PRAY, GIVE, SHARE It is our joy to announce that a small number of generous contributors to The Serious Joy Scholarship at Bethlehem College and Seminary have come together to provide $500,000.00 in matching funds to encourage generosity this Spring. It represents the largest such matching gift in the school’s fourteen-year history. BIG, SERIOUSLY JOYFUL NEWS […]
In a sermon the late John Webster preached in July of 2001 as one of the pastors of Christ Church, in Oxford, UK, he took as his text Paul’s injunction to the church at Galatia, Galatians 6:1–3: Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of […]
A baptized, disciplined imagination is essential for Christian maturity. As the ‘organ of meaning,’ the imagination serves an indispensable role in apprehending the Good, the True, and the Beautiful — those transcendentals that find their fountainhead in the triune God. A Spirit-shaped imagination enables us to enjoy God more. And so, Trinitarian Hedonists cultivate holy […]
Has it ever surprised you that Christians incorporate ancient Hebrew words into their singing and praying? Amen and hallelujah occur in the Old Testament so it makes sense that Christians use them in worship. But what about the Aramaic word maranatha — “Our Lord, come!” — in 1 Corinthians 16:22? Aramaic was the common language […]
I’ve stood on the corner of 7th Street and 13th Avenue many times, waiting to cross the road from my office to Bethlehem’s main building. I like to call it ‘sanctification corner’ since I sometimes stare for several minutes at the glowing red hand across the street and hear the command “WAIT” repeat over and […]
“And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.” Genesis 1:5b Did you ever wonder why Genesis 1:5 mentions evening before morning? For years, as a young Christian, I wondered, “Since it is describing the first day, why doesn’t it say there was morning and there was evening? The day starts with morning, […]
Christianity is ultimately the story of one Grand Miracle. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Almighty God, the Eternal and Unchanging One, entering the world of change and turning, and taking on human nature for us and our salvation. It is the story of descent and re-ascent, of the highest descending to the […]
We believe in education because we believe in God. And we do the kind of education we do because of how God revealed himself.
Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, in either its original literary form or its various movie adaptations, has been one of the most beloved stories of Christmas since its initial publication in 1843. However, if someone were unfamiliar Dickens’ famous tale, a description of it might seem more like a Halloween story. A Christmas story about […]
“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” (John 8:12) During this advent season, my church has been preaching through Biblical texts that describe light. We have seen how light signifies revelation and purity, how […]