Thoughts of Josh Dryer

I am so pleased with the discussion that has begun so far here in Matthew. Manny has made a insightful comment about Matthew 5:1-12 in the previous post. Go check it out. The important question posed here by Manny's statement is whether Christ is talking about the lives of believers living here and now or is He referring to the future kingdom at the end of time? There is convincing evidence for both theories. Read Matthew 5:1-12 and let us know what you think...

Check out the Exegesis of Matthew 5:13-20 located to the right. This passage really helps to encourage us to fulfill our role as believers here on the earth. It reminds us that God doesn't need us to complete any part of His will for the future but that He has invited us into His story and thus we get to be a part of it. What do you think of the passages out lined in this exegesis? Do you have any questions? Is there any part of the passage that really makes you think? What about? Let's get this thing rolling!!

Hello theologians everywhere! I am sorry for the long delay since my last posting. I have so many excuses but nothing that will satisfye even my own disappointment for the delay. I am writing this to invite anyone interested in dialoging with me as I go through a study of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. Each week I will be posting a file containing an extensive exegesis on sections of this passage. I would really like to create a dialog on this passage. So please read the exegetical paper located in the "Assorted Works" folder to the right and let's begin unfolding what is perhaps the greatest sermon ever preached!

What Exactly Does Prayer Do? In a discussion with a friend recently, we began to discuss this topic. Does prayer make a difference? Prayer can definitely be a difficult concept to understand if you accept the tenets that God is all powerful, all knowing, all seeing, and everywhere all at once. Honestly, if one logically thinks it through, how can we even think for a moment that our mighty and perfect God would be affected by what we have to say to Him? One of my messages a while back on making godly decisions was about prayer (see Sermons link on right). First we must understand that prayer is simply a conversation with God. God wants us to pray so we can have a relationship with Him. He wants us to talk to Him, to listen to Him, and to tell Him what we need (See Philippians 4). Also in John 14:7-15 we see that whatever we ask for in the name of Jesus, He will do for us. Does this mean that I can get whatever I want from God? No, it means that if whatever I am asking for is t...

With so many theories developing in our culture explaining the attributes of God and the realities of our existence, it is entirely essential for the believer to know exactly where he or she stands in his or her understanding of God’s power or omnipotence (which means all powerful ). In an effort to strengthen our knowledge of the Scriptures and in effect to know our creator in a more complete way take a look at this short treaty on God’s omnipotence. The level of God’s omnipotence is clearly defined in the Scripture. Upon studying a variety of passages it is clear that God is entirely omnipotent and that there is no other being or force that is more powerful than God. God’s omnipotence is defined best in Isaiah 40:12-16 and Deuteronomy 3:34 which state: Isaiah 40:12-16 “12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And marked off the heavens by the span, And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of...

What is the deal with casting lots in the OT and why is it used in the NT? Was this a valid way to determine the will of God? Can we cast lots today to determine God’s will for ourselves? When I first became a Christian and began to read through the Bible, This subject led to some very challenging questions that I could not find answers to. Recently, our pastor, David, has been taking the church through the book of Acts on Sunday nights and last Sunday we read about how the disciples used lots to decide who the replacement disciple would be for Judas Iscariot. This reminded me of my own question that I had before and how many others may also be questioning this as well. Why would believers use what would appear to be a system of chance in order to distinguish the will of God? To answer this question, let’s look at 3 things. First, we will need to understand just what “lots” is and what it was used for. Second, we will look at an OT passage in which it was used. Finally, we wil...

The Bible is very clear that both of these ideas are at work in our lives. In His writings, Paul clearly uses the word “predestined” when referring to God’s actions towards the lives of men. So we must believe that God has set an order of events, a destiny if you will for His great creation. We must also accept, however, that God has created mankind with a free will. It was Adam and Eve’s choice to sin against God in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). Joshua challenges the Israelites to choose who they will serve at Shechem (Joshua 24:15). All throughout the New Testament the Gospel message is preached and men and women make decisions to follow Christ. Knowing that each of these elements are present in our existence, how do we understand them? Romans 8:28-29 is perhaps on of the most debated passage in the predestination/freewill debate. Origen, an influential writer of the early church age wrote this passage about Romans 8:28-29. “Let us, then, attend to the order of these statem...