Reflections and meditations about the Bible by Peter DeHaan, PhD.
Just Because God Can Do Something Doesn’t Mean That He Does Most people know the story about Joseph and his multicolored coat. Of how his brothers resent his behavior and how their father indulges his favorite son. To get rid of him, the brothers effectively imprison him and sell him as a slave to some […]
A Parable about Lazarus In the parable about the rich man and the beggar, Lazarus, Jesus shares an intriguing story. In it, both men die. Lazarus goes to heaven, but the rich man ends up in hell. Desperate to spare his family from the torment he is suffering, the rich man makes a request of […]
The Bible Is Chocked Full of Perplexing Stories That Are Hard to Understand One puzzling story in the Bible is when God tells Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. What loving father would kill his son? It might be asking someone to make the ultimate sacrifice. However, Abraham is intent on obeying God regardless […]
Pete’s Powerful Sermon The first sermon in the book of Acts: Acts 2:1-41 (specifically Acts 2:14-36). Setting: Jerusalem on Pentecost Speaker: Peter Audience: Jews from many nations Preceding Events: The Holy Spirit arrives and empowers the disciples to speak in other languages. Unable to comprehend what is happening, some in the crowd conclude that the […]
Jesus Expects Us to Fast, but Do We? Jesus fasted (Luke 4:1-2). Should we follow his example? Though his disciples didn’t fast (Matthew 9:14), he said when he returned to heaven, the time for fasting would resume (Luke 5:34-35). In his well-known Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches about fasting. He says, “when you fast […]
Peter Preaches and Then Heals a Listener The second sermon in the book of Acts: Acts 3:1-4:4 (specifically, Acts 3:12-26). After he speaks, Peter heals a lame man. Setting: Jerusalem, in the temple Speaker: Peter Audience: Jews Preceding Events: Peter, through the power of Jesus, heals a lame man who was crippled from birth. Overall […]
Peter’s Message to the Gentiles The fourth sermon in the book of Acts: Acts 10:23-48 (specifically Acts 10:34-43) Setting: Caesarea Speaker: Peter Audience: Cornelius, his family, and close friends—all Gentiles (that is, non-Jews) Preceding Events: Through a dream, God tells Peter to go to Cornelius’s house. Overall Theme: God makes no distinction between people; traditional […]
Applying the Fairytale Story of Cinderella to Esther Disrespects Her Situation I’ve always liked the story of Queen Esther. She’s an ordinary girl who wins a national beauty pageant and becomes queen. If this story seems familiar, consider the fairytale story of Cinderella. The two have much in common. Given all this, in my imagination, […]
Paul’s First Sermon The fifth sermon in the book of Acts: Acts 13:13-52 (specifically, Acts 13:16-41 & 46-47) Setting: The synagogue in Antioch Speaker: Paul Audience: Jews and God-fearing Gentiles (likely converts to Judaism) Preceding Events: Paul is merely present at the Sabbath service and invited to speak Overall Theme: Paul connects the life of […]
Consider What the Bible Says and How to Apply It I’ve talked about the need for theological diversity in our churches. While we need to embrace those who hold different understandings of Jesus, we perhaps need to adopt a separate view of the behaviors of people who live contrary to God’s word. Or maybe not. […]