John Mark Hicks

The language of peace, grace, and faith connects the benediction of Ephesians with its salutation. These are dominant topics in Ephesians: the peace the cross as effected through overcoming hostility in the world, the grace God gave to humanity in Jesus the Messiah, and the faith the people of God have in God’s work through […]

This is one of the most beautiful images of rest, calm, and peace. Our souls are like a nursing child resting in her mother’s arms after a feeding. This is the hope of Israel, and invites us to humble ourselves before the Lord, whose greatness we can never exhaust or fully comprehend. O Israel, hope […]

“Peace upon Israel!” is how Psalm 125 concludes. This is God’s goal for those who trust in the Lord, whose hearts are oriented toward righteousness, and walk in the paths of God’s goodness. The promise is that God will remove all wickedness and injustice, and those who trust in the Lord will inherit the land. […]

Pilgrims enter Jerusalem excited to experience authentic community, thanksgiving, and justice. They come to the house of the Lord to experience shalom (peace) and ask God to give peace the place where the Lord dwells. What does it mean to pray for Jerusalem? How might we pray for Jerusalem today? Psalm 122 guides in the […]

Bobby Valenting and John Mark Hicks introduce the first song of Ascent in the Psalter, Psalm 120. The narrative of the Psalter has celebrated the Exodus (Psalms 113-118), the giving of the Law at Sinai (Psalm 119), and now invites Israel to ascend to the holy hill of God to enjoy God’s presence and unity […]

This is the link to my recent lesson on Romans 5:1-5 at Lipscomb University’s “Summer Celebration.” What does it mean to boast in our sufferings, and what does suffering produce in our lives? Suffering has meaning; suffering has purpose…because we know suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. Without peace, afflictions […]

[Sermon preached at Woodmont Hills Church of Christ in Nashville, TN.] In 597 B.C.E. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, exiled Jehoiakim, the King of Judah, along with some 3,000 others to Babylon. This was the second deportation from Judah (an earlier one was in 605 B.C.E.) and it would not be the last (another when Jerusalem […]

Inheritance (or, possession) occurs fifty times in the book of Joshua, and everyone of them, except for five (11:23; 23:4; 24:28,30,32), occur in chapters 12-21. Further, the verb “to possess or inherit” occurs nine times in Joshua, eight times in Joshua 13-21. So, fifty-three of the fifty-nine occurrences of this word group occur in Joshua […]

While the Jerusalem Micah knew was built by blood, destined for destruction, and soaked with injustice (Micah 3:9-12), the future Jerusalem is exalted above the mountains, committed to God’s agenda for the world, and enacts peace within the world. Rather than present injustice and war, the future Jerusalem secures justice and peace. The contrasts are […]

How might a migrant worker convict luxurious homeowners about their oppressive lifestyles? What might a poor, rural believer say to wealthy, urban idolaters? Amos was neither trained as a prophet nor assumed the career of a prophet. He was a shepherd near the Judean wilderness six miles SE of Bethlehem in the backwater village of […]