“Context is king.” This is the paramount hermeneutic for all Bible texts, each having one exegetical point.[1] The Bible’s entire text, including the parables, has one ultimate homiletical point: Bow before Jesus the King of Kings! Steven McCarthy points out…
Among the many genres of Scripture, the parables of Jesus hold a unique power. They are simple and profound, familiar and unsettling, inviting and confrontational. They draw hearers into a story before they realize the story has drawn them before…
A parable is “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” There you go—end of article. That is a familiar and accurate understanding of the parable genre, but it is inadequate for the expositor who desires to preach from this packed…
When one thinks of the parables of Jesus, one thinks perhaps of pithy sayings, punchy stories, and moral points. The parables of Jesus are probably most often used by people to moralize. Be like the Good Samaritan. Humble yourself like…
The Bible has just one verse referring to a Christian named Mnason. Yet although we never hear of Mnason before or after this one verse, what we glean from it is most instructive. The verse is Acts 21:16: ‘And some…
Each day you and I awake to a world that is experiencing the effects of sin. Broken relationships abound. Financial hardships occur. Places are wiped out by fires, hurricanes, and tsunamis. People die from sickness and starvation. In light of…
God’s law reveals God’s character. By it, we know Him and know what it means to be like Him. Therefore, the law itself is beautiful and desirable, reflecting God Himself. The law is also mankind’s tutor. It instructs us of…
The three uses of the law—restraining sin, convicting sinners, and guiding believers in holy living—reflect its multifaceted role in God’s moral order. While the third use promotes societal order and the second provides a blueprint for Christian living, it is…
One of the first sermon series I ever preached was on the life of Samson. I was new, at the time, to expository preaching, and I wanted to start with something manageable and familiar. Little did I know, a careful…
Josiah is introduced in 2 Kings 22 as the new king of Judah who is merely eight years old. As a young boy growing up in church, this story intrigued me. Later in elementary school in writing for an assignment…
