John Mark Hicks

Psalm 147, the second of five Psalms in the “Little Hallel” at the end of the Psalter, commands Israel to “praise the Lord” because God’s steadfast love has remembered the covenant with Israel. And because God is the creator who continues to provide sustenance for the cosmos. God is an active agent within the creation […]

Parallel to Ephesians 4:17-19, Paul reminds the gentiles that they no longer participate in their past practices, the way of the nations. This is the case because they have been taught by the Jewish Messiah and live in harmony with the ethics of the God of Israel. They are now part of the commonwealth of […]

How should we walk? And how can we walk? (Ephesians 4:17-24) Disciples of Jesus, those who learned about the Messiah, are to walk worthy of their calling (Ephesians 4:1). These first generation Gentile believers are called to no longer walk as they used to walk as people alienated from God, but to walk in the […]

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 […]

(English Version Here) Palabras. Algunos no tienen voz, otros forman una narrativa y otros ofrecen una respuesta. El Salmo 19 es una respuesta meditativa a las palabras que no emiten sonido y a las palabras que dan forma a la vida de Israel. El salmista ofrece una meditación sobre cómo Dios se encuentra con Israel […]

Bobby Valentine and John Mark Hicks discuss the meaning and application of Psalm 93. It declares “Yahweh is king!” What does that mean when we also see chaos and evil in the world? Do we say that because God is king that therefore everything is the way it is supposed to be, or that the […]

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.

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. […]

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 […]

Texts: Romans 9:4-5; Psalm 19:7-10; Romans 3:1-2 Days 20-22 in Around the Bible in Eighty Days. God chose Israel from among the nations as God’s own firstborn. As firstborn, Israel was tasked with blessing the nations through their obedience to God (as a light among the nations) and the promises made to Abraham. God equipped […]