Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
PHall | October 28, 2022
Mark’s record of Jesus calling his first disciples is very instructive for the work they would be called to do. Often people hear and say, “God doesn’t call the qualified, God qualifies the called”. There is a valuable point in that saying since it focuses on God finishing us by equipping us. My point here […]
PHall | August 25, 2022
Never have I made this connection this way. I suggest such “seeing” only comes from familiarity through time which makes God’s word always revealing His lessons. Inspiration keeps telling the same narratives repeatedly, which is a teaching mechanism to show unity. While Galatians teaches we are children of Abraham by faith (Gal.3), we also by […]
PHall | June 30, 2022
Knowing All the Right Answers is Not Enough There is a profound difference between knowledge and submission, between knowing and bowing. We can see this reality in many skeptics who know a lot of biblical facts, but don’t know God and subsequently don’t bow the knee. The question for us is, can we see this […]
PHall | June 3, 2022
“Remove your sandals because you are standing on holy ground”, said Yahweh to Moses and Joshua. “Repent, because the kingdom of God is near”, said John and Jesus to the crowds. Are both statements saying the same thing? One thing they have in common is both are said the beginning of something […]
PHall | December 12, 2021
Sunday’s Sustenance – A theme of my study (and hopefully of the Bible then), is God keeps telling the same stories over and over, with different people and in different situations. This method is one way to see the hand of God in 66 books being 1 book. For example, in Mark 1:1-13, the story […]
PHall | October 13, 2021
Mark reminds us that Malachi and Isaiah prophesy preparing Yahweh’s way: Mark 1:2-3 – As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: A – “Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You, • B – Who will prepare Your way; A’ – The voice of one crying in the wilderness, • B’ – ‘Make ready […]
PHall | October 1, 2021
When Peter had nothing to say, he’d say something anyway (Mark 9:6). Being his brother, as brothers often are, I have wondered if Andrew was the opposite: 1) If Andrew had nothing to say, did he smartly say nothing? He definitely appears more restrained. 2) If Andrew had something to say, did he say the […]
PHall | September 8, 2021
How to Write a Sermon There is no one right way to write a sermon. But taking Mark as a sermon, here is an inspired idea: I. Memorable Opening: 1. Provocative or Informative Title or Opening Line – 1:1 2. Scripture – 1:2-3 3. Explanation or Interpretation – 1:4-11 II. In the middle, the beginning […]
PHall | September 2, 2021
Jesus told James and John, “You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup I drink or to be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”” (CSB’17 Mark 10:38) Jesus’s baptism here is his suffering, so baptism is not literal but metaphorical. He is talking about his suffering overwhelming him. […]
PHall | September 2, 2021
Don’t Follow the Crowd? The gospel of Mark is one of contrast, not of imagery like light and dark in John, but of reactions of groups versus individuals. The latter fair better. One of the most glaring contrasts might be the individual Herod versus the group called disciples. Surely, wicked, adulterous, murderous, Herod fairs worse […]