John Mark Hicks

Nebuchadnezzar’s Second Dream (4:1-18) Royal Epistle/Pride (4:1-3) “His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And his sovereignty is from generation to generation.” The Dream (4:4-18) Nebuchadnezzar Disturbed (4:4-5) “I saw a dream that frightened me; my fantasies in bed and the visions of my head terrified me.” Seeking an Interpreter (4:6-9) “O Belteshazzar, chief of the […]

Daniel 3 narrates a story about allegiance: whom will you worship and serve? Under what conditions will you serve God? Is our allegiance to God conditioned on God’s intervention and deliverance, or is it rooted in God’s sovereign identity as the king of the universe? God delivers the three Judeans out of grace, not merit, […]

In the Fall of 1978, I was attending Westminster Theological Seminary (seeking a sixty-six hour degree in theology) and preaching for the Northeast Philadelphia Church of Christ. I was twenty-one years old. The church asked me to give a series of radio lessons on a station that covered the Philadelphia market. They hoped it would […]

Presentado en la HUGSR Foro Anual de Predicadores Abril 14, 1992 [Publicado en   Grace, Faith, Works: How Do They Relate, ed. by C. Philip Slate (Huntsville, AL: Publishing Designs, Inc.,, 1992), 5-28. The English original is available here.] El peregrino es un extraño en busca de un hogar. Es un extraño en un país hostil […]

Bobby Valentine and John Mark Hicks discuss one of the most important Psalms in Judaism. It is prayed three times a day by devout worshippers. It is a grand picture of God’s mighty works rooted in the divine identity as gracious, merciful, and ever present steadfast love. It is the praise song that concludes the […]

What is the theological heart of the dream narrative in Daniel 2? The Statue of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and iron & clay serve the greater theological point: God gives power and wisdom, and God takes it away (deposes kings). Kings who are supposed to image God, as God intended from the beginning for all […]

Perhaps Psalm 25 is the “Lord’s Prayer” of the Psalms–it teaches us to pray, pursue the way (derek) of the Lord, and rest in God’s overwhelming mercy, love, and grace. Bobby Valentine and John Mark Hicks discuss Psalm 25 as a kind of model prayer for the covenant people of God. Petitions are grounded in […]

This essay was first published in Why We Stayed: Honesty and Hope in the Churches of Christ (Los Angeles: Keledei Publications, 2018), pp. 103-120. In the essay, I discuss the emerging differences within Churches in the late 19th and early 20th centuries on (1) rebaptism, (2) female voice in the assembly, and (3) the Holy […]

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Mtk4x9qmj4s?si=IxAFymP3c8xGYRXR The Historical Setting: The Kings of Judah King of Judah Dates Biblical Texts Empire Invasion Jehoiakim 609-605 BCE 2 Kings 23:30, 34 Egypt 609 BCE Jehoiakim 605-597 BCE Dan 1:1; Jer 25:1 Babylon 605 BCE Jehoiachin 597 BCE 2 Kings 24:8 Babylon 597 BCE Zedekiah 597-586 BCE 2 Kings 24:18 Babylon 586 BCE Historical […]

Bobby Valentine and John Mark walk through the practice of morning prayer with Psalm 5. Morning prayer may serve as a pledge of allegiance as well as a prayer for protection as we face daily threats and fears. As the Psalmist says, we pray for God to make the way straight for us and lead […]