by Luke Geraty | Mar 8, 2017 | Biblical Studies, Hermeneutics, New Testament, Old Testament, Scripture
As I have continued studying issues related to women in ministry, gender, and hermeneutics (biblical interpretation), I have come to the conclusion that the Bible requires that Church does all that she can to both encourage and empower women to actively pursue...
by Brad Blocksom | Mar 8, 2016 | Biblical Studies, Hermeneutics, New Testament, Old Testament, Scripture
Do you interpret the Bible literally? Have you ever been asked this question as if it was some kind of test for orthodoxy? No one takes everything in the Bible literally!! Do you believe that the earth is a rectangle (Is. 11:12)? Do you really believe that Jesus wants...
by Brad Blocksom | Dec 1, 2014 | Biblical Studies, Hermeneutics, Old Testament, Scripture
#9. Christological interpretation is an important key. Whereas many Biblicists seem to border on being guilty of Bibliolatry. After almost 10 years in Seminary I took a course from Tremper Longman on Proverbs/Wisdom Literature. After years of having...
by Brad Blocksom | Oct 27, 2014 | Biblical Studies, Hermeneutics, New Testament, Old Testament, Scripture
#5. Proof-texting is a bad habit that we need to break ourselves of. Simply citing chapter and verse does not end any theological/biblical argument! I will define proof-texting as the idea that if we can cite a single verse from the Bible which supports the point...
by Brad Blocksom | Oct 21, 2014 | Biblical Studies, Hermeneutics, New Testament, Old Testament, Scripture
#4. Radical Biblicism is actually a bad thing! Before you burn me at the stake as a heretic, let me just make clear what I did not say. I did not say that a great reverence for or a high view of scripture is a bad thing. I did not say that believing the Bible is the...
by Brad Blocksom | Oct 14, 2014 | Biblical Studies, Hermeneutics, New Testament, Old Testament, Scripture
#3 The Bible is story. This includes both individual stories in the varying “books” of the Bible, as well as an underlying story of God’s plan for redemption of creation (a.k.a. redemptive history). To tell the truth, I kinda already talked about this a lot in last...
by Luke Geraty | Sep 14, 2014 | Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, New Testament, Old Testament
I recently was told by someone that they didn’t need theology because they just needed the Bible. N. T. Wright responds in The New Testament and the People of God as follows: “Biblical studies needs theology, because only with theological tools can...
by Luke Geraty | Aug 18, 2013 | Old Testament
For many years, I found the first five books of the Bible rather frustrating and difficult to understand and integrate. All of the basic answers to the questions I had were never adequately answered in some of the churches and classes I took. Looking back on many of...
by Luke Geraty | Jul 20, 2013 | Messy Church, Old Testament, Revival
As I’ve been preparing for tomorrow’s sermon at Trinity Christian Fellowship, I’ve been struck by the cyclical patterns that are found throughout the Old Testament, but specifically throughout Judges. Time and time again, you find the following...
by Luke Geraty | May 27, 2013 | Apologetics, Biblical Studies, Old Testament
My oldest daughter and I had a fun conversation this afternoon. She’s a 4th grader who is super smart and curious. I have a hard time keeping up with all of her questions. In fact, our new game includes her trying to ask me questions that I don’t know the...
by Luke Geraty | Feb 16, 2013 | Old Testament
The most difficult part of the Book of Ruth is in Naomi’s advice to Ruth on how to snatch Boaz as husband. The text reads: “Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the...
by Luke Geraty | Nov 24, 2012 | Hip Hop Culture, Old Testament
For a number of years I’ve been wrestling with the Wisdom Literature found in the Hebrew Bible. I don’t mean “wrestle” to imply that I’m struggling to accept what it says, teaches, or records. No, my wrestling has been strictly related to...
by Luke Geraty | Oct 3, 2012 | Biblical Theology, Devotionals, New Testament, Old Testament
This morning our family started reading the Book of Exodus. I’m excited for us to recall the amazing story of God’s rescuing Israel from slavery in Egypt. What a wonderful picture of the sovereign work of God on behalf of sinners. God’s faithfulness...
by Luke Geraty | Apr 27, 2012 | Ecclesiology, New Testament, Old Testament, The Kingdom of God, The Vineyard Movement
For those interested, the paper I am presenting for the annual Society of Vineyard Scholars can be...
by Luke Geraty | Mar 18, 2012 | Cultural Engagement, Homosexuality, Marriage, New Testament, Old Testament, Scripture, Sex
A common question that is posed when discussing how the New Testament addresses the issue of homosexuality is as follows: Are there differences between the homosexuality addressed in the New Testament (1st century) and the monogamous homosexuality that is being...
by Luke Geraty | Jul 25, 2011 | Old Testament, Preaching
“What role does the law have in preaching? We must consider where a command is in the story line of the Bible in terms of the redemptive-historical scheme we see in Scripture. The moral norms of the Bible cannot be preached apart from the canonical context and...
by Luke Geraty | Apr 30, 2011 | Biblical Theology, Christology, New Testament, Old Testament
I’m at the place in ministry where I can see some very strong parallels between Moses’ ministry and being a pastor. Different people, same problems. Not everyone, but enough of the same issues to warrant a comparison. So I like Moses a lot. I understand...
by Luke Geraty | Mar 16, 2011 | Christian Hedonism, Church History, Gospel, New Testament, Old Testament, Reformed Theology
“Sometimes scholars say that the Old Testament does not demand perfect obedience to the law. We must address this matter carefully because there is a sense in which the Old Testament requires perfect obedience and a sense in which it doesn’t. Let me...
by Luke Geraty | Mar 15, 2011 | Eschatology, Hell, New Testament, Old Testament
It seems like everyone is talking about Rob Bell’s new book Love Wins. In the past couple weeks, I’ve had more discussions on the subject of hell than ever in my life. It seems like a lot of people are interested about the subject, though I suspect a lot...
by Luke Geraty | Sep 22, 2009 | Christology, Old Testament, Preaching
I love preaching. No, read that again: I love preaching. It is one of the highlights of my week, along with spending time among family and friends. Actually, I love everything that goes along with preaching. I love digging into the text. I love searching my heart when...
