FrontLine
Let a Commentary Be Your Guide (1)
Mark Minnick This article follows on an article “That Glorious Company: The Commentators!” published in three parts, here, here and here. This article is likewise published in three parts. This is the first part. Gabriel Harris’s streetfront shop was a popular, heavily trafficked Gloucester bookstore in 1735. But in the summer of that same year…
Read MoreThat Glorious Company: The Commentators! (3)
Mark Minnick Part Three of Three: In which Dr. Minnick shares his wisdom on selecting commentaries. [Part One • Part Two] Part One begins by discussing The Basis for Evaluating Commentaries. Part Two discusses The Characteristics of Good Commentaries. Part Three follows: Answering Our Questions Literal Exegesis. Literal exegesis takes the “meaning of language in…
Read MoreThat Glorious Company: The Commentators! (2)
Mark Minnick Part Two of Three: In which Dr. Minnick shares his wisdom on selecting commentaries. [Part One here] Part One begins by discussing The Basis for Evaluating Commentaries. Part Two follows: The Characteristics Of Good Commentaries The cardinal characteristic of a good commentary is that it answers questions. That’s because disciplined expositors begin their…
Read MoreArticulating the Gospel
Jeff Musgrave The very essence of soulwinning is articulating the gospel. While men must be convinced of the gospel before they can embrace its Savior, the Holy Spirit promises to convince them (John 16:8–11). Our role in the process is to “teach” (Matt. 28:19) or “preach the gospel” (Mark 16:15). Among those in our pews…
Read MoreThat Glorious Company: The Commentators! (1)
Mark Minnick Part One of Three: In which Dr. Minnick shares his wisdom on selecting commentaries. There are few writings worth reading twice. But one I’ve enjoyed several times more than twice is the first chapter of C. H. Spurgeon’s Commenting and Commentaries, entitled “A Chat About Commentaries.” Spurgeon loved books. His autobiography contains an…
Read MoreWhat Do You Want Me to Do About It?
Mike Tardive As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you (John 17:18).” What does this mean? How is this supposed to change my life? Many modern-day parables serve to illustrate forcefully for us what Jesus meant when He made this statement. One such parable came before our young church and helped us…
Read MoreMinistering to the Elderly
Laura Hutchison God bless you so much for coming.” The 98-year-old lady, sitting in a wheelchair, is dressed in a worn housedress and fuzzy pink slippers. “God bless you, young lady! Thank you for coming!” She continues to repeat the words as she clutches my hand. Every time I visit her assisted-living home, she seems…
Read MoreThere Is a Fountain Filled with Blood • William Cowper (1731–1800)
Vicki Johnson William Cowper (pronounced Cooper), one of England’s most beloved and revered poet laureates, struggled throughout his life in the deep sea of mental illness. His literary achievements as a poet, translator, and letter writer brought him worldly fame, but his contributions as a hymn writer brought glory to the God whom he loved…
Read MoreGod’s Quiver Full
Diane Heeney As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them. Psalm 127:4, 5a Miscarriages and stillbirths are common occurrences in this world of ours. After you have “entered the arena,” you soon discover just how many…
Read MoreGod and I or My iPhone and I?
Josh Prather From the January/February 2013 issue of FrontLine: It doesn’t matter where we are—the grocery store, a child’s music recital, in the middle of dinner, or even at church—when we here a beep or chime, we instinctively grab our phones or tablets to see who needs us or to find out what information we…
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