Theology & Bible

Theology & Bible helps Christians understand Scripture and the core teachings of the Christian faith. Explore Bible-based articles on biblical interpretation, doctrine, salvation, the Holy Spirit, baptism, communion, creation, and key themes across the Old and New Testaments. You’ll find thoughtful guidance for studying the Bible faithfully, applying God’s Word to life and ministry, and growing in theological clarity rooted in the gospel. Whether you’re a church leader, teacher, student, or everyday disciple, this hub equips you to know God through Scripture and live with conviction and hope.

April 25, 2016

Christian Standard

Lesson for May 1, 2016: Increased Faith (Luke 17:1-10)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the April 24 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  Jesus” teachings often overwhelmed the disciples. When he taught that he was the bread of life, his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching” (John 6:60). When he taught about what truly defiles a person, his disciples asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended

April 22, 2016

Christian Standard

What Kind of Table?

By Mark Krause One of Paul”s names for Communion is the “Lord”s table” (1 Corinthians 10:21). It is impractical for most churches today to celebrate the Lord”s Supper by sitting at chairs around a large table. Yet the table is an important symbolic element to our understanding of the Supper. Table fellowship is a powerful thing. We do not normally sit down to eat at a table with random strangers or with enemies. We like to take our meals with family and friends. When we celebrate Communion, we reenact a meal with other people, and these are people with whom

April 18, 2016

Christian Standard

Lesson for April 24, 2016: Tested Faith (Luke 15:11-24)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the April 17 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  This parable is the most familiar of Jesus” 40 parables. Jesus” teaching on discipleship ended with the words, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear” (Luke 14:35). The most unlikely people, namely tax collectors and sinners, drew near to hear him (15:1). To justify

April 15, 2016

Christian Standard

Why We Meet

By Mark Krause Why did the early church celebrate the Lord”s Supper every week? The answer to this is very simple, but for some Christians it requires a different way of thinking. Most believers are well acquainted with the church tradition and expectation of meeting together on the first day of the week. This weekly gathering is reflected in a term we sometimes use for a particular, local church, the congregation. This word literally means “those who gather together.” Churches are made up of members who assemble, who come together. But why? If you were to ask believers why they

April 11, 2016

Christian Standard

Lesson for April 17, 2016: Recovered Faith (Luke 8:26″“36)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the April 10 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  Three of the Gospels record this story (Matthew 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20; and our text today from Luke). The Synoptics place this story following the calming of the storm and prior to the healing of the woman with the flow of blood and the raising of

April 9, 2016

Christian Standard

WHAT’S NEXT?: Founded on Scripture

We asked several Christian leaders, “What should churches served by CHRISTIAN STANDARD strive to be or do or look like in the next decades?” ____ By John Derry Having served in the field of Christian higher education for my entire ministry, I have always appreciated the role CHRISTIAN STANDARD has played in emphasizing the importance of raising up the next generation of leaders for our churches. Visionary leadership is one of the most critical factors in any successful organization and requires one to be aware of changing trends and needs. In the coming decades it will be important that effective leaders are informed

April 8, 2016

Christian Standard

WHAT’S NEXT?: Remember the Spirit

We asked several Christian leaders, “What should churches served by CHRISTIAN STANDARD strive to be or do or look like in the next decades?” ____ By Mandy Smith We in the Christian churches have the Cane Ridge Revival in our history, but we”re not comfortable with the Holy Spirit. We”ve seen so many abuses of the Spirit that it”s easy to throw the baby out with the bathwater. So what would it look like to rediscover a scriptural approach to the Spirit”s work in our lives? I”m still learning this, but let me share two ways I”m stepping into it: 1. Guidance “But

April 4, 2016

Christian Standard

Lesson for April 10, 2016: Shameless Faith (Luke 7:36-50)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the April 3 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  Love and forgiveness are inextricably linked. The reason that God forgives so well is because his love is ginormous. Love without forgiveness is only academic. Forgiveness without love is hypocritical. In Luke 7 we move from the amazing faith of the centurion (vv. 1-10) to

March 28, 2016

Christian Standard

Lesson for April 3, 2016: Renewed Health (Luke 7:1-10)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the March 27 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  How can an all-knowing God be amazed at anything? Scripture affirms that Jesus was amazed””we are told of two examples in his ministry. Once he was amazed at belief (today”s passage and the parallel text in Matthew 8:10), and once he was amazed at unbelief

March 27, 2016

Christian Standard

Facing the Future

By Joe Boyd What did the resurrection mean to the readers of the oldest Gospel? And how does that help us in our own confusing lives and complicated age?  Most followers of Jesus are aware that there are four Gospels in the Christian Scriptures: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. All four of these accounts tell the story of Jesus, but, at times, from different perspectives. Most New Testament scholars agree that Mark”s Gospel is likely the oldest, dating a few decades after the life and death of Jesus. Looking at Mark”s story of the resurrection, one realizes it is brief

March 25, 2016

Christian Standard

Taken and Broken

By J. Michael Shannon In some ways our Communion service seems a strange thing. We know it has its roots in the Passover celebration, but as we would expect from a ceremony instituted by our Lord, it can speak to us of much more. What is the significance of eating bread and drinking juice? Why does it represent the body and blood of Jesus? Why do we internalize these emblems? All living things, for their survival, depend on other living things to surrender their lives. Whether a person eats meat or is a vegetarian, something that was living surrenders its

March 21, 2016

Christian Standard

Lesson for March 27, 2016: Resurrection Faith (Mark 16:1-8)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the March 20 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  Our celebrations of Easter can be pretty bland. Easter eggs, chocolate, and lilies are not very threatening. But the first Easter was scary. If Jesus was alive, then life could not continue as usual. The resurrection is a historical fact. Faith in the resurrected Jesus begins

March 18, 2016

Christian Standard

Whose Supper Is It?

By J. Michael Shannon In 1 Corinthians 11:17-26, Paul describes the proper attitude to exhibit around the Lord”s table. His admonition is to the church at Corinth, a congregation that desperately needs this message. That church has many problems, more so than most any congregation we might attend today. One of the more serious problems is that it fails to take the Lord”s Supper seriously. Here is a church where the rich will not wait for the poor to arrive for the supper and eat all the food before the actual celebration of the emblems. This is a church where

March 14, 2016

Christian Standard

Lesson for March 20, 2016: Struggling Faith (Mark 14:26-31, 66-72)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the March 13 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  A common struggle we face is consistent faith. On Palm Sunday the people shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Mark 11:9). But by Friday they shouted, “Crucify him” (Mark 15:14). Peter (and the other disciples) had that same

March 11, 2016

Christian Standard

A Silent Sermon

By J. Michael Shannon Communion services usually are very quiet gatherings. The music is usually soft, and people do not talk and laugh among themselves. This is almost universally true regardless of the church tradition of those partaking. While there is an appropriate sense of joy in the celebration of what Jesus has done for us, there is also a silent awe that comes over us because of the magnitude of the sacrifice. Our quietness is almost instinctive. And so it was for a monk, as the old story goes, who was assigned to do the homily for the brothers

March 7, 2016

Christian Standard

Lesson for March 13, 2016: Simple Faith (Mark 10:17″“31)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the March 6 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  Affluenza complicates simple faith. Affluenza is a sickness caused by too many material possessions. While everything created by God is good (2 Timothy 4:4), and while God has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3), there probably is such

March 4, 2016

Christian Standard

The Cup

By J. Michael Shannon The Christian world has long been fascinated with the cup of the Last Supper. One legend says that Joseph of Arimathea took the cup to England. There, it seems to have gotten mixed up with grail legends and become a part of the King Arthur stories. Dozens of churches claim to have the cup. A seventh-century legend says the cup was at one time in a church in Jerusalem. It was described as a two-handled silver chalice. In Genoa, Italy, there is a hexagon-shaped cup made from green glass that some thought was an emerald. In

March 1, 2016

Mark A. Taylor

Why We Celebrate

This Easter editorial was written by Mark A. Taylor, CHRISTIAN STANDARD’s editor, the 11th in its 150-year history. It first appeared in the April 8, 2007, issue of the magazine. ____ By Mark A. Taylor Today Christians celebrate the resurrection of Christ for two reasons. First are the logical and historical evidences: “¢ Confused and afraid disciples became bold proclaimers of Christ”s resurrection after they saw it was true. Their testimony never wavered, even when it cost them their lives. Even if one man might have died for a lie or a fantasy, no one can explain why so many

March 1, 2016

Christian Standard

“˜If a Man Die, Shall He Live Again?”

This Easter editorial was written by Sam E. Stone, CHRISTIAN STANDARD’s 10th editor. It first appeared in the March 30, 1986, issue of the magazine. ____ By Sam E. Stone When Eve stood with tear-filled eyes beside Abel”s grave, the question of the ages must have been in her heart. Will I see him again? Is there life beyond the grave? But it remained for that patriarch whose name is synonymous with human suffering to ask, “If a man die, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14). All of us have thought about this. We think of it when we stand

March 1, 2016

Christian Standard

They Were Excited

This Easter editorial was written by Edwin V. Hayden, CHRISTIAN STANDARD’s ninth editor. It first appeared in the April 21, 1962, issue of the magazine. ____ By Edwin V. Hayden They were excited people””those folk who saw Jesus after He rose from the dead. They couldn”t contain themselves from telling what they had seen and heard. Their excitement didn”t wear off; it stayed with them as long as they lived. Because of it we in our land and time have access to Christ”s church and His gospel. Others now and generations to come will have that church and that gospel,

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