born and raised twice in the bay, I preach Jesus and him crucified
We all know the feeling of something being out of joint. A love that will not settle. A desire that promises life and delivers restlessness. Most people carry this quietly into the week. We learn to manage it, rename it, or baptize it with softer language. Scripture does not rush past that ache. It pauses... Continue Reading →
“Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”” (1 Kings 3.9, ESV) Solomon asks God for a לֵב שֹׁמֵעַ (lēb šōmēaʿ, “a listening heart”). He does not ask for brilliance or advantage. He asks for moral... Continue Reading →
My friend Cecelia recently posed a thought-provoking question about the Hebrew words for 'breath' in the creation account. It's worth exploring. Most of us move through our days without noticing our breathing: until anxiety tightens the chest, grief catches the throat, or exhaustion shortens what once felt free. We carry the quiet fear that our... Continue Reading →
Folio from Codex Mediceus II (Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Plut. 68.2), an 11th-century Latin manuscript preserving Annals 11–16 by Tacitus. This codex is the earliest surviving manuscript that contains Annals 15.44, the passage describing Nero’s punishment of Christians following the fire of Rome. For many a seeker's heart, the question "Did Jesus of Nazareth really live?"... Continue Reading →
This photograph shows the ruins of the Roman theater at Sebaste, rebuilt by Herod the Great on the site of ancient Samaria in the late first century BCE and renamed for Augustus. Archaeological evidence suggests it dates to the early Roman Imperial period and hosted dramatic performances, civic gatherings, and public ceremonies. These theaters shaped... Continue Reading →
Phillip W. Martin 