April 29, 2026 — Website Hosting Transition
Over the next few days, I will be transitioning this site to a new website host. Hopefully, it will not entail any major disruption of availability, though there may be some editing issues, links that need to be reestablished, etc., both during the transition and for short time afterward. If you discover a link that it is inoperable, form submission that does not work, or other issues, please let me know by sending an email to [email protected]
Recent Additions
- Added May 5 — The latest issue of The Berea Page: Is Jesus "Cool"?- (Issue 7/13 – May 5, 2026)
- Added April 29 — To the Sermons and Class Notes, Bible Text Studies Page, Colossians Class Notes: 3 – To the Colossians: An Introduction to the Church and the Letter; and 4 – Greeting and Thanksgiving (Colossians 1.1–8)
- Added April 28 — The latest installment of the Opening the Scriptures newsletter: Issue 3/22 — April 28, 2026 — A Review of James
An Announcement about the Future of My Writing Ministry
March 9, 2026 — As one who has been blessed with the talent and interest in writing, I have always made it an important part of my ministry. At this point in my life, it is the primary focus of my service. My aim is to prepare substantive teaching materials for the church drawn from my study of the biblical text and related topics. I do this in the interest of informing and equipping a wider audience for service.
To sustain this service, financial support is needed. I am happy to announce that the College Church of Christ in Searcy, AR—my home church since 2015—is now supporting my writing ministry and will manage the contributions necessary to help sustain and expand it. My goal is to raise sufficient funds on a monthly basis to underwrite basic living expenses and provide a cushion for other periodic needs (e.g., auto repairs).
For additional information, go to the Writing Ministry page for an overview of the ministry's purpose, goals, and needs. To read the College Church's endorsement, click here.
Note: While one-time user donations are appreciated, the materials on this website, as well as the Berea Page and Opening the Scriptures teaching newsletters, will continue to be offered free as a service to page visitors and subscribers.
To sustain this service, financial support is needed. I am happy to announce that the College Church of Christ in Searcy, AR—my home church since 2015—is now supporting my writing ministry and will manage the contributions necessary to help sustain and expand it. My goal is to raise sufficient funds on a monthly basis to underwrite basic living expenses and provide a cushion for other periodic needs (e.g., auto repairs).
For additional information, go to the Writing Ministry page for an overview of the ministry's purpose, goals, and needs. To read the College Church's endorsement, click here.
Note: While one-time user donations are appreciated, the materials on this website, as well as the Berea Page and Opening the Scriptures teaching newsletters, will continue to be offered free as a service to page visitors and subscribers.
To make a one-time or sustaining donation to support my writing ministry, click the button below to go to the College Church giving page. In the dropdown box marked "Fund," select "Anguish Writing Ministry."
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Obiter Dicta
"an incidental or passing remark, opinion, etc." ~ Dictionary.com
Thought-provoking Quotations
(Click here for archived quotations)
(Click here for archived quotations)
- “It is evident that in these 'deeds of power' (as the Synoptic Gospels call them) Jesus restored people to more than physical health. He also restored social relationships, re-integrating people into the society of God's people Israel. We should also remember that many of these people—the disabled, people with leprosy, and the demon-possessed—were barred, by their conditions, from the earthly presence of God in the Temple in Jerusalem. This did not put them outside the loving concerns of God, but it did distance them from the symbolic heart of Israel's special relationship with their God. Jesus' healings were for them an experience of the God who was reaching out to abolish that distance. In the fullest sense, these healings were holistic.” ~ Richard Bauckham. 2011. Jesus: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 41
- "Additional Thoughts on James" quotation from the latest Opening the Scriptures: “If James has a distinctive viewpoint [from Paul], it is his insistence that faith and actions are inseparable. If we take the body/spirit analogy seriously (2:26), his point is not that faith gives life to actions, but that actions enliven faith. Faith may define actions, even give them shape. Feeding and clothing the poor may be charitable deeds, but when they are done in the name of Christ, they are more than acts of charity; they are actions of faith. James cannot separate faith and actions any more than he can conceive of inhaling without exhaling. Or, to frame his theological viewpoint in terms of Gen 15:6, righteousness for James has an inescapably practical dimension—righteousness can only be lived; theoretical righteousness is an oxymoron.” ~ Carl R. Holladay. 2005. A Critical Introduction to the New Testament: Interpreting the Message and Meaning of Jesus Christ. Abingdon Press, 475
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