John Mark Hicks

During July 2007 I presented three lessons in the summer series at Brentwood Hills Church of Christ near Nashville, Tennessee. They asked me to present some material from Kingdom Come: Embracing the Spiritual Legacy of David Lipscomb and James Harding which I co-authored with my good friend Bobby Valentine. Bobby and I presented the material […]

“In the splendid palace chapel a stately court preacher, the cultivated public’s elite, advances before an elite circle of fashionable and cultivated people and preaches emotionally on the text of the Apostle, ‘God chose the lowly and despised’–and nobody laughs.” Soren Kierkegaard And Luke’s Jesus shakes his head in utter disappointment as the rich young […]

I admit it; actually, I confess it–I find “Sell your possessions and give to the poor” (Luke 12:33) a hard and difficult saying. Probably more than any other saying of Jesus–even “love your enemies”–I’m inclined to throw up my hands and say “I can’t do that.” It puts me in the position of the Rich […]

Practicing the kingdom of God entails fellowship with the poor. Jesus came to announce “good news” (gospel) to the poor and to liberate the poor from their oppression. He came to sustain the needy and supply their needs. Acts 2:42 characterizes the early church as devoting themselves to “fellowship” (koinonia). This term can have a […]

Text: Luke 18-19 This is the story of two men who make two very different choices. I admit upfront that I am not sure which man I am or which choice I would make. I know which one I would want to make, but I’m not sure which one I would actually make. Or perhaps […]

Kingdom Come: Embracing the Spiritual Legacy of David Lipscomb and James A. Harding is the title of a new release by Leafwood Press, a division of ACU Press. It is due out in May 2006. Bobby Valentine and John Mark Hicks are the authors. “Many assume that Churches of Christ views 1930-1960 were those of […]

Text: Luke 1:46-55. Blessed is Mary—she will bear the one who will reverse the curse. Blessed is the cosmos—the burden it now carries will be lifted because of the one who reverses the curse. Blessed are we—we are invited to participate in the kingdom of God through which the curse is reversed. The Magnificat is […]

Text: Luke 10:25-37 One of my favorite questions Jesus’ asks in the Gospel of Luke is, “How do you read it?” An expert in the law (one of the “wise and learned” in Luke 10:21 to whom spiritual depth is often hidden) asked Jesus a question: “what must I do to inherit eternal life”(or, our […]