Thomas Nelson Publishers today announced a new Bible version that their CEO, Michael Hyatt, calls “similar to the Amplified Bible, but better.” The Expanded Bible will be published on August 11 this year, and they are allowing anyone to download a free copy of the New Testament from their website. I not only wanted to [...]
Posted on April 30th, 2009 by Bob Mathews
Filed under: Bible study, Growth, New Testament | 2 Comments »
When I was a child, I went to Bible class every Sunday. Still do. Back then, we were subjected to that long-forgotten cruel and unusual punishment of weekly memory verses. How inhumane! Seriously though, I’m amazed, puzzled, and disappointed at how far we’ve come from that. I’ll be the first one to admit that I’m [...]
Posted on April 1st, 2009 by Bob Mathews
Filed under: Bible study, Growth | Comments Off
There’s a fairly recent song by Steven Curtis Chapman that describes some of the ways he shows his faith — he’s got a T-shirt, a bracelet with letters on it, a necklace & key chain, Bible magnets on his refrigerator, a “bless you” welcome mat, a Jesus bumper sticker, and the outline of a fish [...]
Posted on March 3rd, 2009 by Bob Mathews
Filed under: "In" not "of", Christian Example, Christian life, Faith, Grace, Growth, Humility, Jesus, New Testament, Obedience, Society, Word study | Comments Off
My long-time friend Jim Martin is pulpit minister for a congregation in Waco, and maintains a blog I highly recommend: A Place For The God-Hungry. His post from Tuesday (2/4/09) was a pretty insightful look at how we spend our time, and the things we should really be making time for. I repeat that post [...]
Posted on February 8th, 2009 by Bob Mathews
Filed under: Christian Example, Evangelism, Faith, Fellowship, Growth, Humility, Obedience, Prayer, Society, Stewardship, Witness | Comments Off
You know, we hear a lot today about kids (and adults, for that matter) who have Attention Deficit Disorder, or ADD. According to the group Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) is a neurobiological disorder. It is characterized by developmentally inappropriate impulsivity, inattention, and in some cases, hyperactivity. Those are the [...]
Posted on July 21st, 2008 by Bob Mathews
Filed under: Christian Example, Growth, Witness | 1 Comment »
There’s a song in our hymnal (I bet it’s in yours too; it was written in 1877) titled Break Thou the Bread of Life. In the Church of Christ, most song leaders seem to have the idea that this is a “before the communion” song, but it’s not. There’s no reference to the Lord’s Supper [...]
Posted on July 14th, 2008 by Bob Mathews
Filed under: Growth, Jesus | Comments Off
Now wouldn’t that be a hoot? Actually, it’s sort of not as far-fetched as it sounds. I’m a former high school math teacher, and am still involved in a round-about way with secondary education, so one of the blogs I monitor is that of Teacher Magazine. One of their headlines Tuesday caught my eye: “12-year-old [...]
Posted on June 25th, 2008 by Bob Mathews
Filed under: Christian life, Faith, Fellowship, Growth, Worship | Comments Off
I primarily use the New International Version when I read and study the Bible, but I have at least a dozen more English translations to compare and to study from. I’m no scholar in ancient languages, but I really enjoy a good word study now and then, so I have excellent Greek and Hebrew reference [...]
Posted on June 18th, 2008 by Bob Mathews
Filed under: Bible study, Faith, Growth, Word study | Comments Off
According to a study reported in the London Telegraph, they are. Your reaction to that statement was probably similar to mine — rolling eyes. “Here we go again.” But isn’t it true though? Frankly, I don’t find it surprising at all. That, in fact, has been the case as long as man has existed. Remember [...]
Posted on June 16th, 2008 by Bob Mathews
Filed under: Growth, Society | 6 Comments »
Sort of sounds like an advertisement, doesn’t it? As crazy as it sounds, there is a good bit of truth in that statement. It doesn’t have anything to do with the idea that once you’re saved you can never lose your salvation. It doesn’t have anything to do with tricking people into becoming “Christians” either. [...]
Posted on June 13th, 2008 by Bob Mathews
Filed under: Christian life, Growth, Joy, satan | 1 Comment »
