Revelation 1:18-19: “I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and Hades. Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now, and what will take place later.” Well, we have finally done it. After over a year and a half of writing, we have finally made our way to the last book of the Bible. This series of articles started out with the intention of making a summary of every book of the Bible. My hope in doing this was that it would serve you as a guide for your own Bible reading. Each article laid out the overall pattern of the parti ..read more

Jude 3: “Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once and for all entrusted to God’s holy people.” One of the issues that is very prominent in our culture right now is the debate about various kinds of sexuality. It is often true that what effects the world soon becomes an issue in the church. That has certainly been true in the last number of years in regard to various forms of sexuality. It is tempting to think that this a recent development and that we are facing a new chal ..read more

2 John 10-11 “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work.” We’ve almost made it! Only three weeks left before we get to the book of Revelation and wrap up our book by book survey of the Bible that we have been working at for nearly a year and a half now. These next three letters are all short in length—the shortest in the New Testament by far—and each one only consists of one chapter. Second John is the shortest with 13 verses, followed by Third John with 14, and then finally Ju ..read more

1 John 1:3 “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.” Anyone who has ever been through a church split knows the deep pain and sorrow that comes along with it. Families who have been worshiping together for many years are suddenly divided from one another. Where love and trust once reigned, suspicion and anger now reside. People take sides. People say mean things. Motivations are questioned. Other than a divorce between a husband and ..read more

2 Peter 2:10-11: “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?” In our studies of the books of the New Testament, we have already observed one letter that was written by an apostle in the shadow of death. The letter of Second Timothy was written as Paul’s execution quickly approached. He seemed to be aware of its nearness and wanted to share one final word of courage to his y ..read more

1 Peter 2:11-12 “Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” We live in a time of great transition. For many years, the Christian faith has been the dominant factor in the cultural life of the West. While there were always many nominal Christians within that culture, it was still true that a Christian worldview and a Christian based philosophy gave structure and meaning ..read more

James 3:13: “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.” Two letters in the New Testament have the distinction of being written by a blood relative of Jesus. While most of the books are written by an apostle, or someone who was a close student of an apostle, we have these two letters who are written by Jesus’ own flesh and blood. This is interesting because we learn in John 7 that Jesus’ brothers did not believe in him from the beginning. It is not hard to understand why. Try having the perfect Son of God ..read more

Hebrews 4:14: “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.” For those of us who are in the profession of preaching, we often like to see how others do their work. I don’t think that is unique to us. My mother is a schoolteacher, and she often likes to see how other teachers put together their lesson plans and organize their classes. It is interesting when you can see how your own contemporaries put together sermons, but what is really fascinating is to examine how people from times other than your ..read more

Philemon 17-18: “So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to my account.” We come now to the final letter of the apostle Paul. I had intended to talk about Philemon after I wrote on the book of Colossians, because as you will come to see in a moment, it is very likely that Colossians and Philemon were written at the same time, and were sent together, one letter being for the church in general, and the other for this man named Philemon. However, as I was writing along, I forgot to do that. That’s ok, no ha ..read more

Titus 3:3-4: “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived, and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. In the third and final pastoral epistle, Paul writes a short letter to his good friend, Titus. Like Timothy, Titus has a long history with Paul, going back as far as the council on Gentiles in Jerusalem, and has worked with Paul as a close companion. He stuck with Paul, eve ..read more