As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“We have been waiting for a book to help Christian teens navigate questions about sex and gender. This book seems to fit the bill… . Unfortunately, this is not the right book to give to teens in your life because its many strengths are intertwined with dangerous strands of worldly thinking.” - Ref21
There is no doubt that John’s chief function was to announce the arrival of the Coming One of OT expectation. Yet by his own admission he did not know Jesus as such until Jesus’ baptism (Jn. 1:33). Hence, for some time prior to his pointing to Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (Jn. 1:29), John preached less specifically of the imminent arrival of Israel’s Messiah. He testified that when he baptized Jesus, He saw the Holy Spirit descend upon Him in the form of a dove.
“…no one will be looking, expecting, or prepping when Jesus returns. No books, math equations, or solar moon eclipses will give us any hint when this will be.” - Treg Spicer
—Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Life, Zondervan, 2002, p. 65
In my opinion, the truthfulness of these claims that Warren makes are some of the most fundamental points of dispute in the worship music wars.
Somewhere, along life’s way, I was bitten by the bug for writing.
My passion is not so much for writing itself—though I realize that there are people like that. But for me is has more to do with a desire to express my opinion and provide meaningful and useful—Biblically based—content.
It is hard to say exactly when the bug first bit. I can remember making scrapbooks of sports stories clipped out of the newspaper back in my preschool days. Then I remember when I was old enough to read sports columns—and dream of writing my own one day.
Jesus testified of John the Baptist that, “if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.” (Matt. 11:14). John the Baptist was the forerunner of the Lord. Therefore, when Jesus will later speak in reference to John the Baptist, as “Elijah…come already” (Matt. 17:12-13), He is saying that John was an Elijah-figure, even though John himself had told the people that he was not Elijah (Jn. 1:21).
“In the introduction, Piper opens the door to see God and his world anew, offering four invitations to study God’s providence. These are invitations to worship and know the God who ‘did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all,’ and to find assurance that through his providence he will ‘graciously give us all things,’ very much including Christ himself (Rom.
“Carson is so evenhanded. He is a complementarian who nonetheless takes an unpopular position among his fellow conservatives. He critiques the work of friends and former students graciously but clearly. He also is willing to side with the critics on individual rendering choices in specific passages.” - Mark Ward
“The Word of God gives us everything God wants us to know. We call this the sufficiency of Scripture. All the words that God wants you to have when it comes to salvation, and trusting Him, and obeying Him are found in the Bible.” - P&D
After Matthew has completed his narration of Jesus’ birth, ending at His family’s relocation in Nazareth, he plunges straight in to John the Baptist’s preaching of the Kingdom. Both the Gospels and Josephus1 accord John the Baptist a place of honor as a highly respected (at least among the general populace) and powerful influence in Judea and Galilee in the twenties A. D. From Luke 3:7, 15, 21, Matthew 3:5, and Mark 1:5 it is clear that he drew a lot of attention and that his impact was marked.
Discussion