Bible Studies

With each passing year, Americans are becoming less religious. According to the Survey Center on American Life, one-third of Gen Z (those born after the mid-1990s) does not affiliate with any religion. With less involvement in church, people generally... Continue Reading »

I have never achieved enough success to be mistaken for a gardener, but for several years I did try to grow vegetables. One year I decided that I was going to make a serious effort at growing peppers. Peppers... Continue Reading »

Several years ago, a friend gave my children a butterfly cage with caterpillars. After the caterpillars were in their cocoons for quite a while, the cocoons began to spin around almost violently. The butterflies looked like they were desperately... Continue Reading »

I’ve often told students and congregants how difficult it must have been to be one of Jesus’ brothers or sisters. What must it have been like to hear Mary or Joseph say, “Why can’t you be like your brother?”... Continue Reading »

We’ve reached the end of these studies of the life of David in 1 and 2 Samuel. We’ve seen how God used Samuel and Saul to prepare the way for David. We’ve seen highs and lows before in David’s... Continue Reading »

Last month in this column, we looked at one of the darkest periods of David’s reign. David’s own son, Absalom, had usurped the throne, forcing David to flee the city where God chose to dwell. An undercurrent in these... Continue Reading »

I am regularly grateful that social media didn’t exist when I was a teenager. I can’t imagine what might have remained online had I announced to the world my opinions about anything and everything. The most frightening aspect of... Continue Reading »

If the life of David were a movie, the lighting and the background music would change dramatically for the events of 2 Samuel 11. Up to this point, the former shepherd had experienced dark seasons, but this darkness was... Continue Reading »

Years had passed since Samuel had anointed David as king. Samuel, Saul, Jonathan, and many others had died. David had become a great warrior, then a fugitive, and now king. Judah anointed him king first, and several years later... Continue Reading »

We crave peace: a laid-back weekend, a nap, the end of the day, a holiday, a break from mental anxiety, retirement, less crime, the end of a war … . Scripture speaks often of peace. We think of Christ... Continue Reading »

Whenever I encounter the question, “What are your favorite books?” I am always reluctant to mention the Bible. While I understand and appreciate why Christians mention Scripture, I hesitate to evaluate Scripture because Scripture evaluates me (James 1:23-24). Whether... Continue Reading »

9/11. Apollo 11. Pearl Harbor. Appomattox. Yorktown. These names and places refer to events that determined the course of American history. To live before and then after these events probably felt like living in a different country. I wonder... Continue Reading »