Month: January 2012

1 Thessalonians, The Daily WordLeave a comment

Love Jesus, Love His Church (1 Thessalonians 2:17–20)

georgepwood

Do you ever miss church? By miss, I do not mean “to fail to be at or present for.” Every Christian misses church in this sense now and again. Rather, by miss, I mean “to notice the absence or loss of.” According to 1 Thessalonians 2:17–20, Paul, Silas, and Timothy missed the Thessalonian church in this second sense. But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, … Continue reading Love Jesus, Love His Church (1 Thessalonians 2:17–20)

The World Wide (Religious) WebLeave a comment

The World Wide Religious Web for Tuesday, January 24, 2012

georgepwood

OPTIMISM & HOPE ARE DIFFERENT CREATURES: Disability: A Thread for Weaving Joy. The great French Jesuit Henri de Lubac once wrote, “Suffering is the thread from which the stuff of joy is woven. Never will the optimist know joy.” Those seem like strange words, especially for Americans. We Americans take progress as an article of faith. And faith in progress demands a spirit of optimism. But Father de Lubac knew that optimism and hope are very different creatures. In real life, bad things happen. Progress is not assured, and things that claim to be “progress” can sometimes be wicked and … Continue reading The World Wide Religious Web for Tuesday, January 24, 2012

1 Thessalonians, The Daily Word1 Comment

Were Paul, Silas, and Timothy Rank Anti-Semites? (1 Thessalonians 2:14–16)

georgepwood

The casual reader of 1 Thessalonians 2:14–16 might conclude, at first glance, that Paul, Silas, and Timothy were rank anti-Semites. For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own people the same things those churches suffered from the Jews who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to everyone in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way, they always heap up their sins to … Continue reading Were Paul, Silas, and Timothy Rank Anti-Semites? (1 Thessalonians 2:14–16)

The World Wide (Religious) WebLeave a comment

The World Wide Religious Web for Monday, January 23, 2012

georgepwood

39 YEARS OF BAD LAW: The Unbearable Wrongness of Roe. Today [i.e., January 22, 2012], thousands of people at the March for Life in Washington, D.C., are commemorating the thirty-ninth anniversary of a legal and moral monstrosity, Roe v. Wade, and its companion case, Doe v. Bolton. The two cases, in combination, created an essentially unqualified constitutional right of pregnant women to abortion—the right to kill their children, gestating in their wombs, up to the point of birth. After nearly four decades, Roe’s human death toll stands at nearly sixty million human lives, a total exceeding the Nazi Holocaust, Stalin’s … Continue reading The World Wide Religious Web for Monday, January 23, 2012

1 Thessalonians, The Daily Word1 Comment

The Preaching of the Word of God Is the Word of God (1 Thessalonians 2:13)

georgepwood

Every Sunday, Christians gather in churches across the globe to worship God. That worship includes singing, praying, baptizing new believers, receiving communion, and exercising spiritual gifts. One of those spiritual gifts is preaching, to which much of the service is given over. Why is preaching so important to Christian worship? Indeed, what is preaching? Paul, Silas, and Timothy answer both questions in 1 Thessalonians 2:13: And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of … Continue reading The Preaching of the Word of God Is the Word of God (1 Thessalonians 2:13)

Apologetics, Book Reviews, Book Vlog, MinistryDirectLeave a comment

Interview with Dr. Craig Keener, Author of “Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts”

georgepwood

In this video, I interview Dr. Craig S. Keener regarding his new book, Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts (Baker Academic). The book (and the interview) ranges widely across New Testament studies, philosophy, contemporary field sociology, and systematic theology. Interview with Dr. Craig Keener, Author of “Mir…, posted with vodpod Continue reading Interview with Dr. Craig Keener, Author of “Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts”

The World Wide (Religious) WebLeave a comment

The World Wide Religious Web for Friday, January 20, 2012

georgepwood

ETERNAL VIGILANCE IS THE PRICE OF LIBERTY: Is the “War on Religion” a Myth? I would disagree, however, with Sessions and others who point to Hosanna-Tabor and say that it proves all is well with religious liberty here. Concerns about religious liberty in America are not hysterical. To demonstrate this, all you have to do is look at the radical position taken by the Obama Department of Justice in Hosanna-Tabor. Normally, lawyers before the Supreme Court lean heavily on precedent, but the DOJ in Hosanna-Tabor argued for a sharp departure from precedent. The DOJ recommended that the court abandon the … Continue reading The World Wide Religious Web for Friday, January 20, 2012

1 Thessalonians, The Daily WordLeave a comment

As a Father Deals with His Own Children (1 Thessalonians 2:11–12)

georgepwood

In the course of a few verses, Paul, Silas, and Timothy compare their relationship with the Thessalonian believers to “young children,” “a nursing mother,” and “a father” (1 Thes. 2:7, 11). Each of these emphasizes one aspect of the missionaries’ behavior. “Young children” emphasizes the innocence of their dealings with the Thessalonians. “Nursing mother” emphasizes their tender care for them. But what does “father” emphasize? Here’s what the missionaries write: For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who … Continue reading As a Father Deals with His Own Children (1 Thessalonians 2:11–12)