One of the first passages of the Bible I memorized after becoming a Christian at the age of nineteen was Romans 6. I was involved in a Bible Study and wanted to commit this passage to memory because it depicts the new life I now had in Christ in radical…

Here’s a look at some interpretive questions from the book of Ruth with some help from the ESV Expository Commentary. This is a soon-to-be twelve-volume commentary series that provides introductions, outlines, comments, and responses on every book in the Bible. Keep reading for a taste of what this succinct and…

I was recently preaching through the last section of Matthew’s gospel and made an important discovery. I discovered that Matthew uses the same word fifteen times in 26:2–27:26. The word is παραδίδωμι and the Legacy Standard Bible translates it as “deliver” or “betray.” Let me walk you through how I…

When God called Abram from Ur of the Chaldees, he gave him a number of promises (see Gen. 12:1–3; 13:14–17). God promised to make Abram into a great nation and to give him the land of Canaan. These promises introduce tension into the story. How would Abram become a great…

How would you illustrate the difference between the self-righteous and those who know they are unrighteous? What mannerisms or postures would you use to depict them? Would their words give them away or only their actions? Jesus did just this during his earthly ministry. With some help from the ESV…

We all face those moments when there is a clear fork in the road. We have to decide if we’re going to follow the ways of God or the ways of the world. Sometimes this takes place internally with temptations to entertain thoughts of anger, jealousy, bitterness, or lust. Other…