Olive Tree Staff, Author at Olive Tree Blog

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Learning Greek can be a difficult task. It takes years of study and countless hours of practice before you reach the point of reading the Greek New Testament without the help of additional resources. Unless your aim is to be a New Testament scholar, most will not achieve that level…

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Justification is Better Than Forgiveness

Topical

Even Better Than Forgiveness: Justification

Here’s an excerpt on Romans and justification straight from the well-loved NKJV Vines Expository Bible. Dr. Jerry Vines is the former Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) president and pastor of 28,000-member First Baptist Church of Jacksonville. Justification: To Declare Righteous Romans 3:24 says, “being justified freely by His grace.” The word justified…

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New Testament

Reflecting on Philemon

It can be helpful to read a summary of a verse, passage, or book of the Bible that you already know well. Why? It can give you a fresh take on something you think you have completely exhausted! This excerpt from the Know the Word Study Bible Notes helps you to…

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Historical

Bonhoeffer: Discipleship and the Cross

BONHOEFFER Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-45) was a German theologian and pastor who spoke out against the Nazi regime during World War II. His resistance against Hitler’s regime culminated with him being hung in a concentration camp at Flossenbürg. Today, Bonhoeffer’s works are loved by many. His writing, despite time, is still youthful,…

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New Testament

Weeping on Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday can sound like a joyous celebration if we tell the story a certain way. There’s a big crowd waving palm branches, shouting “hosanna.” Jesus rides in on a donkey—his triumphal entry. Then, we get our kids to relay the scene on stage at church. It’s cute and fun…

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New Testament

The Faith of a Dying Thief

In Christ’s Words from the Cross, Charles Spurgeon talks in great lengths about Jesus’ crucifixion, including those who were crucified with him. The dying thief did the impossible that day. In front of multitudes of scoffers, he used the only part of his body not nailed to the cross (his…

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Look Inside

See the Lost Sermons of Spurgeon [PICTURES]

In 1857, Charles Spurgeon promised to release all his earliest sermons. But, due to the incredible amount of other work he was committed to accomplishing, this dream was never fulfilled. Now, 160 years later, the Lost Sermons of Spurgeon have been recovered and his promise kept. A TEENAGER’S NOTEBOOKS Christian…

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Commentaries

Baker Exegetical Commentary on the NT

We now have the 18-volume version of the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (BECNT)! This resource comes with over 6,000 pages of conservative, modern scholarship—and it now includes commentary on Romans, Colossians, and Philemon. THE BASICS OF THE BAKER EXEGETICAL COMMENTARY This series is written by well-known and…

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In the World, Not of It

My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. —John 17:15-16 NIV IN THE WORLD, NOT OF THE WORLD How are God’s people supposed to engage…

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Confidence in God

“Confidence in God” is an article from the NLT Study Bible. It is a fantastic resource for anyone in the earlier stages of Bible study. God gave Nehemiah favor in the eyes of a mighty Persian king so that the king responded favorably to all of Nehemiah’s requests (1:11; 2:8,…

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