I finished my survey of the use of the gospel in the New Testament. Starting tomorrow, I'm interested to see how the use of the law in the New Testament relates to evangelism. I've written 92 since my writing leave began....Keep Reading

The Christmas story has a dark twist. When the wise men refuse to let King Herod know where the newborn Messiah was born, Herod lashes in anger. "Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men" (Matthew 2:16 ESV). Herod viewed the birth of God's holy Son as a threat to his kingdom, status, and way of life. So, he sought to kill the child by killing all the children in Bethlehem. Jesus came to save a world that viewed children as expendable. ...Keep Reading

Dissertation Writing Leave Day 3: Began my look at Paul's use of the gospel in his letters. Of the 76 times gospel appears in the New Testament, 60 of the uses are Paul. In which of his letters do you think he referenced the gospel the most? It's a tie between Romans and Philippians....Keep Reading

Second day of my writing leave: My dissertation is sitting at 255 pages. Today I spent time looking at how Mark uses the word gospel. It was interesting to note how only Matthew and Mark use the word gospel (but never define it). The word gospel is absent from the gospels of Luke and John. I was also very encouraged to read a sermon by Clement of Alexandria, who died in AD 215. Listen to how he pleads: ...Keep Reading