by pastor | Jun 17, 2011 | Word Studies
According to John’s gospel, the last words of Jesus were “It is finished!” That phrase is actually one word in the original Greek: tetelestai. The root of this word is “teleo” which means “to complete” or “bring to an end” and while the word may be unfamiliar to us,...
by pastor | Dec 17, 2010 | Ask the Pastor, Word Studies
Many years ago, in that ancient time when jokes now hoary with age had the blush of early youth upon their cheeks, when a man first asked, “When is a door not a door?” and when the answer seemed to be a marvelously fresh and brilliant thing—at some happy...
by pastor | Feb 15, 2010 | Ask the Pastor, Word Studies
Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.” (Matthew 5:13) This saying puzzles modern Bible readers because when they think of...
by pastor | Jan 12, 2010 | Word Studies
Our English word ‘Hypocrite’ comes from the Greek word upokrites [pronounced hoop-o-cree-tays]. In its ancient usage, this word was used to describe the ‘play-actors’ or ‘pretenders’ of the Greek Theater who (obviously enough) wore a mask in order to appear as someone...
by pastor | Jan 7, 2010 | Word Studies
The English word “Church” was most likely derived from the Greek word kyriokos [pronounced ku-ree-ah-kus] which literally means “of the Lord” or “belonging to the Lord”. Early authors used this word to describe the place of Christian worship as being “the...