by Barney | Feb 25, 2017 | Bible
What are the most fundamental rules for interpreting the Bible? Here are some ways it is often formulated: A passage cannot mean now what it didn’t mean then. We must put a text in its cultural-historical context. The goal is to discover what the biblical author...
by Barney | Sep 3, 2015 | Bible
“The blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” – 1 John 1:7 “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be...
by Jen Smith | Aug 31, 2015 | Bible
I often hear the Bible characterized as an instruction manual. But instruction manuals are mono-layered, have a single purpose and method. If I want real, life-giving, applicable, intimate advice, I don’t go to my IKEA flat-pack furniture manual, I go to a close...
by Barney | Aug 27, 2015 | Bible
A Reflection on Ephesians 1:17-23 Paul tells the Ephesians that Jesus has been seated “far above every rule and authority and power and dominion.” Not that he one day will be, but that he already is. Even more shockingly, he says that this power is available “for us...
by Jen Smith | Aug 23, 2015 | Bible, Guest Post
Has a well-meaning friend ever advised you to, “Wait for God: His timing is perfect!”? But when you really think about their counsel, you’re not entirely sure what they mean? Like me, do you read the Psalmist declare, “I wait for the LORD, my soul waits” (Ps 130:5)...