As you have read in my previous posts, my father was a pivotal person in my life. His alcoholism and his subsequent sobriety still has a profound impact on my life. On January 14, 2014, my father had an aneurysm and went to be with Jesus. Here is the Eulogy I gave for him at …
Testimony Part 2
Testimony Part 2 God is Good So much has happened since the Spring of 1995, which is where I left off in Part 1. From 1995 to 2000, I continued to work at CAB Health and Recovery Services as a detox nurse. Eventually, I wound up being the admissions coordinator. Lots of challenges! Our …
Sometimes Daddies Fall – Testimony Part 1
Sometimes Daddies Fall I remember the look on Karry’s face as we walked along the beach back in the summer of 1995. It was a look of hurt and betrayal. What was most disturbing was knowing that I had been the one to cause that look on her face. Our little boy, Ian, …
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How To Study The Bible Part 3: Exegesis and Hermeneutics
How To Study The Bible Part 3: Exegesis and Hermeneutics In this video, I get into the guts of Biblical exegesis and hermeneutics. I mention a 4th class in the video but I will not post a video for that. The 4th class focuses on doing exegesis and hermeneutics together focusing on a specific passage. …
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Exegesis Acts 14:8-20
In Lystra a man was sitting who was without strength in his feet, had never walked, and had been lame from birth. He listened as Paul spoke. After looking directly at him and seeing that he had faith to be healed, Paul said in a loud voice, “Stand up on your feet!” And he jumped …
Exegesis Acts 13:13-43
13 Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia, but John left them and went back to Jerusalem. 14 They continued their journey from Perga and reached Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the …
Exegesis Acts 10:34-38
Peter began to speak: “Now I truly understand that God doesn’t show favoritism, but in every nation the person who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. He sent the message to the Israelites, proclaiming the good news of peace through Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. You know the …
Evangelism Part 2: Speak their language
Introduction When my wife and I were married in 1988, we embarked on a honeymoon that was a bit different than most folks. We decided to go on a student trip to Europe, visiting and studying in England, Western Europe, Scandinavia, Poland, East Germany (as it was known then), and the Soviet Union (back …
Exegesis Luke 18:35-43
Exegesis Luke 18:35-43 As [Jesus] approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. Hearing a crowd passing by, he inquired what was happening. “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by,” they told him.So he called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Then those in front told him to keep quiet, but …
Evangelism Part 1
Evangelism Part 1 When I was a member of the CMA Danvers, MA chapter, New Life Riders, our chaplain was a special guy. Pastor Dick May was the kind of guy you wanted to hand around if you were a Christian. He had a deep love for those who did not know Jesus, and he …
Exegesis of Luke 2:21-35
Exegesis of Luke 2:21-35 21 When the eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus—the name given by the angel before he was conceived. 22 And when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were finished, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (just as …
Reddit Questions #2: Homosexuality, Mary reproducing, COVID, Ravi Zacharias, and hermeneutics
Reddit Questions #2: Homosexuality, Mary reproducing, COVID, Ravi Zacharias, and hermeneutics Would Mary giving birth to jesus count as reproduction? No. Reproduction happens when sperm from a man meets the egg of a woman. It is then that the new person is formed. Jesus appeared in Mary's womb as that fertilized egg. It was not …
How to Study the Bible Part 2: It’s All in the Translation
https://youtu.be/DpiHMWjy2G0 Links to some of the Bibles mentioned: ESV Bible CSB Bible NET Bible MEV Bible NLT Bible KJV Bible
Reddit Questions #1 – Prayer, beginner Bible reading, and imaginary friends
Reddit Questions #1 – Prayer, beginner Bible reading, and imaginary friends I have recently joined the throngs at Reddit (look for greggpj333), and one of the subreddits I am a member of is a place where non-believers can ask honest questions of believers. I have been active in this subreddit and wanted to publish some …
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My mother’s wedding
The devotional I gave at my mother's wedding.
The Kingdom of God Part 9: Living in the Already and the Not Yet
The Kingdom of God has not come to its full reality. Revelation 20-21 describes the Kingdom of God in its fullness. Jesus returns and sets everything to rights. There is new Creation with a new Heaven (where God’s presence dwells eternally) and a new Earth (His very good creation). The sin of our first parents damaged the connection between God’s presence and His creation. In those two chapters, God finishes the reclamation project started in Genesis and reclaims His people as His own. His people are then put in charge of this New Creation to enjoy His works eternally and steward His New Creation. But that is the “not yet.”
The Kingdom of God Part 8: The Kingdom of God is at War
The great British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge once said that "The depravity of man is at once the most empirically verifiable reality but at the same time the most intellectually resisted fact." The human condition of war is evidence of that. War involves pain. War involves sacrifice. War involves death. While war is identifiable, the pain, sacrifice, and death are the results of the kingdom of the enemy. That is what is resisted.
Video – How to Study the Bible Part 1
Here is Part 1 of a four part series on how to study the Bible. This part looks into "What is this Book?" We look at how the Bible came together, the Septuagint, Old and New Testament.
Book recommendations: Bible Study
As a way to share my love of reading and learning, I am going to start giving lists of my top 10 books in different categories. In this edition, I will cover books based on Bible study. It is heavy with New Testament resources because that is my area of expertise.
What does it all MEME #1 – Jesus was a Socialist, NOT!
I have a presence on social media, but I am careful with what I consume in that arena. One of the elements of social media that annoy me in particular is MEMEs. If you don’t know, a MEME is a picture or a graphic that has a short saying to make a point. Sometimes they are funny, but most times, they are profoundly annoying and terribly incorrect. Fallacies abound, and false information is ubiquitous. Therefore, I thought I would start a series breaking down some MEMEs that especially irk me. With that, let’s get to this edition’s disaster.
The Kingdom of God Part 7: The Kingdom of God is like…
So far, in this series, we have looked at the Kingdom of God from many different angles. In this edition, I want to take a look at a steam of Parables in Matthew 13 that speaks directly to the nature of the Kingdom of God
Good News Cape Ann CMA Part 3
Here is part three of the program finishing Dick May's testimony. Charlie Hirt has an amazing testimony and I am sure you will be blessed with his words.
Good News Cape Ann CMA Part 2
As I mentioned last week I am taking a bit of a writing break. Here is the second part of the interview continuing with Ron Malionek and the first part of Pastor Dick May. Dick was an amazing guy who shared Jesus with thousands of people. He had a special gift of evangelism and had no fear in sharing the Gospel. We graduated into eternity a few years ago and I miss him.
Good News Cape Ann CMA Part 1
While I am on a writing break, I thought I would give some videos of some friends of mine who are members of CMA and appeared on a Local Access program in Gloucester, MA in 2009. Sherm Derring is first and he was our chapter's Road Captain at the time. He has an awesome testimony. Ron Malionek was President of our chapter at the time and is a very dear friend of mine. I had the honor of playing electric and acoustic guitar on his CD. These videos are dear to me.
The Kingdom of God Part 6: Come as a Child
My kids are grown now. Both have moved out of the house and are living lives that are independent of their parents. I am exceedingly proud of my kids and what they have accomplished in their lives. But in that pride is a bit of sorrow. I miss picking up my daughter and her beeping my nose, saying, with a laugh, “Boopies, I got you first!” I miss having deep conversations with my then four-year-old son. “Daddy, what ‘cuz the world to go in circles around the sun?” Yes, they had their times of disobedience, and they needed to be corrected from time to time. However, those memories have faded into the past. Mostly what remains are memories of happy, joyous times with my children.
The Holy Spirit Fulfillment of Torah Law Part 2 of 2.
The question remains, what is the role of the Torah given the resurrection and ascension?
The Holy Spirit Fulfillment of Torah Law Part 1 of 2
Though the Old Testament, the Law, Torah enabled the people of Israel to have identification as a nation, know the character of YHWH, and have a moral/ceremonial/legal code of conduct, it could not offer complete salvation until the person and work of Jesus and the arrival of the new law, the Holy Spirit.
The Return of the Prodigal Son
Until recently, I had never read any of Henri Nouwen’s work. I have a feeling that my choice of starting with The Return of the Prodigal Son was an excellent place to start. Nouwen’s reflections on not just the parable Jesus told in Luke 15, but also reflections on the famous painting by Rembrandt. Tying in these two elements, I was deeply challenged by Nouwen to reflect on the three main characters in the story: the younger son, the elder son, and the father.
