Lesson 5: The Central Theological Claim (Ephesians 2:11-22)

February 12, 2025

This is the “key and high point of the whole epistle” (Barth, Ephesians, 1:275). Though the gentiles were once foreigners and aliens from the commonwealth and strangers to the covenants of promise, through the cross the Messiah has made peace and killed the hostility between Jew and gentile by abolishing the law of commandments in […]


Psalm 19: Derek–Meditating on the Way

July 18, 2024

Bobby Valentine and John Mark Hicks discuss the two voices of God to which Psalm 19 invites us to hear: The heavens/skies and the Torah. The Psalm offers a sacrifice of praise ripe for meditation. See also this blog.


Psalm 1 – Derek: Meditating on the Way

May 4, 2024

Bobby Valentine and John Mark Hicks on Psalm 1 This episode begins a new series led by Bobby Valentine and John Mark Hicks. This series is dedicated to understanding and practicing the Psalms. Each week they will discuss a particular Psalm. In this first week, they discuss Psalm 1, which introduces the whole Psalter itself. […]


Israel’s Scripture: Narrative and Liturgy

December 22, 2022

Texts: 1 Chronicles 29:29-30; Psalm 19:14 Days 20-22 in Around the Bible in Eighty Days. Every people-group has a history; they tell stories about their journey. And every people-group has a liturgy; they worship someone or something.  Israel is no different. The Torah and subsequent histories (running from Judges through Kings and Chronicles to Ezra-Nehemiah) narrates […]


God’s Gifts to Israel….and the Peoples of the Earth

October 20, 2009

The most heartfelt and gut-wrenching expression of Paul’s love for his own nation, his own people, for Israel is found in Romans 9:1-5. Israel, though gifted by God with wondrous privileges, had rejected God’s Messiah. Paul was heartbroken as he listed the gifts in an overflow of praise for God’s grace toward Israel. Gift one: […]


Stone-Campbell Hermeneutics V – Moral and Positive Law

May 31, 2008

Be grateful–this post is under 2500 words. 🙂 I plan one more on Stone-Campbell Hermeneutics and I will move to thinking about a biblical-theologial hermeneutic for contemporary Churches of Christ. The Distinction between Moral and Positive Law The distinction between positive law and moral law in the modern era finds its roots in Thomas Hobbes’ […]


Academic Articles

April 2, 2008

I have recently created some pages where I can offer some previously published and unpublished materials for download.  I will occasionally comment on these to alert readers of their availability. At the moment there are several documents available on the Academic Materials page. One article is a presentation I made at the Christian Scholar’s Conference on a […]