I often hear discussions about raising hands to the Lord, most often in the context of worship. Some are enthusiastic hand raisers; others are not.
All tagged OT Pentateuch
Leaning into Leviticus
Every decision we make, from the food we eat to how we structure our time, provides an opportunity to show a watching world who God is.
Tension at the Threshold: Hospitality and Immigration (Part 2)
Fair concerns remain about risk and logistics when it comes to relearning the virtue of Christian hospitality toward immigrants and refugees.
Same-Sex Intimacy: Nine Reflections
Now that we’ve looked at all four texts with some detail, it seems appropriate to take a step or two back and reflect on the bigger picture that has developed in our study.
The Cards in Your Pocket ... Not up Your Sleeve (Reading the Same-Sex Ban)
I’ve learned that reading is more than objectively assessing the cards lying face-up on the table.
Texas Hold'em and the Same-Sex Ban of Leviticus
Today, we conduct Wrestle Mania II as we reexamine these cards, continue wrestling with the evidence, and seek to understand a second possible conclusion.
Texas Hold'em and the Homosexual Ban of Leviticus
What did these texts communicate in their cultural and literary contexts? Today we examine one response
Gibberish or Shirebbig? Reading the Ban on Male Intercourse in Leviticus
Why bother with cultural and literary contexts when we can read scripture and understand its “obvious” meaning? In concise terms, shortcuts can be dangerous.
Tattoos, Gibberish, and Homosexuality
When reading Scripture we face some questions: does this text state a principle that transcends time and culture? Or does this text wrap cultural clothing around primary principles?
What Not to Wear, Deuteronomy, and the Clarity of Scripture
I admit that it’s easier to read a text a quickly assume we know it’s “clear teaching”; after all, the text says what it means and means what it says, right??
RuPaul and the Clarity of Scripture
I’m confused these days by statements that speak of “clear Biblical teaching” about same-sex attraction.
The Sin of Sodom? (or America?)
In ancient Israel, to call a place Sodom was a major insult. I want to know why? So, as best we can let’s clear the deck of our assumptions and trace what this place/theme means in the Old Testament.
Raising Up Prophets
There are plenty of epiphanies in this season called Epiphany, plenty of “aha” moments when God breaks into everyday life and reveals that he is up to something that will change everything forever.
4th and 7th for the 2nd Time
Now we come to even more serious situations—not a mere financial crisis but a financial collapse.
4th and 7th to Go
Before we get too excited about seeing our debts float down river, I must point out that Israel’s system of loans and debts is a world away from our own.
A Post You Will Hate (But Should Really Read)
Let’s assert, for the sake of argument, that our nation was founded to be a Christian nation. What, then, does the Lord expect of such a nation?
Midweek Musings - Summer in Abilene, Surviving the Heat
What does God think of our tendency to move to a rain forest and pray for the rain to stop? Or move into an arid wilderness and pray for rain?
Abortion in 2017, Numbers 5 (and 1 Prize)
With a warning that this is not an easy text to read or a subject to be taken lightly but a topic that demands the utmost sensitivity and pastoral care … here we go.
Nadab, Abihu, with Eleazar, Ithamar (and a Prize)
The next time you play Bible trivia with friends ask them this question: which sons of Aaron broke a law explicitly given to them before Leviticus 10?
Playing with Fire ... Nadab, Abihu, and a Prize
Our story begins on the last eight days that it took to make the priests holy (Aaron and his sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazer, and Ithamar).