by Russell Kirby | Apr 8, 2011 | Uncategorized
by Mark Hamilton | Apr 6, 2011 | Uncategorized
Evil is an odd word. It often gets used for all sorts of things we dislike, though I would like to reserve it for truly horrific violations of human dignity (bombing civilians or using food as a weapon or depriving the poor of the medical care others receive). Some...
by Mark Hamilton | Mar 30, 2011 | Uncategorized
On some days, it’s hard to get your thoughts together. The allergy medicines and the crush of routine conspire to prevent it. On such days, it is easy to treat even the dramatic and beautiful lackadaisically. Here are a few observations, as tightly woven as...
by Mark Hamilton | Mar 24, 2011 | Uncategorized
You are what you narrate. When I was a little boy, I loved to hear my grandmothers tell about their childhoods. One was born in 1900, the other in 1907. Each had seen hard times and good, had brought children into the world, and had led lives of integrity. I...
by Mark Hamilton | Mar 22, 2011 | Uncategorized
We are excited about two upcoming ACU events. First, you are invited to hear Dr. Abraham J. Malherbe, Buckingham Professor Emeritus of Yale University, on the topic “What Has Athens to Do with Jerusalem” this Thursday, March 24, at 3:00 p.m. in room 114 of the Onstead...
by Russell Kirby | Mar 14, 2011 | Uncategorized
Dr. Jeff W. Childers, Carmichael-Walling Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity in the Graduate School of Theology at Abilene Christian University, offers some reflections on his recent trip to Saint Catherine’s Monastery at Mount Sinai: Out of Egypt...
by Stephen Johnson | Mar 9, 2011 | Students
A one-week intensive course in New York City May 28- June 4, 2011 Dr. Jared Looney – Bronx Fellowship, Adjunct Professor Why? At the beginning of the 21st century, more than half of the globe is now urban, and in North America 83% of the population is...
by Mark Hamilton | Mar 8, 2011 | Uncategorized
One of the most useful words in Hebrew is the little particle ky (sounds like “key”), which means either “because” or “so that” (causal either forward- or backward-looking), or sometimes “when.” Maybe I like it because...
by Mark Hamilton | Feb 24, 2011 | Uncategorized
Blessed is the one whose transgression is lifted off, whose sin is covered over. Blessed is the one to whom Yahweh does not attribute guilt and in whose spirit is no treachery. One of the hardest parts of writing anything is knowing where to begin. The Psalmist...
by Mark Hamilton | Feb 22, 2011 | Uncategorized
Having grown up in a family in which my dad had a steady job and our schools were safe and our churches more often encouraging than not, deliverance is a hard concept for me. What does it look like? Not everyone has this problem because not everyone has mastered the...
by Mark Hamilton | Feb 13, 2011 | Uncategorized
I often hear that the proper response to God’s grace is gratitude. This is true, as far as it goes, but seems a bit passive. Worse, in human beings, gratitude often turns to resentment at the humiliation caused by disproportionate, un-pay-backable...
by Mark Hamilton | Feb 2, 2011 | Uncategorized
If Psalm 28 is notable for its quiet celebration of the mercies of God, Psalm 29 is one of the noisiest texts ever written. Its evocation of thunder (“the voice of Yhwh on the waters”), earthquake (“Lebanon skips….Yhwh’s voice makes the...
by Mark Hamilton | Jan 26, 2011 | Uncategorized
Some days you don’t have much to say because you recognize the extent to which you need mercy. Silence seems better than speaking. Words fail to capture the subtleties of thought, the depths of emotions, the intricacies of interpersonal relationships. Since...
by Russell Kirby | Jan 24, 2011 | Uncategorized
by Mark Hamilton | Jan 22, 2011 | Uncategorized
This week I spent three days in New York City on business. A few hours of touring amid the work took me and a colleague to Grant’s Tomb and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, each a monument in its own way. One honors a great man and the other seeks to...
by Mark Hamilton | Jan 3, 2011 | Uncategorized
One of the major images of God in Scripture is that of judge. Yahweh is the God who evaluates and settles accounts, rectifying all the injustices of the world and bringing order where, before, chaos reigned. As I’ve noted before, it’s a hard image for...
by Mark Hamilton | Dec 28, 2010 | Uncategorized
One of the greatest truths about human existence is that it is painful. Not always, not to the same degree for all, not always pointlessly. But to live is to experience pain. Despite our culture’s almost pathological fear of pain and the extraordinary lengths...
by Russell Kirby | Dec 17, 2010 | Students
[youtube MEimLZUz_YI] At ACU Graduate School of Theology, we are convinced that deep learning requires real-world engagement. Contextual education–the phrase we use to describe this approach–reimagines the “classroom,” and “study;”...
by Mark Hamilton | Dec 16, 2010 | Uncategorized
Psalm 24 is one of the best known in the Psalter, thanks in part to Handel’s Messiah, which gives us a beautiful choral arrangement of the last few verses. But the majesty of that oratorio can mask an important piece of the psalm, namely, its inquisitive nature...
by Mark Hamilton | Dec 4, 2010 | Uncategorized
There are famous words, and very famous words. Psalm 23 offers the latter. One of the best known and most beloved of all the 150 songs in the Psalter, this one is at once familiar and strange: Strange because it mixes two powerful images (shepherding, or rather...
by Mark Hamilton | Nov 30, 2010 | Uncategorized
Last night, I sat in a piano recital in which my son and seven other college piano majors played some of the most gorgeous pieces ever written (Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, and some others). They were intense as they brought together months of work and passion...
by Russell Kirby | Nov 30, 2010 | GST Events
A free Christmas Benefit Concert for Heritage Christian College of Ghana, West Africa will be held in the Chapel on the Hill on December 6th, 2010 beginning at 7pm. This event is being sponsored by United By Faith. The fund raising goal is $5,000.00 to help Heritage...
by Russell Kirby | Nov 29, 2010 | Students
ACU Graduate School of Theology, the Department of Marriage and Family Therapy, and the Department of Bible, Missions, and Ministry (DBMM) are all a part of the College of Biblical Studies at Abilene Christian University. In the video below, DBMM instructor David...
by Stephen Johnson | Nov 23, 2010 | Students
In January, ACU GST students Carol Mendoza and Penny Peng will arrive in New York City for a seven month Contextual Immersion experience. During their time there, Carol and Penny will work closely with Jared Looney (Bronx Fellowship) who will serve as their Contextual...
by Tim Sensing | Nov 22, 2010 | Uncategorized
The following sketch concludes my series of sermons: The Gospel of God for the World of God Acts 17:16-34 1. Some cities evoke particular ideas and images. Just down the road, Nashville is known for Country Music. Nashville is also known as the Athens of the South....
by Tim Sensing | Nov 16, 2010 | Uncategorized
Below are sermon notes from the Gospel Meeting I preached in TN this summer, the fourth of five that I will post: The Gospel of God for the People of God Acts 13:13-52 In this series on the Gospel of God, I’ve been talking about the power of story. Stories work....
