The hard of hearing sometimes require prophets to speak and write graciously and lovingly louder.
Read the story of Malchus, and how this blog got its name.
The Wisest People in the World
By Brad Hicks Who is the wisest person you’ve ever met or read or watched a documentary about? Maybe it’s someone in your family or perhaps a historical military, religious, or political figure. Or maybe it’s a philosopher, educator, psychologist, or economist whose works you’ve read. If you’re like me, you would agree that our…
How God’s Grace and Our Faith Work in Perfect Harmony
By Brad Hicks The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. … Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. — John 1:14,…
When Divine Discipline is Necessary to Counter Our Stress, Anxiety & Fear
By Brad Hicks It’s no secret that the majority of people are weighed down by some form of stress, anxiety, or fear, and this is no less true for many of God’s people, we who are in the church. I have encouraging news … but it comes in two packages. Encouragement Package #1 is the…
What’s Your Top News Story of 2022?
By Brad Hicks In 2006, the film Pan’s Labyrinth was released in theaters in Europe and North America. Written and directed by Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, the story, in my opinion, has several parallels to the Christian Gospel. The heroine of the story is a preadolescent girl named Ofelia, and in a poignant scene…
Christ conquered death ~ why does that even matter today?
By Brad Hicks Easter 2022 just passed not long ago. For a couple of weeks leading up to Easter, I had been reading about and meditating on the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus and pondering the meaning of those two most important events in human and redemptive history. I want to share a…
How God Uses the Church to Dismantle the Demonic Empire that Deludes the World
By Brad Hicks God’s intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. — Ephesians 3:10-11 Nothing happens in our world, in nations, in monetary and…
The Heart in Scripture: Heart, Blood & Spirit in the New Testament (Part 6)
By Brad Hicks This is the sixth and final part of this series on the word heart in scripture. As we’ve gone through the scriptures, we’ve seen that the human heart is much more than an organ of muscular tissue that pumps and circulates our blood to every part of our body. It is also…
The Heart in Scripture: Blood & Heart in the New Testament (Part 5)
By Brad Hicks For probably thirty years I’ve wondered, probed, and asked God to teach me about this passage in the New Testament letter to the Hebrews: “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” (Hebrews 9:22) And after studying the word heart in Scripture over the last couple of months, it’s…
The Heart in Scripture: Heart in the O.T. Wisdom Books (Part 4)
By Brad Hicks In our study-discussion of the word heart in the Bible, we’ve investigated 34 of the 39 books in the Old Testament. Now, we’ll turn to the final five books — Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. These books comprise the section in scripture that many call the Wisdom Books. The…
The Heart in Scripture: Heart in the O.T. Prophetic Books (Part 3)
By Brad Hicks In our study and discussion of the word “heart” in scripture, so far, we’ve explored the first 17 books of the Old Testament. First, we looked at verses that contain the word heart in the Torah, sometimes referred to as the books of Moses — the first five books of the Old…
The Heart in Scripture: Heart in the O.T. Historical Books (Part 2)
By Brad Hicks The books in the Old Testament that we refer to as the “historical” books do, indeed, provide historical facts about the period after Moses’ death and, consequently, Joshua’s rise to leadership of Israel from about 1300 BC to the time of the return of the Jews to Jerusalem from the Babylonian captivity…
The Heart in Scripture: Heart in Torah (Part 1)
By Brad Hicks Delivered on August 10, 2021, via Zoom to a group of Christian church leaders in India, at the invitation of my friend, Edwin Daliya, a native of Mussoorie, India. Edwin heads a missions organization that plants churches throughout northern India. The word “heart” is translated 725 times in the Bible, 576 times…
Thankfulness in a Self-Absorbed Culture (Part 2)
By Brad Hicks Last week, in Part 1 of our discussion on thankfulness in the scriptures, we pored over the Old Testament and noticed that the word thanks was first used in the Book of Leviticus as it related to the Law of Moses; God commanded that offerings and sacrifices were to be made in…
Thankfulness in a self-absorbed culture (Part 1)
By Brad Hicks The word “thank” and all its derivative words — thanks, thanksgiving, thankful, thankfulness, grateful, etc. — as it relates to man’s thankful posture toward God, appears in English translations of the Bible about 150 times. I hope to show today why thankfulness — why having a grateful attitude toward God for all…
The fearless Freedom Riders of 1961
By Brad Hicks The Freedom Riders were remarkable, fearless Americans. They were extraordinary, ordinary people … young people who took the reins of history and wouldn’t let go. — Mark Samels, American Experience executive producer When I did see the young people, first the sit-ins and the courage that they had to have, and then…
Two daughters of enslaved persons who truly made America great, and the ironic fate of Confederate President Jefferson Davis
By Brad Hicks In order to see where we are going, we not only must remember where we have been, but we must understand where we have been. Oppressed people, whatever their level of formal education, have the ability to understand and interpret the world around them, to see the world for what it is, and move to transform it. — Ella Baker, “Mother of the…
March Sadness: Oscar Robertson, Crispus Attucks & Indiana’s segregated past
By Brad Hicks This is one story of a series of stories I’ll be writing over the next month while I’m on my Race School Road Trip around the United States. My goal and mission on this trip is primarily for my own education — to try and understand the history behind the issues and…
My upcoming trip to America’s historic civil rights sites
By Brad Hicks In March 2020, due to coronavirus restrictions, I had to cease nearly all operations of the publishing company I’ve owned and operated for almost twenty years. Without having to focus on my business as much for the past year, I’ve had more time to learn, study and research, which is something I…
American Evangelicals, it’s time to tell a better story
By Brad Hicks What once to me was a badge of honor, the name Evangelical has become an embarrassment. I see no need to call myself an Evangelical any longer. The moniker served its purpose in the mid-20th century through the 1970s, but for the last forty years the label has been culturally and, I…
Best of Facebook 6: January 9, 2021
Here are a few of my favorite recent posts from my Facebook newsfeed. The posts are original works by my Facebook Friends, and they’re published with their permission. I look for well-written vignettes and well-crafted art that are positive, meaningful, uplifting, relatable, and sometimes hilarious. To me, these works deserve to be preserved, published, and…
An exercise in hearing Jesus’ voice
Replace my name with yours. And believe it. Hi Brad,I want to remind you of a few things. I gave you the Bible so you can hear me, especially because I know that so much of the time you don’t feel like you hear from me. Just be okay with what you’ve read in the…
Best of Facebook 5: January 4, 2021
Here are a few of my favorite recent posts from my Facebook newsfeed. The posts are original works by my Facebook Friends, and they’re published with their permission. I look for well-written vignettes and well-crafted art that are positive, meaningful, uplifting, relatable, and sometimes hilarious. To me, these works deserve to be preserved, published, and…
Out of the shadowlands, finally Home: The 5 friends I lost in 5 days last week
By Brad Hicks Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he? — Clarence Odbody, ASC, to George Bailey in It’s A Wonderful Life I stopped praying for Doug this week. Of the five friends of mine who died last week, I…
Best of Facebook 4 : December 22, 2020 (Everything Christmas!)
Here are five of my favorite Christmas posts (and a couple of original photos and art to start things off) from my Facebook newsfeed this month. The posts are written by my Facebook Friends, the words are their own not someone else’s, and they’re published with their permission. I look for well-written vignettes that are…
Best of Facebook 3: December 14, 2020
Here are some of my favorite posts from my Facebook newsfeed over the last few days. The posts are written by my Facebook Friends, the words are their own not someone else’s, and they’re published with their permission. I look for well-written vignettes that are positive, meaningful, uplifting, relatable, and sometimes hilarious. To me, these…
Best of Facebook 2: December 11, 2020
Here are some of my favorite posts from my Facebook newsfeed over the last few days. The posts are written by my Facebook Friends, the words are their own not someone else’s, and they’re published with their permission. I look for well-written vignettes that are positive, meaningful, uplifting, relatable, and sometimes hilarious. To me, these…
Best of Facebook 1: December 9, 2020
Here are three of my favorite posts from my Facebook newsfeed over the last few days. The posts are written by my Facebook Friends, the words are their own not someone else’s, and they’re published with their permission. I appreciate it that these Friends have taken the time and thought to express something in their…
Love & brightness: Grandma Rodgers, family sins and secrets, and Easter 1975
By Brad Hicks I recall the brightness of it and the love. Grandma Rodgers would occasionally take me to church with her on Sunday mornings when I was a young boy. She went to West Richmond Friends Meeting, a Quaker church in Richmond, Indiana, on the corner of 7th and Main. One Sunday (I might’ve…
The Three Sisters Stew: A Thanksgiving recipe of beans, corn, squash & a story
By Traci Barr Of all the recipes, why does this humble one matter to me so much? First recognized by the inherent wisdom of indigenous North Americans, the Three Sisters is a quintessential example of “companion planting” — a perfect agricultural (and nutritional!) synergy. Considered sacred, this symbiotic technique is represented on the reverse side…
Anxiety: An Invitation
Mandy Mullikin, the oldest of my three adult kids, gave the message in church this morning. It’s taken from Philippians 4: 4-7, Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition,…
Escaping Babylon
By Brad Hicks I was invited by my friend, Edwin Daliya, a native of Mussoorie, India, to speak via Zoom to a group of Christians in India. Edwin heads a missions organization that plants churches throughout northern India. When I asked him who my audience would be and what the circumstances are that they’re currently…
My judgment of your judgment of God’s judgment on America
By Brad Hicks In an American presidential election year, it’s especially common to hear it bandied about, particularly by those of the religious ilk, that America risks falling under the judgment of God if its leaders, laws, and citizens are not aligned morally with God’s laws as revealed in holy writ. I’d like to talk…
God’s endgame for wicked leaders
By Brad Hicks Just before the 2020 American presidential election, I posted this short message on my Facebook newsfeed. The content started a good discussion. I’d like to discuss it in more detail in this blog. I wrote: Something to think about … If we believe that God raises up and deposes presidents, kings, and…
Malchus and me
By Brad Hicks Malchus is a fellow in a Bible story who gets his ear cut off, then Jesus miraculously restores his ear. Here’s how the story went down and a few thoughts about why I’ve named this blogsite Louder For Malchus. All four gospels in the New Testament record a very brief story of…
Louder For Malchus 
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