Free Video Course: Anchors for the Soul

December 21, 2021

Anchors for the Soul is now available for free streaming! Several years ago HIM Publications, led by Chad Harrington, published a 10 lesson video series by John Mark Hicks on both DVD and through streaming service. It is entitled “Anchors for the Soul.” These lessons are 9-13 minutes long and enter the sacred space of […]


“Say Among the Nations” (Psalm 96:10)

May 16, 2016

It is rather distressing to see Christians wringing their hands over the state of the nation. Facebook is populated by “Christian rants,” which reflect a state of anxiety, anger, and angst. Many live in fear. Believers, however, worship God. Perhaps the contrast is not apparent. Perhaps Christians are so filled with fear, it is difficult […]


A Call to Worship in a Day of Fear (Psalm 33)

May 11, 2016

Psalm 33, a hymn of praise, expresses hope and joy in a time of fear. Israel’s circumstances, whatever their precise character, generated a deep need for God’s help and protection (“shield”) in the face of death and famine (Psalm 33:19-20). This fear was possibly occasioned by the threat of war or battle (Psalm 33:16-17). Given […]


Five Lectures on the Book of Job: Midwest Preachers’ Retreat (2014)

May 28, 2015

In September 2014, I was honored to present some material on the book of Job to a group of dedicated and devout servants in the church at the Midwest Preachers’ Retreat in Wisconsin.  Here are the audio links to those presentations. 1.  The Text of Job as Dramatic Lament: The Dialogical Structure of the Book […]


Revelation 6 – Divine Judgments on Empires

July 20, 2013

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 […]


Revelation 4 — Bowing Before the Throne

July 7, 2013

Revelation 4-16 gives us eyes to see the conflict between the kingdom of God and world powers with the eyes of God. We see the conflict between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this earth from a heavenly perspective; we see it from the throne room of God. John, “in the Spirit,” is […]


Tolbert Fanning–Advocate for Peace in 1861 (Part IV)

March 23, 2012

On June 8, 1861, Tennesseans voted for secession. On July 2 the state joined the Confederacy and, consequently, entered the war against the Union. Tolbert Fanning floods the July issue of the Gospel Advocate with three rather lengthy articles on war, peace and “world powers.” The first, “The Kingdom of God Triumphant Over the Kingdoms of […]


Lipscomb on Divine Sovereignty

January 31, 2012

The seeming popularity of Neo-Puritanism (John Piper and the “new Calvinists”) is concerning to me, but it is also–in some senses–welcome.  Of course, I am concerned about its apparent belligerence and its theology of unconditional election along with a rigid TULIP. However, I welcome a renewed emphasis on divine sovereignty in the context of an […]


The Prologue of Job: Three Questions

September 8, 2011

In my last post I noted three hermeneutical keys for reading the book of Job.  But is there dissonance within the Prologue as well that might undermine those keys? Three questions are particularly important.  Is Job a Legalist? Some think the description of Job in 1:5 is a bit neurotic. They may have a point.  […]


The Prologue to Job: Hermeneutical Considerations

September 7, 2011

If the narrative prologue is a hermeneutical lens through which we read its poetic core, then it is important to understand what the narrative projects as the hermeneutical keys for reading the dramatic poetry of Job 3:1-42:6.  I suggest at least three hermeneutical keys are found in the Prologue that enable a faithful reading of […]