John Mark Hicks

Discipled in Family Text: Luke 2:41-52 Jesus was an apprentice. Like F(f)ather, like son. He apprenticed with his heavenly Father. He learned obedience by the things which he suffered (Hebrews 5:8-9). He taught and did only what he heard his Father teach and what he saw his Father do (John 5:19). He was the Father’s […]

The annual season we know as Christmas is a time when most people remember the stories of Jesus’ birth. The media is full of movies, articles and advertisements, which remind us of those stories. There are good stories — Joseph & Mary, Bethlehem, “no room at the inn” which is traditionally badly interpreted as inhospitality […]

One of the most vivid scenes in Luke is Peter’s 3x denial, particularly “the look.”          “The Lord turned around and looked straight at Peter” (Luke 22:61, GNB). The verbs are intensive, descriptive, and full of significance.  “Turned around,” which is actually a participle in the Greek text, involves twisting or reversing; it is turning the back 180% […]

[My book on the Shack is now available on Kindle.] The term kenosis comes from the classic Christological text in Philippians 2:7. The Greek verb kenoo is translated “made himself nothing” by the NIV and “emptied himself” by the NRSV. The term’s literal meaning is “empty or pour out” but the metaphorical meaning is “humbled.” […]

I hesitate to venture into the turbulent political waters that my title might suggest. I have waited a few days so that emotions can subside a bit, including my own. 🙂 But I am disturbed by both the right and the left, by both Republican and Demoncrat….by Christians on both sides of the aisle. I […]

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19). “Today this scripture is […]

“…Galilee of the Gentiles–the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the shadow of death a light has dawned” (Matthew 4:15d-16). “…Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17) “Galilee of the Gentiles”? Is that not part of the land of promise? Indeed. […]

“The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God” (Genesis 17:7-8). “[Yahweh] brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey” (Deuteronomy 26:9). When the […]

In the first half of 2004, the Woodmont Hills Church of Christ (Family of God) in Nashville, TN, pursued a congregational-wide study entitled “Women Serving God.” There were some preliminaries in the Fall of 2003, but the main focus was the Spring of 2004. This involved many different venues–sermons, Bible classes (Sunday and Wednesday), small groups, […]

On February 2 of this year I conducted a one day seminar at the North Davis Church of Christ in Arlington, Texas. They had invited me to prepare some materials for a congregational-wide study of Baptism, the Lord’s Supper and Assembly based on my three books (Come to the Table, Down in the River to […]