Opening the Scriptures Then their eyes were opened and they recognized [Jesus], and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” ~ Luke 24.31-32 NIV 1 Peter, Introduction # 5 1 Peter's Readers and Their Circumstances David Anguish Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ: To those chosen, living as exiles dispersed abroad in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, chosen...
9 days ago • 7 min read
The Bible's One Story David Anguish "Why study the Old Testament? This question has echoed down through the centuries of church history” (Hill and Walton 2009, 11). Most believers affirm that, at some level, the church needs to study the OT. We’ve read the reasons identified in Romans 15.4 (“instruction”) and 1 Corinthians 10.11 (“warnings” [NIV]). We know the OT’s importance for providing the details needed to understand references to names and events in some NT passages (e.g., Jude 5–11)....
16 days ago • 4 min read
Opening the Scriptures Then their eyes were opened and they recognized [Jesus], and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” ~ Luke 24.31-32 NIV 1 Peter, Introduction # 4 1 Peter: Author, Date, and Point of Origin David Anguish Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ: To those chosen, living as exiles dispersed abroad in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, chosen...
23 days ago • 7 min read
Let's Keep Talking About Love David Anguish Have you noticed our world’s interest in love? “We love baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and …” We love our parents, children, spouses, friends. But we also love a good thriller, romance, or biography. We love sports (pick your favorite), music (choose your genre), a good movie, or play. We love our country, a good parade, a quiet snowfall, leaves turning, birds singing, the mountains (or beach), a gorgeous sunrise/sunset, or napping while it rains on...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
Opening the Scriptures Then their eyes were opened and they recognized [Jesus], and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” ~ Luke 24.31-32 NIV 1 Peter, Introduction # 3 Authorship Challenge: Is 1 Peter a "Pauline" Letter? David Anguish Regarding 1 Peter, E. M. Blaiklock observed that “any challenge to Petrine authorship came only with the appearance of...
about 1 month ago • 7 min read
Defining "Kingdom" David Anguish In reflecting on the significance of Luke’s references to the “kingdom of God” in Acts for today’s church (see part 1, here), we should first remember that he is continuing the kingdom theme established by Jesus and reported in the gospels. We are especially concerned with its use in Luke, part one of his “narrative about the events that have been fulfilled among us” (Luke 1.1; cf. Acts 1.1). Recall that the noun βασιλεία (basileia), used eight times in Acts,...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
Opening the Scriptures Then their eyes were opened and they recognized [Jesus], and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” ~ Luke 24.31-32 NIV 1 Peter, Introduction # 2 1 Peter: Traditional Authorship Challenged David Anguish “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ: To those chosen, living as exiles dispersed abroad in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,…” (1...
about 2 months ago • 7 min read
No "Love" in Acts? David Anguish A passing observation by a brother at a preachers meeting devoted to study and discussion prompted an examination of an important theme in the preaching of Jesus and the early church. He commented that, since the word love never appears in Acts, it is possible to evangelize without telling people that God loves them. I trusted his scholarship, but his statement piqued my curiosity. So, as soon as I could, I opened my Bible software and did a search. The noun...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
Opening the Scriptures Then their eyes were opened and they recognized [Jesus], and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” ~ Luke 24.31-32 NIV 1 Peter, Introduction # 1 A Bona Fide Spiritual Adviser A Precursor to a Study of 1 Peter David Anguish In his devotional commentary on 1 Peter, E. M. Blaiklock, a self-described “professional classicist and historian” who...
2 months ago • 8 min read