God did not choose careless, crude, or ordinary language to convey His word. He spoke through the prophets in poetry—the most refined form of human language. If God entrusted His word to such language, what does this demand of those who now stand in the pulpit and speak in His name?
When God Spoke in Poetry Read More »
Psalm 1 does not merely contrast moral people with immoral people. It contrasts two fundamentally different ways of existence: life lived in relationship with God, and life lived apart from Him. This sermon explores “blessing” not as material prosperity, but as a life shaped by listening to, delighting in, and orienting oneself around the Word of God amid a world where unbelief often appears more successful and attractive.
Blessed Is the One Read More »
Psalm 1 did not emerge from an ideal world where righteousness always prospered and wickedness always failed. It was written for believers struggling with a troubling question: Why do those who ignore God often seem to flourish? Read against that reality, Psalm 1 becomes not merely instruction, but encouragement for every generation of God’s people.
Psalm 1 – Why Did the Psalmist Say This? / part (4) Read More »
Psalm 1 presents two vivid images: a flourishing tree rooted beside streams of water and weightless chaff carried away by the wind. These are not merely descriptions of success and failure. They reveal the radically different destinies of lives either rooted in God or separated from Him.
Psalm 1 – Like a Tree Planted by Streams of Water / part (3) Read More »
Noblesse oblige is often presented as the moral responsibility of the privileged. But what if the very situations that call for such sacrifice are produced by the social structures those privileged elites have built, preserved, and continue to control? Perhaps true noblesse oblige is not about responding to the situation, but about transforming the structure that created it.
Noblesse Oblige — Sophisticated Hypocrisy! Read More »
For centuries, Elisha has been remembered as the prophet who called bears to maul forty-two innocent children. But the Hebrew vocabulary, the historical significance of Bethel, and the military and political context of the Northern Kingdom point toward another possibility: the people who confronted Elisha may have been young men associated with the defense or security of Bethel. If so, the traditional accusation against Elisha rests on a profoundly misleading reading of the story.
Did Elisha Really Massacre Children? – part (4) Read More »
Passion always carries a cost. Those who choose to live with deep passion must also be willing to embrace the Passion that inevitably follows. A brief theological reflection on calling, sacrifice, and the paradox of love.
Passion & the Passion Read More »
The people who confronted Elisha at Bethel may not have been small children at all. The Hebrew words qāṭān and naʿar can describe adults and even men serving in military roles, while Bethel itself was a strategically important political and religious stronghold of the Northern Kingdom. Taken together, the evidence strongly suggests that the group may have consisted of young men associated with the city’s defense or security.
Did Elisha Really Massacre Children? – Revision (3) Read More »
Psalm 1 does more than contrast the righteous and the wicked. It describes a gradual movement of the human heart. The blessed person does not simply avoid evil; he chooses a different voice to hear, a different destination to pursue, and ultimately a different way of life.
Psalm 1 – The Blessed Person Walks a Different Road / part (2) Read More »
What does it truly mean to love God? Looking back on a year of fasting that left my body weakened but my character unchanged, I began asking a question that has stayed with me for three decades: Does God really seek proof of our love through our wounds?
How I Learned to Love God Read More »