The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, the New Testament in Greek. In the fourth century, a scholar named Jerome translated both Testaments into Latin. In time this translation, the Vulgate, became the official Bible of the Roman Catholic Church. The priests studied and cited it long after Latin ceased to be a living language.…
“As I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship,” Paul told the Athenians at the Areopagus, “I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To an unknown God.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you” (Acts 17:23). The pagans in Greece were worshiping God, but it was a blind…
Is there something lacking in your Bible class? Is it as engaging or convicting as it could be? Do you find yourself attending Bible class out of habit or compulsion, but not much else? Are you a teacher who feels burned out, ill-trained, or unqualified? Is it tough putting together a lesson each week? Are…
Several years ago a friend forwarded me the following email. I have revised and edited the original message: “Isn’t it strange how a $20 bill seems like such a large amount when you donate it to the church but such a small amount when you go shopping for groceries or clothes? “Isn’t it strange how…
By Brent Smith [Brent Smith is the preaching minister of the Trenton Church of Christ in Trenton, Tennessee.] On February 4, 2004, Mark Zuckerberg and a few other Harvard students launched the Facebook website. It was extremely popular with the younger generation, but it didn’t take long before senior citizens were on board the…
Some Christians experience opposition to the faith in their own families. Parents, siblings, and even spouses may take devious pleasure in pointing out the flaws of church members or saying hurtful things about the teachings the church stands for. Anyone dealing with this discouragement is in excellent company. Jesus himself initially lacked the support of…
Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at the Sychar well. He offers her “living water” (John 4:10), but several things make accepting his offer difficult. She is hindered by racial prejudice, lack of spiritual discernment, an immoral lifestyle, false religious beliefs, and cultural discrimination against women. This familiar story is in John 4, but the chapter…
On the afternoon of February 26, 2004, I was sitting in a medical clinic waiting room. A television tuned to CNN’s “Headline News” was announcing the day’s top stories. In the preceding two weeks, the mayor of San Francisco had been issuing illegal marriage licenses to same-gender couples. President George W. Bush had responded by…
Absalom’s rebellion forced David to retreat from Jerusalem. The king and his loyal subjects hurriedly crossed the Jordan, arriving hungry and tired at Mahanaim. Wealthy Barzillai and others supplied the weary soldiers with “beds, basins, and earthen vessels, wheat, barley, meal, parched grain, beans and lentils, honey and curds and sheep and cheese” (2 Sam.…
The Great Commission of Jesus challenges us to immerse disciples “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19). In the great Pentecost sermon, though, Peter mentions only the Son. “Repent,” the apostle urges, “and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ…
You must be logged in to post a comment.