Sermon on the Mount

Please don’t allow a little word to intimidate you. Syllogism may sound scary, but it is our friend. It is “a formal argument consisting of a major and a minor premise and a conclusion.” For example, “every virtue is laudable; kindness is a virtue; therefore kindness is laudable.” This post…

My mom used to make butter from fresh cow’s milk. She poured it into a churn and agitated it with a wooden plunger. This caused the milk solids to separate from the liquid. She then skimmed the butter off the top and pressed it into a mold. When the butter…

Jesus did not preach a theoretical kingdom. Centuries earlier Daniel declared God would set up his kingdom in the days of the Roman kings. It would consume all other kingdoms (Dan 2:44). In the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5:1–7:29) Jesus shows the tangible nature of that kingdom. The context…

Background information lends texture to many biblical statements. Rarely does that information determine orthodoxy or even how we should apply the lessons of Scripture to our lives. Still, knowing the context in which a writer sends forth his sentences sometimes helps us appreciate the nuances of divine inspiration. Let’s consider…