1. The early biblical stories about Bethlehem are dark and violent. They wreck us. They frighten us. In this little town, we see a microcosm of the vast and mangled mass of humanity, each individual thirsty for even a single bead of light to be dropped into the blackened depths of their souls. He who is born in Bethlehem is that Light.
  2. In Genesis 1-2, the Lord reveals—or, at a bare minimum, starts dropping some big hints—that he will be quite comfortable becoming a human being himself someday.
  3. Throughout the Scriptures, God puts "signs" or "seals" upon people. Often these are placed upon the forehead. How do all these connected stories take us from the mark of Cain, to the Exodus, to the cross, and finally to baptism?
  4. Fourteen years ago, drowning in the muck of dark despair, in the middle of a life gone terribly wrong, I wrote in my journal, "I wonder how, once this is all over, how I’ll be, how I’ll turn out…” Now I know.
  5. What do Habakkuk and Israel have? Nothing but the word of God. Nothing but the promise of God. Nothing but God himself.
  6. Why would God warn his people not to trust in horses? Let's take a look at the ancient Near East to see how horses were connected to sun worship and military muscle. Along the way, let's see how the "Name of God" is another title for the Son of God.
  7. Bulls, lions, dogs. Why all these metaphors from the animal kingdom to describe humanity as it encircles the crucified Savior? Because the man on the cross, God incarnate, is there for all creation, not just humanity.
  8. Rachel was the beloved wife, to be sure, but she was not the maternal link between Eve and Mary. That blessed position belonged to Leah.
  9. What Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 28, atop a mountain, is a reaffirmation and clarification of what God told Adam and Eve from Mount Eden in Genesis 1.
  10. This tiny rural church would bulge at the seams with worshipers from realms seen and unseen, all mixed together in the adoration of the Lamb.
  11. The Christ Key: Unlocking the Centrality of Christ in the Old Testament by Chad Bird is now available to order
  12. When we read about Noah, we are reading backward to Adam and forward to Jesus.