A Dozen Tips from the Pro

I argued in an earlier post on this blogsite that Jesus likely came to earth not just to sacrifice Himself but also to teach. In this post, I’d like to elaborate on that, making the point that His teaching is important for us to study not just for what He taught but for how He … [Read more…]

Two Easter Sermon Take-Aways

I usually like the sermons given by our church’s head pastor, and you’d expect any pastor to be trying especially hard on Easter. Sure enough, he made two really good points this past Sunday, and I’d like to share them. The first is that the most important thing any parent can do in raising a … [Read more…]

Toward a Harmonious Reading of the Gospels

Introduction Happy Easter! He is risen! This post’s title is adapted from a valuable section of my NIV study Bible, “250 Events in the Life of Christ / A Harmony of the Gospels.” And I want to acknowledge upfront that I will be using it and drawing from it in this post. I’d also like … [Read more…]

New Testament Mnemonic

I was surprised to discover in my googling today that there does not appear to be an easy and common mnemonic device for remembering the 27 books of the New Testament. (When you finish reciting your list, by the way, you can remember that the number of books should add up to 27, because that’s … [Read more…]

Miracle Notes

According to my NIV study Bible, Jesus performed 35 miracles. You can read the list at pages 13-14 of this link. (He also told 32 parables, by the way — see page 12 of the same link.) As I count them, 26 of those miracles involved healing of one sort or the other. That’s 74 … [Read more…]

Art Lindsley, “C.S. Lewis’s Case for Christ: Insights from Reason, Imagination and Faith”

I was prompted to read this enjoyable and useful book by Louis Markos’s good summary of it (250) in his Apologetics for the Twenty-First Century: An accessible overview of Lewis’s apologetic arguments that is also a practical guide for modern apologists. Lindsley demonstrates that if we combine the many and diverse books written by C.S. … [Read more…]

John R.W. Stott, “Basic Christianity”

This was named a “book of the century” by Christianity Today and is frequently acknowledged as a “classic.” In his short foreword to a recent edition, Rick Warren writes: “There are a few landmark books that everyone in the world should read. This is one of the rare few.” And he concludes: “John Stott’s Basic Christianity is … [Read more…]