Posts

Summary: This biblical passage continues the Pentecost story in the book of Acts. Peter’s audience responds positively to his sermon. Peter instructs them to “repent and be baptized.”

I wrote this biblical commentary for those preparing to preach or teach on the passage. Read the commentary at Working Preacher.

Bible commentary: preachers & teachers workingpreacher.org commentary

Summary: This biblical passage continues the Pentecost story in the book of Acts. Peter’s sermon tells about Jesus, tying together his death, resurrection, ascension, and gift of the Holy Spirit.

I wrote this biblical commentary for those preparing to preach or teach on the passage. Read the commentary at Working Preacher.

Bible commentary: preachers & teachers workingpreacher.org commentary

Summary: The March 2008 issue of The Atlantic included an article about violence between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria. It prompted me to think about two things: themes of retribution we find in the New Testament, and the rhetoric of violence issued by some Christians.

Read the full article on Working Preacher.

Christianity and culture

Summary: In this biblical passage, Peter tells the Roman centurion Cornelius and his household about Jesus, emphasizing that the news about him is good news for all people. The lectionary assigns this passage for Easter Sunday.

I wrote this biblical commentary for those preparing to preach or teach on the passage. Read the commentary at Working Preacher.

Bible commentary: preachers & teachers workingpreacher.org commentary

Summary: This article highlights ways Christian sermons can fall prey to misrepresenting Judaism and voicing anti-Jewish ideas. Among the resources preachers might consult to address this problem is a fine book by Amy-Jill Levine: The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus.

Read the full article on Working Preacher.

Bible commentary: general audience Bible commentary: preachers & teachers Christianity and culture

Summary: I wrote this piece soon after the launch of the website Working Preacher. It introduces the website and offers advice for how a time-strapped preacher might stay abreast of resources that assist us in interpreting the Bible.

Read the full article on Working Preacher.

The Bible and Christian practices

Summary: I wrote this piece soon after the launch of the website Working Preacher; it aims to help preachers think about how they craft sermons. The Revised Common Lectionary assigns four different texts to be read in church each Sunday. That’s nice, but I worry about sermons that try to cover too much ground and lead their congregations into more than one text on any given Sunday. I encourage preachers to dwell deeply in a single biblical passage. This makes for better preaching, and it helps churchgoers gain a better understanding of the Bible and its contents.

Read the full article on Working Preacher.

The Bible and Christian practices

Summary: This article is more academic than most of the other things I’ve written that are accessible on the Web. In it, I explore the story of a woman who asks Jesus to drive a demon from her daughter, but Jesus initially refuses. It’s a fascinating, troubling story. My article explores the deep, persistent, and even argumentative faith of this admirable woman who ultimately persuades Jesus to grant her request.

Read the full article from the journal Word & World. It was originally published in the Winter 2006 issue.

Journal articles

Summary: This article is more academic than most of the other things I’ve written that are accessible on the Web. It explores Jesus’ words in Mark 8:34: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” The self-denial Jesus calls for isn’t about self-improvement. It’s to embrace a new identity that makes a public declaration of our commitment to the enactment of God’s reign.

Read the full article from the journal Word & World. It was originally published in the Summer 2003 issue.

Journal articles

This isn’t a list of every article I’ve published, Rather, the “articles” described below are the pieces I’ve written for various websites that are freely accessible. This list includes a summary of each article and a link to where you can find it on the Web. Further below, at the bottom of the page, you can find tags and categories to help you browse and sort.

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