John Mark Hicks

Humanity, created out of the dust of the earth, is placed in the Garden to protect it and serve it, much like the priests of Israel protected and served the temple. This is another aspect of our human vocation: we are priests and priestesses. We lead the creation in the praise of God, and we […]

The Ray Evans Seminar, an annual event at the Alameda Church of Christ in Norman, Oklahoma, was held March 31-April 2, 2017. The general topic was Embracing Creation, which is also the title of the book I co-authored with Bobby Valentine and Mark Wilson. The book is available here. I gave six presentations as well […]

It is rather distressing to see Christians wringing their hands over the state of the nation. Facebook is populated by “Christian rants,” which reflect a state of anxiety, anger, and angst. Many live in fear. Believers, however, worship God. Perhaps the contrast is not apparent. Perhaps Christians are so filled with fear, it is difficult […]

The only Hebrew word for repentance used in Jonah—to turn (sub)—appears only in this section of Jonah. Twice it describes the Ninevites (Jonah 3:8, 10) who turn away from evil, but twice God is the subject of the verb (Jonah 3:9). God also turns. Nineveh repented, and—in response–so did God. Nineveh’s Repentance From the time […]

God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” Genesis 1:28 The Lord God took the adam and rested […]

The earth was a chaotic void, and darkness covered the face of the deep, while the Spirit of God hovered over the face the waters. Then God saw everything made, and, Wow!, it was really good. Genesis 1:2, 31a (my translation) The title is a rather controversial one in the history of Christian theology. Many […]

Thus says Yahweh: The heavens are my throne, and the earth is my footstool; where is the house you will build for me, and where is my resting place? My hand made all these things, and all these things belong to me, declares Yahweh. Isaiah 66:1-2a (my translation) Yahweh, the God of Israel, announces some […]

Eschatology. Millennialism. Second Advent. Judgment. New Heaven and Earth. Nineteenth century Restorationists, from Alexander Campbell to David Lipscomb, spoke and wrote about these subjects. They often disagreed, however. Alexander Campbell was a postmillennialist. James A. Harding was a premillennialist. Walter Scott changed his mind several times. David Lipscomb was uncertain. However, these all agreed that […]

Psalm 104 is one of the great creation praise hymns of Israel. As worship, it blesses God as both creator and provider. As theology, it identifies creation in theocentric rather than anthropocentric ways. God is not only sovereign over the creation but is immanent within it. The creation is more about God than it is […]

Words. Some are voiceless, some form a narrative, and others offer a response. Psalm 19 is a meditative response to words that make no sound and words that shape the life of Israel. The Psalmist offers a meditation on how God encounters Israel through creation and Torah and how believers respond to such gracious revelation. […]