Characters in Absalom’s Coup
This post continues the previous one by describing the characters in II Sam. 15.13-19.8. No story would be worth reading without characters to move the plot along; this narrative has quite a variety of them!
Literary Observations on Absalom’s Attempted Coup
In a recent Sunday School class, I was placed in a small group of students and given a passage of Scripture to work through, finding lessons to share with the class. I’ll spend the next few post in sort of mini-series on literary aspects of the story of Absalom’s attempted take-over of his father David’s kingdom as recorded in II Sam. 15.13-19.8. Please take the time to read that passage before you finish this article.
God makes empty things full
That’s what the book of Ruth teaches. I learned and was edified as I was recently doing some outside reading on literary analysis of the Bible (reading a Biblical narrative and studying the literary features like character, plot, setting, etc).
God gives gifts to men and men glorify him by excelling in those gifts.
God gives gifts to men and men glorify him by excelling in those gifts – whether they’re saved or not. All people bear God’s image (marred, yes, but God’s image nonetheless) and when they reflect his creativity and beauty and joy through musical talents, that brings glory to their Maker.
What Pastors Should and Shouldn’t Do
I’m not a pastor. But I can tell you what a good pastor does and doesn’t do. Because, (1) the Bible describes such things and because (2) we can all distinguish between good and bad kings, even though we’re not kings.
John: The Word of Promise Next Generation Audio Bible
Right now, the book of John in the Word of Promise Next Generation Audio Bible is available free on the iTunes Store (link).
Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek (Campbell)
A review of Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek, by Constantine Campbell:Logos for Mac – Nearly Ready!!
According to Logos, the Mac version of Logos is available for pre-order and will ship in time for Christmas gifts! They’ve got a promo video here.
Overview of Matthew
On Sunday, my pastor preached an overview of Matthew 1-20. This sermon simply and clearly walked through the major sections, explained the purposes of each and gave an excellent summary of that portion of the book.
Which election is the most important?
Today is “Election Day” – the day that most US citizens cast their vote (this year, for the highest office in the country). For some people, it’s a huge deal: they revel in the thought that the fate of the nation rests in the votes of the people! For others, it’s not so weighty, but it’s great that Starbucks is giving free coffee and Krispy Kreme free doughnuts to voters. For some of us, it’s really a stress-free day, since we voted absentee two weeks ago! But all in all, there are very few Americans who will not be immediately affected by tomorrow’s elections.