Tommy Mann

The tenth book from Tommy Mann Ministries, Above All We Ask, will be released on May 1st. This new book is a 16-part Bible study through the New Testament book of Ephesians.  Designed for both individual or group use, each of the 16 lessons has discussion questions and a Final Thought. The back of the book contains Tips for Teachers, which includes additional information and illustrations that can be used to enhance the lesson. There is also an introduction and conclusion that are not lessons, but provide a fuller context and breakdown of the opening and closing words of the epistle.  This is our fourth Bible study, joining Answering God's Call (Exodus), Accepting God's Call (Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), and Acting Out (Acts).  For bulk rates, please send an email to info@tommymannministries.com with the number of copies you would like to order. As always, these books are not for profit, and the proceeds are used for ministry.   

Well, the Golden Bachelor is getting divorced. Fans of the ABC reality show were surprised to learn the couple that captured their hearts last season were wed for exactly 100 days (about two days for each day of filming the show). I’m not picking on Gerry and Theresa, but do we really expect a competition to be the foundation of a covenantal relationship? This man went from one date to the next, making out with women and telling them he loved them, only to agonize over picking a winner. That isn’t exactly the stuff of fairy tales.    That this is considered entertainment speaks to a broader problem in this country. Other reality shows, such as 90 Day Fiancé, prove this point. Turn on any sitcom and the bachelor life is glamorized while the married man has to sneak around the “old ball and chain.” Hebrews 13:4 says, “Let marriage be held in honor among all,” but it is not held in honor in pop culture.    People can enter into these ill-advised marriages because they have an easy way out

  Shortly after Alicia and I got married she made a cake from scratch (after several years in a dorm room, she was glad to have a full kitchen in our Fort Worth apartment). I had never seen cocoa powder before, so I remember pulling it out of the grocery bag when she got home. I couldn’t believe it: a whole container filled with chocolate!   I tore open the package and grabbed a big pinch of the soft, dark powder, and put it straight in my mouth, expecting some sort of Hershey-esque ecstasy. That was the day I learned that cocoa powder is disgusting.    Why would something so bitter go into a delicious dessert? It doesn’t make the cake bitter; the sugar makes the powder sweet. It is when all the ingredients are combined that a tasty cake is born. When that happens, the sum is better than the parts.    That is how things are in the church. Paul famously compared the members of a church to a human body; some are the hands, some are the feet, etc. If I can tweak the apostle’s analogy, we

Have you ever been to a wax museum? Most of these attractions have wax statues of celebrities, and they are admittedly quite lifelike. Visitors can pose for pictures with the fake figures and make it seem as if they met someone famous.     So you can go to a wax museum and take a picture with a wax Jack Sparrow (or pick your favorite celebrity). But if given the choice between the wax version or meeting Johnny Depp in his famous Pirates of the Caribbean costume, which would you choose? We would probably all agree that the real deal beats the fake figure every time.    In the absence of Johnny Depp, the statue is cool; but if Depp is in the room, I’d rather pose for a picture with the human. An artist’s rendering is great, but it is unnecessary when the person is there in the flesh.   The author of Hebrews spoke about an artist rendering. In 8:5 he said, “They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things.” The word  copy  has been translated elsewhere as artist rendering. What is he t

In many places the New Testament tells us Jesus is sitting to the right of the Father. Matthew, Mark, and Luke each record an exchange Jesus had with Pontius Pilate shortly before the crucifixion; Pilate asked Jesus point blank if He was the Christ, and Jesus replied, “If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I ask you, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God (Luke 22:67-69).”   Many people know that the right hand was the seat of prominence in their culture. The seat to the right of the one throwing a banquet was reserved for the guest of honor, and it is why the disciples argued internally over who would sit at Jesus’ right side in the kingdom.    But the seat to the right also has another cool meaning. In ancient Jewish courts there was a scribe seated to the left and the right of the judge. Once his verdict was rendered one of the scribes would go to work. If the verdict was guilty, the scribe to the judge’s left