John Mark Hicks

Bobby Valentine and John Mark Hicks discuss the meaning and application of Psalm 93. It declares “Yahweh is king!” What does that mean when we also see chaos and evil in the world? Do we say that because God is king that therefore everything is the way it is supposed to be, or that the […]

Where: Woodmont Hills Church of Christ, Nashville, TN Access:  Classroom 205 or available on Zoom (email me for link) Time: Wednesdays, September 4 – December 18 @ 6:30-7:30pm (Central Time) Teacher: John Mark Hicks Many remember the stories of Daniel in the Lion’s Den or his three friends in the fiery furnace. Perhaps we remember […]

Dr. James Nesmith, Jr. joins Bobby Valentine and John Mark Hicks to discuss the meaning and significance of Psalm 58. This is an imprecatory lament against injustice on the part of rulers (whether “gods” as NRSV has it, or “rulers” as the NIV [2011] has it). How might we pray this prayer today as disciples […]

The Common Grounds Unity Podcast hosted Bobby Valentine and myself to discuss our book Kingdom Come: Embracing the Spiritual Legacy of David Lipscomb and James Harding. We discuss the theocentric dynamic nature of Lipscomb (d. 1917) and Harding’s (d. 1922) spirituality. The link for the podcast and the book are in the first comments. Listen […]

Texts: Exodus 40:34-38; Joshua 11:23; 1 Samuel 8:4-9 Days 17-19 in Around the Bible in Eighty Days. God led Israel out of Egypt into the wilderness to Sinai where God dwelt upon the earth. The purpose of the Exodus was not only liberation from slavery but encounter with God at Sinai whey they would become […]

How do “aliens and exiles” (1 Peter 2:11) live in an empire whose commitments and values are not their own? Accept.  Honor.  Love.  Reverence. Those are the imperatives in 1 Peter 2:13-17. The first, “accept” (NRSV; usually translated “submit”), heads a long sentence that runs from verse thirteen to verse sixteen. The difficulty of accepting […]

David Lipscomb’s opposition to participation in civil government is perhaps well-known. He is, in some ways, a Christian anarchist. This arises both from his experience in the Civil War but also out of his kingdom theology which envisions the kingdom of God destroying all human ruling authorities through Jesus Christ. Consequently, Lipscomb was a pacifist […]