John Mark Hicks

You, God, who made the heavens and the earth and have promised to remake them, hear my voice. I plea for a hearing because you often seem so distant to me and sometimes I fear that you do not listen. Awake, O God, and hear my prayer for I struggle once again with death. Death […]

The fate of Samaria is reason enough to weep (Micah 1:6-7), but Micah’s symbolic act of lament is because Samaria’s incurable wound has come to Judah, even to the gate of Jerusalem itself (Micah 1:9). Micah laments the future of Judah, especially the towns in the southwestern region. This is the region of Micah’s own hometown, […]

The Lamb, having taken the book of prophetic judgment from the hand of God, now begins to open it by breaking the seals. Systematically, the Lamb breaks one seal after another–six in Revelation 6. As each seal is opened John hears and sees a variety of images that evidence divine judgment or are related in […]

Hebel That is an important word for the writer of Ecclesiastes. It is a word that comes to mind on May 21 every year since 2001.  That was the day Joshua died. It was also the day John Robert died in 2008. Indeed, it is a day on which many people have died. Hebel You may […]

The above title is the first line in the refrain of Andrew Peterson’s “Come Back Soon.” On Sunday my old and dear friend Dean Barham, in his morning sermon at Woodmont Hills, alerted me to Peterson’s music and particularly this line. It has stuck with me for a few days now. Yesterday I read Keith Brenton’s funeral […]

We need more lament songs. I was reminded of of this while studying Amos 8:9.  The prophet offers the most chilling metaphor for lament imaginable for an ancient Israelite:  “I will make it like the mourning of an only son.” Children killed in their schools, on the streets of a sporting event, by abuse at […]

Last weekend I was honored to spend some time with the University Park Church of Christ in Maryland. I was encouraged by their desire to serve the Lord and the integrated nature of their family. Dorn & Carolyn Muscar are serving the church there in a wonderful way.  They are a dedicated couple in the […]

Everyone who has heard my story or has read much of what I have written knows that I encourage lament. The Psalms invite us to lament before God in the midst of our storms. Several days ago my Psalms class discussed Psalm 88–which is one of the most profound laments in the Psalms, and some […]

The first section of Zechariah 12 (verses 2-8) promises Israel a new Exodus as the Angel of Yahweh will lead them into the safety of their land free from the oppression of the nations. This is the eschatological hope of Israel. Zechariah 12:9 functions as a segway between this hopeful proclamation and the spiritual renewal of Israel. “On […]

The Woodmont Hills Family of God has suffered some difficult losses in the past months and in this past week the family suffered the loss of one of its youth. Ty Osman, an eighteen year old freshman at Harding University, was killed in a car accident while on Spring Break. Added to other recent losses–and the […]