The Grand Rapids Press ran a lovely story of forgiveness in this morning’s paper.  It’s the account of a mother who is reaching out to the incarcerated young man who shot her son. I was struck by this woman’s realism regarding the choice confronting her.  She could surrender to the temptation to wallow in anger, […]

Students of Scripture know the supreme value of IVP’s line of dictionaries.  For most of us, they’re located within easy reach on the shelves of our studies and are seriously well-worn.  My Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels is one such volume and I’ve been very much looking forward to using the revised and updated […]

My colleague at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, Catherine Mueller-Bell, is hosting an exciting event under the auspices of the Women’s Studies Lecture Series. On Thursday evening, November 7, Julie Slagter will be speaking at the seminary on modern slavery and practical steps that we can take to stop it.  Julie is the Project Manager at […]

The first two volumes of The Story of God Bible Commentary will be available very soon, Scot McKnight’s Sermon on the Mount and Lynn Cohick’s Philippians. They’re very well-written and will prove to be excellent resources for Bible teachers, pastors, and those interested in grappling with the biblical text and its implications for Christian faithfulness […]

I started this series of reflections by noting that in the NT Gospels, the gospel proclamation involves “the gospel of the kingdom.”  Jesus is announcing the arrival of God’s restored order of flourishing with his advent.  And I claimed that this reality should shape how we conceive of the gospel. Unfortunately, many good Christian people […]

I got my hands on the new Common English Bible translation Study Bible and must say that it is quite a handsome volume. I was happy to be asked to write the study notes for Ephesians and honored to be included in the excellent lineup of contributors.  The more I’ve used the CEB, the more […]