Most people think Matthew is the gospel with the heavy Old Testament backdrop and that you don’t need to dig deeply into the Old Testament to understand Mark. But after studying Mark for the past couple of years, I couldn’t disagree more. Though Mark is rarely explicit in his use of the Old Testament, the backdrop… Continue reading The Indispensable Backdrop of Mark
Jay Gossage brought it to my attention that Shepherd and Teacher appear to be paired together in the listing of gifts in Ephesians 4:11. Sure enough, in Greek the “some to be” phrase is repeated separately for apostles, prophets and evangelists, but only once for “shepherds and teachers”. Aside: I realize it’s more commonly translated “pastors and… Continue reading Shepherd & Teacher: Linked Gifts?
Often I get caught up in ministry projects and I need to be reminded that it is better to sit at the Lord’s feet and hang on His words — to return to my first love and do the things I did at first. But this morning, reading in Mark, I find a man who, after… Continue reading Sit at His Feet or Go and Tell?
I had a blast studying & teaching the first half of Ephesians 1 at youth group last night! To help myself (and, hopefully, the students), I wrote a dynamic translation that follows Hoehner’s interpretations (an incredibly detailed and scholarly — yet conservative — commentary on Ephesians… but it is almost 900 pages), but strives to be… Continue reading Teaching Ephesians @ Youth Group
I’ve been reading through Hurlbut’s Story of the Bible with Jimmy for a little while now (the Kindle edition on Jessica’s iPad — only $7) and loving it! Tonight I got choked up reading the story of Lot and Sodom & Gomorrah. It’s incredibly intense — especially when Lot hesitates and the angels have to physically… Continue reading A God Who Destroys Men, Women & Children
For a long time I’ve been using the Unashamed Studios Blog as both a personal blog and one devoted to my fiction projects. Recently, I’ve decided to split them and to create a new blog (this one) for personal posts. The name — A Thousand Photons — is a reference to my desire to shed… Continue reading New Personal Blog
I’ve been studying Luke lately and have been struck by the contrasting responses of Mary and Zechariah to the unbelievable message brought to them by Gabriel. Zechariah is an elderly priest serving in the temple. He and his wife are both righteous and have prayed for a child, but are both too old to have… Continue reading I am the Lord’s servant; may your word to me be fulfilled
A Thousand Photons 