Matthew summarizes Jesus’ teaching with these words, “All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable” (Matt. 13:34). Rather than being easy-to-understand illustrations of his message, Jesus uses these parables to overturn people’s expectation and cut to the heart of…

The whole story of the book of Ruth hinges on the pivotal third chapter. Naomi devises a plan for Ruth to essentially propose to Boaz. And Ruth, astonishingly, agrees to the plan and throws caution to the wind. Christopher Ash says Ruth demonstrates “six facets of covenant faith” in this…

We all know that it can take a while to get your feet underneath you when you first begin teaching or preaching the Bible. From wrestling with the structure, meaning, and interpretation of the text to engaging with the congregation and finding your voice, this is an intimidating and challenging…