It’s easy to think of the Bible as a collection of short stories, but each one makes up a greater story – one story of a God who created the universe and entrusted it to His human partners to care for it. They were unfai... MORE
Jesus left heaven to be born in a filthy shepherd’s stable, as if to say, “I’ll leave heaven to enter the brokenness of your world.” Much of His teaching ministry, though, took place in a very different sort ... MORE
The majority of Jesus’ ministry was done in places like the town of Capernaum, among a people who loved to debate and discuss Torah in the synagogue. They didn’t always agree with each other, but their emphasis was on how to ... MORE
The Colosseum in Rome is famous for many reasons, not least of which because it was built by the spoils of war from the destruction of Jerusalem, the military defeat of the Jews. In the Roman world, it was assumed that if Caesar was... MORE
It was customary in the Roman world to consider the emperor a divine being. New emperors would claim this status because they believed that when the previous ruler died, he would ascend to heaven to be seated among the gods, making ... MORE
After His resurrection, Jesus spent about 40 days with His followers in Jerusalem and back in the Galilee region, where they had received much of their training. He explained that after His ascension to heaven, He would send them a ... MORE
When the Israelites left Egypt and began their journey with God to the Promised Land, how much did they know of their past history? Some, like Moses' parents, seemed to have retained a knowledge and faith in the God of their fathers, but the Bible... MORE
In the beginning, God created magnificent beauty and order out of absolute chaos, "tohu vebohu," in Hebrew. When humanity rebelled, the world began a long progression of slipping back into that chaos. Yet God wasn't finished; He decided... MORE
Sheep and shepherds were so much a part of the Biblical world, it's no wonder Jesus uses the imagery as a metaphor in several of His teachings. The shepherds of His day knew every one of the animals in their flock by sight and spent their lives pr... MORE
Of all the parables Jesus told, the one we call "The Prodigal Son" is possibly the most famous. In the story, a younger son demands his inheritance from his father and leaves the family behind, taking his riches to a far country. The imp... MORE
Throughout His ministry, Jesus' compassion for sinners and those considered unclean raised the eyebrows of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. God's word warned His people not to touch any unclean thing, and they could not understand why Je... MORE
For a first century Jew, to follow a rabbi meant to "be covered with the dust of his feet." When Jesus called His disciples, it was implied that they would begin this process of becoming like Him by following closely in His footsteps. Tr... MORE
Most of Jesus' ministry was spent in Jewish communities, proclaiming the good news of God's kingdom to the people of Israel. His greater intention, though, was for His Jewish followers to bring this message to the Gentile world around them, a worl... MORE
When the believers began to bring the message of the gospel to the world of the Gentiles, they quickly realized that their faith made them extremely countercultural. How would they explain the good news in places where they couldn't engage in the ... MORE
When questioned about his message, Paul tells the Athenians that the one and only God "does not live in temples made with hands" (Acts 17:24). Naturally, anyone who was curious about Jesus in the Greco-Roman world would ask the early bel... MORE
In ancient times, people craved words of counsel and knowledge from their gods. The city of Didyma in what is now modern-day Turkey functioned as one of three main oracles, places where ordinary people would travel to hear advice and predictions o... MORE
For a first century Jew, to follow a rabbi meant to "be covered with the dust of his feet." When Jesus called His disciples, it was implied that they would begin this process of becoming like Him by following closely in His footsteps. Tr... MORE
As the gospel of Jesus spread across a Gentile world unfamiliar with the teachings and culture of the Jews, the early church faced an interesting challenge %u2013 meeting different cultures in their own context to demonstrate the redeeming power o... MORE
When the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt, the Promised Land awaited them, but first God led them into the desert. The time they spent there would not only get them out of Egypt geographically, but would also remove its influence from thei... MORE
Followers of Jesus believe that the Bible contains the inspired revelation of the Creator of the universe. “Gospel” is the word that’s often used – the good news that God is redeeming a broken world through His So... MORE
Most of Jesus' ministry was spent in Jewish communities, proclaiming the good news of God's kingdom to the people of Israel. His greater intention, though, was for His Jewish followers to bring this message to the Gentile world around them, a worl... MORE
After meeting Jesus on the Damascus Road, Paul dedicated the rest of his life to sharing the gospel with anyone and everyone. He soon became one of the major leaders in the early church, focusing much of his effort on reaching out to the Gentiles.... MORE
The majority of Jesus’ ministry was done in places like the town of Capernaum, among a people who loved to debate and discuss Torah in the synagogue. They didn’t always agree with each other, but their emphasis was on how to ... MORE
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