When I was a kid, I used to bury treasure in our yard and then dig it up later. Once, I buried some collectible coins in the garden area of our yard. I put them in a little plastic bag, covered them over with dirt, and then left them there. Later, when I went to dig them up I couldn’t …
Monthly Archives: October 2016
The Colosseum in Rome is impressive. Built from 72 AD to 80 AD by the emperors Vespasian and Titus, and expanded upon by the succeeding emperor Domitian, much of it still stands today. These three emperors gave their family name (Flavius) to this structure, which was originally known as the Flavian Amphitheatre. If the names of these emperors sound familiar, …
Luke records a parable of Jesus in Luke 18:9-17: [Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am …
As part of my preparation for a study on the Epistle to the Hebrews, I found some interesting and helpful pictures online of models of the Tabernacle. God had instructed the Israelites to build the Tabernacle during their sojourn in the desert (Exodus 25 and following). The writer of Hebrews makes many points of comparison and contrast with the Old …
Events in this world can get a little disheartening at times. We have trouble and problems. We face difficult choices and challenges. There’s times when we can’t bear to read or watch the news, because it’s too depressing. This isn’t a new problem. People have struggled since Adam and Eve first sinned, because the outcome of their sin was the …
It may come as a surprise that many of the early Christian apologists viewed the Greek philosophers Plato and Socrates very highly. Justin Martyr, in his First and Second Apologies (written mid-2nd century AD) mentions both philosophers many times, as do Tertullian and Athenagoras in their apologies of the same time period. But why? Why would Christian authors, seeking to defend the …
Who or what is the Church? Another way of asking this is, who or what is Israel? During the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry, the Jewish leaders (scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees) thought that Israel consisted of only those people who were descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This was the Church, so they thought; it was defined by physical descent. …
When my family and I were in Italy earlier this year, we had the opportunity to see Michelangelo’s sculpture of David in Florence. He carved it between 1501 and 1504. Our tour guide encouraged us to look at his face and eyes. Take a look at the picture below: This is a depiction of David before his battle with the …
The title of this post is Peter’s question to Jesus in Matthew 18. Peter wants to know if there is a limit to how much he must forgive another person when they wrong him. In response, Jesus says, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Then, Jesus tells a parable about how the “kingdom of heaven is like …