On Wednesday mornings, I have the joy of meeting with three Bethlehem seminarian brothers to discuss making progress in our preaching for the good of the church and the glory of God. While reading a book called A Manual for Preaching: The Journey from Text to Sermon, I was impacted by a question we should […]
Jesus and Seneca were likely born the same year. The Gospel of John begins by highlighting the Stoic idea of the Logos. And Paul quotes from a Stoic poet when engaging Greek philosophers on the Areopagus in Acts 17. Clearly New Testament Christians lived in a society tuned in to Stoic philosophy.[1] If there is […]
Bethlehem College and Seminary Salutes Founding Leader The Board of Trustees of Bethlehem College and Seminary has unanimously approved President Brian J. Tabb’s recommendation that the school confer the degree of Doctor of Divinity (D.D.) honoris causa on Tom Steller. The conferral is to take place during annual commencement ceremonies scheduled for Friday, May […]
__________________________________________________________ This is my first letter to you as President of Bethlehem College and Seminary. It is a sobering yet sweet assignment to serve this school that I love. I am ready and eager to lead us onward with God’s help, confident that our best years are ahead. In that hope, I am writing […]
The Apostles’ Creed I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord; who was conceived of the Holy Spirit; was born of the virgin Mary; he suffered under Pontius Pilate, he was crucified; died and was buried, he descended into hell; on the […]
Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) —Genesis 14:18 Is it significant that Melchizedek brought out bread and wine? Might that be connected to the death of Jesus the Messiah? Before I answer those questions, let’s first get our bearings about Melchizedek. Getting Our Bearings about Melchizedek […]
Twenty-first century American evangelicals can be excused for not knowing the name of Henry Martyn (1781-1812)—a paedo-baptist Anglican who was employed as a chaplain for the East India Company and whose ministry in India and Persia encompassed just six years before his death due to sickness at age thirty-one. But his formation and ministry provide […]
The great Dutch theologian, Herman Bavinck, must have had Augustine in mind when he wrote, “The heart of man was created for God and it cannot find rest until it rests in his Father’s heart. And all men are really seeking after God, but they do not seek him in the right way nor at […]
“Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.” (1 Peter 4:1–2) For what are […]
I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord, according to all that the Lord has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel that he has granted them according to his compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love. –Isaiah 63:7 Join me for a few moments in recounting some […]