God as Divine Warrior

When you hear people talk about salvation it is often in that some day, over there type discussion. It is true that salvation has components that have not yet taken place (Rom 13:11). But it is also true that in the here and now God is fighting for us. In both testaments the word salvation [...]

Why Did They Miss Jesus as the Messiah? What Can We Learn from that?

Hindsight is 20/20. Looking back we read the prophesies and see how he fulfilled them so specifically. We read about the miracles, his teaching with authority and not as the scribes. The Gospels make it clear that Jesus was the Messiah. That is the point they set out to prove. Some go about it differently [...]

Small Group Lessons from Charles Kiser

One of the things I have been a proponent of here at K.L. is to not reinvent the wheel. There are so many good people out there writing small group and Bible class curriculum that could be beneficial to so many people if we just had an avenue with which to disseminate the information. Charles [...]

Balancing Rest and the Mission of God

When I am writing lessons I find myself often trying to motivate people to be more invested in the mission of God. As I was writing a lesson last week I began to wonder if we don’t often develop a culture of Christian business where people are faced with positive opportunity after opportunity and feel [...]

Outreach and Reputation Risking

It never seemed to bother Jesus if his reputation was at stake when it came to reaching the lost:
- Speaking with adulterous Samaritan women at a well alone.
- Having his feet annointed by a woman with a checkered past.
- Eating with tax collectors and “sinners.”
- Associating with and even healing Gentiles.
- Being crucified because it [...]

Gospel of Mark – Gentile Country (Mark 7:1-8:13)

Many believe Mark was written to a Gentile audience. Mark does a lot more explaining of Jewish customs and terms than the other Gospel writers do. Mark also spends time talking about Jesus on the east side of the Sea of Galilee, which can be thought of as a lot more Gentile than on the [...]

Are the Red Letters Any More Important Than the Black Letters?

If scripture is inspired and from God are the words of Jesus any more or less important than all the rest of the Old and New Testament? And for a related brain teaser – who is speaking in John 3:16? Does John the apostle begin to narrate his own commentary about the events or is [...]

Summing Up the Law and the Prophets in One Post

Love
Matthew 22:37-40

If Jesus Had Come to America in the 21st Century…

In the midst of our litigious society I wonder what it would look like if Jesus had come to America in the 21st century? As a test example we will have a look at Mark 9 where we have the story about the father who brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus. Now I know we [...]

Gospel of Mark – Feeding 5000 and Walking on Water (6:31-56)

Jesus Feeds 5000
We go from a Markan sandwich to Jesus feeding 5000. How ironic. The better parallel is pointed out by Witherington (Gospel of Mark, 213) of the two meals – one that led to John’s death and another that shows the miraculous and powerful nature of the kingdom that John preached about and prepared [...]