The author of this short letter identifies himself simply as “the elder.” So, who is he? Because it contains the same writing style and language that we find in First John, and because the early church fathers always identified this “elder” as the Apostle John, there is no need to

First John is the first of three epistles (or letters) written to a general audience scattered around Asia Minor, or modern day Turkey. If you recall, John also wrote his story of the life and ministry of Jesus (the Gospel of John), and as we will see soon, he is

The Book of 2 Peter was written by the Apostle Peter not long after writing his first letter. As noted last week, it was during a time of increasing persecution for the church, remembering that for the first 34 years of the Church (AD 30-64), persecution came from the Jewish

The Book of 1 Peter was written by the Apostle Peter during a time of increasing persecution for the church. For the first 34 years of the Church (AD 30-64), persecution came from the Jewish leadership throughout the Empire. It was the Apostle Paul who faced such persecution everywhere he

The Book of James was a critical document for the early church, especially for those Jews who had become Christians. Having lived lives characterized by obedience to the Law, they needed to understand that their new faith, based upon God’s grace, requires good words for that faith to be considered

The Book of Hebrews is one of my favorite New Testament books as it provides a window that helps us see how the New Covenant finds its roots in the Old Covenant, and shows us how Christ is far superior to anything that Judaism had to offer. For example, the

During his first Roman imprisonment, Paul felt the compelling need to write this short letter to a fellow believer and prominent member of the church in Colossae. It appears that the once enslaved Onesimus had robbed, or in some other way wronged, his master Philemon and had suddenly “left town,”

As noted last week, during the course of Paul’s ministry throughout the Roman Empire, he wrote a total of 13 letters addressed to specific churches (like Corinth) or regions (like Galatia), and to specific individuals (like Timothy). These letters are usually referred to as “The “Pauline Epistles.” However, three of

During the course of Paul’s ministry throughout the Roman Empire, he wrote a total of 13 letters addressed to specific churches (like Corinth) or regions (like Galatia), and to specific individuals (like Timothy). These letters are usually referred to as “The “Pauline Epistles.” His second letter to Timothy happens to

As you might recall, Paul met young Timothy on his Second Missionary Journey while in Asia Minor. From the time of their meeting, Timothy accompanied Paul throughout much of his ministry. It is also likely that Timothy was with Paul for a time during this first imprisonment in Rome, and