In Part IV of our series, The Theology of the Pentateuch, Alex Kirk reflects on one of the most baffling stories of the Bible: God’s command to Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac.
Rethinking Seminary Podcast
Engaging Ecclesiastes
Pastor Mark Hallock of Calvary Englewood Church just wrapped up a sermon series on the book of Ecclesiastes, a rarely-preached and often misunderstood corner of the Bible. We asked him to share a little about his experience. As he says, “If you’re gospel-centered, all of it's a springboard to our joy in the Lord: Jesus is better, Jesus transcends all this, Jesus is our King and he reigns over all these things.”
An Inexhaustible Thesaurus
Tennent’s Greek tutor, Jeremy Conrad, reflects on the discipline of studying the biblical languages. He asks, “When faced with the challenge of learning Biblical Greek, it’s valid to question why we would subject ourselves to this type of discouragement when others have already done the work of translation. After all, isn’t it a lot of effort for relatively little gain? What blessings—what joy-enhancing benefits could possibly allure us to this discipline?”
Naked and Unashamed
Third in our series on the Theology of the Pentateuch, Old Testament professor Alex Kirk shares his reflections on an often-overlooked aspect of the Fall: what does it mean that Adam and Eve were “naked and unashamed”? What did it mean for them to become conscious of this? He explains, “After she eats, the Serpent’s words come true but there is a cruel twist. Divine knowledge becomes nothing other than self-consciousness—that sinking feeling that you are on a stage with no clothes on.”
The Seductiveness of Downplaying Doctrine
The idea circulates that theological study is futile. Why study the ineffable God? Many a modern Christian seems to gravitate towards chucking doctrine, perceiving the pride and folly of claiming to know with our small brains what can only be understood by our omniscient Father. Rather than advocating a heaping helping of humility, some are seduced by a false dichotomy: doctrine or mercy, doctrine or mystery, doctrine or mission.
Absolute and Intimate Contingency: Genesis 1, Creation, and Our Relationship to God
Hungry
The story of Training Leaders International is an incredibly hopeful story for the church worldwide. As President Darren Carlson points out, “Even if all the seminaries in the world operated at 100% capacity, we wouldn’t make a dent in the number of leaders that need training…. Seminaries are outposts of gospel light. Planting and working in pastoral training schools are some of the most fruitful things missionaries can do.”
Approaching the Mountain of God: Exodus 19 and the Nature of the Pentateuch
Over the next several months, Alex Kirk will be unrolling a new series for us: The Theology of the Pentateuch. It is just a small preview of our OT 500 course, The Torah, which is a deeper exploration of the foundational Old Testament doctrines of creation, sin, faith, redemption, the character of God, law, holiness, and blessing. We hope this whets your appetite to dig into the first five books of the Bible with fresh curiosity and appreciation.
Seminary in Narnia
To fail to worship is to undercut the truth we claim to understand…. But all too often in our day and age, and in many, many seminary classrooms, the study of theology, which should kindle all of our affections for Jesus, is instead nothing more than a regurgitation of some collection of well-reasoned arguments concerning God. But theology is for doxology… Let us come to the subject at hand with the proper respect and awe and whole-hearted devotion that it deserves.
Resilient Joy
Engaging Culture
The Day of Small Things
What does Zechariah mean when he admonishes us not to “despise the day of small things”? Catherine Morgan considers the significance of small people, small places, and small beginnings. “A key part of Christian formation is cultivating an appreciation for the spiritual treasure house of small things, learning to see behind appearances and look, as Jesus did, a little deeper.”
Why Pastors Need Theology and Church History
The Upper Room: God's Disciple-Making Vision
Is this what Christ called us to do: tie people emotionally to a place, personalities, programs, and people? Cory Hartman and Will Mancini urge us to get beyond attractional ministry to focus on what really matters: discipleship. Hartman, one of our adjunct faculty in applied theology, is the Lead Content Developer at Auxano, the ministry consulting organization founded by Will Mancini to help churches realize their vision.
Cultivating Community
We are delighted to welcome Dr. Garth Rosell of Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary to the blog! Dr. Rosell reflects on his many decades of teaching church history and his development of a cohort-model D.Min. program for Gordon-Conwell. “The credit for these remarkable communities of learning, friendship, and faith, of course, belongs solely, absolutely and completely to God. Such developments, if they are genuine, are always the work of the Holy Spirit and ‘they are marvelous in our eyes.’”
Adventures in History
Leading with Love
Pastor Leo Barbee, Jr. has been a faithful expositor of God’s Word for 63 years, serving for decades at Victory Bible Church in Lawrence, KS, and investing in countless young leaders, including Michael Morgan. This week, Michael sat down to chat with Pastor Barbee to discuss how to raise up leaders with a priority of grace and compassion. Pastor Barbee isn’t a political activist, he is primarily a shepherd, and an extraordinary disciple-maker. As he likes to say, “I am a gospel preacher who just happens to be born black.”
