John Mark Hicks

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19-20a The imperative to “make disciples” is part of Jesus’s last words to his disciples in the Gospel […]

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Acts 2:42, NRSV. “Our greatest trouble now is, it seems to me, a vast unconverted membership. A very large percent of the church members among us seem to have very poor conception of what a Christian ought […]

They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer (Acts 2:42, NASV) Borrowing from Brother Lawrence, I have been using the language of “practicing the kingdom of God” in recent years. I don’t mean that as an alternative to or a substitute for Brother […]

The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God (1:1). Mark’s first words, in a Roman political and cultural context, are startling.  “Gospel” was the term used to describe the joyous announcement of imperial news, that is, the Roman Emperor has secured peace, prosperity and security for the known world. “Son of […]