the home of Jonathan Edwards. He passed away October 9, 1747. Brainerd had been a missionary for only four years. … Continue reading 2.6 — David Brainerd and Power in Weakness
I've got a couple of articles up at The Gospel Coalition and Southern Seminary's blog Southern Equip on two totally different topics, with two totally different tones. The first explores chiasm and symmetry in Scripture. The second shares personal testimony about my own struggles in the early years of ministry and the hope I found … Continue reading New Posts @ TGC and Southern Equip: ‘Chiasms’ and ‘Hope’
In 1861, Hudson Taylor contracted a serious illness, forcing him to leave behind a fledging church of 21 believers in Ningpo, China, and return to England in hope of recovery. While away, the lost souls of inland China plagued Hudson’s conscience: “The feeling of blood guiltiness became more and more intense…every day tens of thousands … Continue reading 2.5 — Hudson Taylor and A Heart for the Lost
N O T I C EPersons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot will be shot. BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR, Per G. G., Chief of Ordnance With this unilateral prohibition, Mark Twain warns … Continue reading Huck Finn and the Providential Benefit of a Good Novel
Today 3,700 Baptist congregations in Myanmar trace their origins to the ministry of one man: Adoniram Judson. The only Burmese Bible in existence was translated by this Baptist missionary. Hundreds were set free from the oppression of Buddhism during his lifetime, many missionaries were raised up, and a legacy of gospel proclamation was laid in … Continue reading 2.4 — Adoniram Judson and Counting the Cost
“And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God...” 1 Thessalonians 2:13 Whether we will admit it or not, we come to the Bible … Continue reading Who Wrote the Bible?
