This essay is a transcript of a sermon I delivered at Grace Community United Methodist Church October 31, 2021. If you want one of the bookmarks mentioned, please send me a message and I will get one to you. I invite you to read Psalm 136 with some other people to experience the power of this small word.
Exegesis of John 9 Part 3
Exegesis of John 9 Part 3 Critical Discussion John 9 takes the theological concepts of darkness and light and presents an object lesson to illustrate what that looks like with ordinary people. The duality between light and dark is not unique to this chapter. This theme is carried through the rest of his work. Starting …
Exegesis of John 9 Part 2
Exegesis of John 9 Part 2 Exegesis In chapter 8, Jesus has just given the Pharisees teaching on light and that Jesus is the light of the world (vs. 12). Further, he includes knowing Jesus is to know the Father (vs. 19). After this, Jesus cryptically predicts his death (vss. 28-29) and declares that those …
Exegesis of John 9 Part 1
Exegesis of John 9 Part 1 Introduction In John chapter 9, Jesus performs a stunning miracle. However, John adds a “Paul Harvey” rest of the story narrative to drive home a point on who is blind and who is not. This story gives just a couple of verses to the actual miracle. More important is …
Exegetical Comments on 3 John 5-12
Exegetical Comments on 3 John 5-12 The letter of 3 John is the most letter-like of the three epistles. John identifies himself as the elder (πρεσβύτερος) and identifies the recipient of the letter as Gaius. The identity of Gaius could be related to the figure of 1 Corinthians 1:14 and Romans 16:23, or it could …
Exegetical Comments on 2 John 4-11
Exegetical Comments on 2 John 4-11 The brief letter of 2 John has the theme of warning against false teachers and heresies. John begins this portion of his letter by commending those who have remained faithful to the gospel (vs. 4). John continues in vs. 5 by using the same address to his audience in …
Exegetical Comments on 1 John 2:3-11
Exegetical Comments on 1 John 2:3-11 During Jesus’ ministry, his adversaries were very concerned about keeping God’s commands in the Torah. So Jesus reduced the 613 laws of the Torah to two – love God completely and love others as you love yourself (Matthew 22:36-40). The passage at hand speaks to the commandments of God …
Exegetical Comments on Revelation 1:12-16
Exegetical Comments on Revelation 1:12-16 The context of the passage it is in the beginning introduction of John's apocalyptic message. He will deliver specific messages to seven churches after this passage; the purpose of vss.12-20 is to introduce the message. Specifically, 12-16 introduces the figure of Jesus using apocalyptic language. John has introduced himself …
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Exegetical Comments on John 4:19-30
Exegetical Comments on John 4:19-30 The passage at hand falls after the prologue, within the Book of Signs in John’s gospel after the Cana cycle of chapters 2 and 3. Here, Jesus breaks two essential first-century Jewish taboos: he was a man talking with a woman, and the woman was a Samaritan. As the …
A Reflection on 2 John
2 John This word starts with the author identifying himself as the elder (πρεσβύτερος), and this has been traditionally assigned to the apostle John (Jobes, 440). Having the form of a letter instead of a sermon (which is more appropriate for 1 John), 2 John starts with John offering a greeting to his audience. He …
Women’s Teaching Roles in the Church
Introduction Recently, there has been significant discussion on the women’s teaching role in church operation. Beth Moore’s leaving the Southern Baptist Convention signified a final break with their restrictions about women teaching. John McArther’s address on Beth Moore was telling: “It is a state of disobedience on a massive level.”[1] On the other side, …
John Wesley’s Sermon #2: The Almost Christian
Introduction The foundation for all flavors of Wesleyan theology (United Methodists, Nazarene, Free Methodists, and the newly formed Global Methodists, among others) is the sermons of John Wesley (1703-1791). In these sermons, Wesley spells out the distinctiveness of his approach to holiness, salvation, evangelism, and many other areas of doctrine. In the sermon The …
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A Reflection on Jude 5-23
Jude 5-23 This passage follows an introduction (vss. 1-4) in which Jude calls out persons that have “have come in by stealth” to spread teaching that is “ungodly, turning the grace of our God into sensuality and denying Jesus Christ, our only Master, and Lord” (vs. 4 CSB). Jude progresses to reminding the audience …
A Reflection on James 2:1-13
James 2:1-13 The passage at hand comes from the sermon from James, the half-brother of Jesus. The passage's context is in James' discussion on hearing and doing the word and controlling what we say (the tongue) (1:19-27). James enters chapter 2 with a discussion on favoritism. James' thesis is that the faith of Christ levels …
A Reflection on Hebrews 7:11-22
Hebrews 7:11-22 The passage at hand falls in the middle of the sermon to the Hebrews. Chapter seven starts with the author discussing the priesthood of Melchizedek referencing Genesis 14:17-20 when Abraham encountered the priest/king of Salem (Jerusalem). The author of Hebrews points out that Melchizedek had no lineage (instead of the Levitical line …
Justification by Faith and the New Perspective on Paul
Introduction Since the early 16th century, the doctrine of justification by faith (JBF) has been a center point of Protestant / Reformed faith and a bane to the Roman Catholic theologians. In the era of Johann Tetzel and his monetary form of salvation, the reformers rediscovered the force of JBF and the books of Romans …
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My Ecclesiology
Introduction My class in ecclesiology comes at a fortuitous time. Currently, my wife and I are looking at planting a church in our area. Although I have been a part of several churches and have a good deal of experience in multiple roles, this would be the first time we would be starting from …
How To Study The Bible Part 3: Exegesis and Hermeneutics
How To Study The Bible Part 3: Exegesis and Hermeneutics In this video, I get into the guts of Biblical exegesis and hermeneutics. I mention a 4th class in the video but I will not post a video for that. The 4th class focuses on doing exegesis and hermeneutics together focusing on a specific passage. …
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Exegesis Acts 14:8-20
In Lystra a man was sitting who was without strength in his feet, had never walked, and had been lame from birth. He listened as Paul spoke. After looking directly at him and seeing that he had faith to be healed, Paul said in a loud voice, “Stand up on your feet!” And he jumped …
Exegesis Acts 13:13-43
13 Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia, but John left them and went back to Jerusalem. 14 They continued their journey from Perga and reached Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the …
Exegesis Acts 10:34-38
Peter began to speak: “Now I truly understand that God doesn’t show favoritism, but in every nation the person who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. He sent the message to the Israelites, proclaiming the good news of peace through Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. You know the …
Exegesis Luke 18:35-43
Exegesis Luke 18:35-43 As [Jesus] approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. Hearing a crowd passing by, he inquired what was happening. “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by,” they told him.So he called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Then those in front told him to keep quiet, but …
Exegesis of Luke 2:21-35
Exegesis of Luke 2:21-35 21 When the eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus—the name given by the angel before he was conceived. 22 And when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were finished, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (just as …
How to Study the Bible Part 2: It’s All in the Translation
https://youtu.be/DpiHMWjy2G0 Links to some of the Bibles mentioned: ESV Bible CSB Bible NET Bible MEV Bible NLT Bible KJV Bible
Reddit Questions #1 – Prayer, beginner Bible reading, and imaginary friends
Reddit Questions #1 – Prayer, beginner Bible reading, and imaginary friends I have recently joined the throngs at Reddit (look for greggpj333), and one of the subreddits I am a member of is a place where non-believers can ask honest questions of believers. I have been active in this subreddit and wanted to publish some …
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The Wandering Wesleyan 