Discovering the variety of ways Paul opens his letters to the early Churches is like mining fields of gold—so many gems to uncover, chew on, then figure out how to apply and his introduction to Romans is no exception. Paul launches his monumental epistle to the Romans with a self-description. That alone is a spiritual aha. […]
Some people aspire to climb Mt. Whitney; others to write the Great American Novel. My desire has been to know the seven letters of Paul so well that they would become like old friends—familiar, trusted and treasured. The past ten years I’ve been on this quest and the latest deep dive has been in I Thessalonians. […]
…or at least open the door ajar! Establishing a big picture perspective of the Bible One thing surprised me when I started giving Bible talks some 25 to 30 years ago: that people were so interested in brief overviews – and I mean brief! If our topic was a day on of Paul’s letters, for instance, […]
While growing up and hearing stories of Jesus and his followers, and later reading them myself, the two terms disciples and apostles just kind of mushed together. They were interchangeable, weren’t they? One of the joys of Bible study is learning distinctions that open new vistas that actually make a difference in our everyday lives. […]
“Holy flattery”. That’s how Martin Luther described this shortest of Paul’s seven authenticated epistles since Paul uses every rhetorical technique, including bald flattery, to encourage Philemon to take back his runaway slave, Onesimus. Why Philemon, the letter, has become a favorite for me–especially when reading it aloud in a Bible Study group–is for the insight […]
