from Yvon Prehn to help you know, trust, and apply the Bible
In contrast to views the widely held, but totally incorrect view that the Trinity is “like ice, water, and steam” which is, in reality, the ancient heresy of Modalism that has God morphing into various forms as God the Father in the Old Testament becoming God the Son in the New Testament, and becoming God the Holy Spirit today, this lesson will demonstrate how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are uncreated, co-equal, and eternal persons. [Read more…]
The launching of the Bibleverse is more than a way to get devotional thoughts, Bible studies, and practical ways to help your church create effective communications. At its core it is my attempt to equip you to fight the good fight of faith during this in-between time of Jesus’ resurrection and our being with Him. [Read more…]
I’ve put together a group of resources to help you to advance the Kingdom of God and fully fulfill the Great Commission. Here is why I did this, how it can help you, and what the Bibleverse consists of, and how to get to the resources. [Read more…]
Ron Sider, author of Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger died this week.
In reading about his death, I was reminded of the impact his book had on me when I read it in the ’70s and how I have become a coward in sharing what I believe in this area. The news of his death was a timely challenge to me because of a situation that happened recently at a church event.
What happened is that I found myself reacting strongly (silently) to a comment about someone who had significant money spending it on themselves.
“They made the money, they deserve to do whatever they want,” was the comment of the person seated next to me. Though as I said, I had a strong emotional reaction to what she said, I changed the subject and started babbling about something else.
I thought about it later and realized it was an episode of moral cowardice where I didn’t have the energy to say what I was really thinking and to say it calmly and discuss it thoughtfully. [Read more…]
In our previous lesson on the Prophet Micah we talked about what God requires of us and His requirements are summarized in Micah 6:8 which tells us we are to “Do justice, Love mercy, and Walk humbly with our God.” [Read more…]
Though it sounds complex, the topic of this lesson has important and practical implications for how you live day-to-day.
Let me explain—as this lesson shows, God’s view of time, seeing and knowing all that is past, present, and future is what enables us to understand prophecy and trust that what He promised in the past He will fulfill in the future just as He made promises in the past in the Old Testament that He fulfilled in the New Testament. [Read more…]
What does it mean to be a Christian? What is Christian salvation all about?
This infographic and the verses included with it explain the meaning of what Christian salvation is all about. [Read more…]
I recently did a lesson on the book of Amos. The book is both a scathing inditement of the religiously active, but morally bankrupt Israel of the prophet’s day and a challenge to all of us to be sure that our lives reflect the compassion and justice of God. To make the challenges of the book practical, I promised a list of organizations like this that do the work of justice and mercy Amos challenges us to do. [Read more…]
God is the ultimate author of the Bible, though He inspired human writers to put His message into the form we have it. Because of that, and because it is written from His viewpoint, how He talks about time can sometimes be confusing to us because He is outside of time and sees the past, present, and future simultaneously.
I created this chart and the short video that goes with it, to help you visualize it (though admittedly, we may never fully understand it).
One thing we know for certain is that Jesus is coming back. Just as we anticipate the arrival of a dearly-loved family member who has been away and is coming home, we eagerly look forward to His return and so it is only natural that we want to know when it will take place. [Read more…]
“Tetelestai!” was the final cry of Jesus from the cross and it means, “it is finished.”
It is an extraordinary cry of victory and hope. [Read more…]
What is the purpose of the stories in the Bible? If someone does something that seems a bit odd like Gideon setting out a fleece to determine God’s will or the Children of Israel walking around the walls of Jericho to conquer it. [Read more…]