Category Archives: Topics

Which Books of the Bible Do Churches Tend to Ignore?

Found this of interest recently: Have you ever wondered why churches will preach from certain parts of the Bible more than others? Did you know that the Book of Jonah gets preached on more than any other book in the Old Testament, whereas 1 & 2 Chronicles are typically down at the bottom of the list (At least in the UK)?

In the UK, someone did some preliminary research to figure out how often churches will preach from one book of the Bible as opposed to another book of the Bible. Apparently, in the UK, the Book of Ephesians tops the list of most often preached upon, whereas when it comes to the New Testament, 2nd and 3rd John are near the bottom of the list. Surprisingly, Haggai is #2 for Old Testament books, but is still behind most other New Testament books, except for, surprisingly again, the Book of Revelation.  Poor Ezekiel, with his flying chariot wheels, is only just above Chronicles, at the very bottom slot. Of the four, Mark is the most neglected Gospel, whereas Luke ranks at the top.

If someone could do this for the United States, that would be very eye-opening.  (HT Andrew Wilson)


Super Blood Wolf Moon Lunar Eclipse

Pardon me for the “sin of envy,” but fellow blogger Virginia Woodward, at Roses in the Rubble, got some fairly nice photos of last night’s “Super Blood Wolf Moon” lunar eclipse. My pics, on the other hand, are pretty poor, and not worth showing.

Like Virginia, I managed to brave the subfreezing temperatures in Williamsburg, Virginia, and I even convinced my wife to come out and moon gaze, for a few minutes. It was a spectacular sight, if you missed it.

Thankfully, the Internet did not seem too whipped up about supposed “Bible prophecy” concerning the lunar eclipse, except the normal nonsense from the usual cast of characters. Though there are some folks who seem fairly confident of a pretribulational rapture coming in 2019, or otherwise close to last night’s eclipse. The total eclipse of the moon began right at the very moment of moonset, in Jerusalem!!!… Ooooooh!!!!….. More exclamation points!!!!!

As for me, I just enjoyed the show that God put on last night for a huge chunk of humanity to see:

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made” (Romans 1:20a ESV).

Praise God! Head over to Virginia’s blog for what it looked like around midnight last night.


Why Communication is Hard

Hearing what someone says does not always mean that you will interpret them correctly.

The same principle often applies when reading the Bible (… or being married, for that matter).

Read the results of the survey: Half of Americans would not be able to tell that a Briton is calling them an idiot.


Did Abraham Receive the Call to Go to Canaan While in Haran, or in Ur?

Answering this question is actually a fairly easy one to tackle. But there are two ways to go about it, and each way gives us a different picture of what the biblical writer is trying to do in Genesis.

In Genesis 11:26-32, we get the story about Terah, the father of Abraham (whose name was slightly different at this point, “Abram.”):

When Terah had lived 70 years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran. 
Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot. Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans. And Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah. Now Sarai was barren; she had no child. 
Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there. The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran (Genesis 11:26-32 ESV).

In summary, Abraham’s family moves from the land of Ur (in modern day Iraq), to Haran (in modern day Turkey), an area about half-way along the journey, across the Fertile Crescent, well short of reaching Canaan.

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Do You Really Want Jeremiah 29:11 to Be YOUR “Life Verse?”

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV).

It is a great Bible verse. But when I see it on bumper stickers, and friends tell me it is their “life verse,” I often wonder: Do those friends even know what Jeremiah had in mind when he wrote that verse, so many years ago?


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