In research, there is a common practice used to measure data: the pretest and posttest. The pretest is a baseline, assessing the state of something prior to experimental factors being introduced. As is suggested by the name, this happens prior to the experiment.  The posttest is a comparison, designed to compare the outcome of the experiment to the pretest...

The story of Joseph is packed full of moments that resonate with us. Maybe you were the favorite child or the favorite child’s sibling. Some people resonate with being cast away from family or being undeservingly welcomed into a new family. Some resonate with finding favor with an enemy or showing favor to an enemy. In Joseph’s story, we...

Jacob’s journey in Genesis is one of unexpected and undeserved blessing after blessing. With a name that literally means “he cheats,” Jacob was a surprising recipient of the privilege and opportunity God gave him. Jacob was a cheater, a liar, and a deceiver. He was quiet and not strongly gifted. And he was gullible, too. We cannot miss that...

It’s been said that when a word or phrase is repeated in the Bible, we ought to pay close attention. In Genesis 22, Abraham repeated one phrase three times: “Here I am.” Abraham first used “Here I am” on his journey when God called his name. Abraham’s eager response to God shows that he was ready and expectant to...

We marvel at stories with two characters who are total opposites of each other. This is why so many stories feature some form of a noble hero and an immoral villain. The contrast of character and conduct is what drives the tension of the story.  In Genesis 14, we find two completely opposite kings: the king of Sodom and...

Think about all of the choices that we have each day. Just in the morning, we have dozens of different cereals to eat, perhaps that many varieties of milk to pour on top of the cereal, and nearly as many ways to make coffee to go with it. All of these are choices that we often take for granted....