Leviticus 18:5 looms large in law-grace discussions. The verse states, “Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in [or, by] them: I am the Lord.” Given the Bible’s emphatic teaching that salvation is a gift, the reader naturally struggles with this verse. Is it saying…
Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship:…
Covid descended upon me in December, and our home became very quiet. Due to potentially coughing every time I wanted to speak, words were few and my wife lived in “Silent Night.” During those days, this thought came to mind: Most of us talk too much, and too often about things that don’ t matter;…
In a long interview with Joe Rogan on Tuesday Jordan Peterson related his newfound understanding of the relationship of the Bible to truth. He had just gone through the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC and that event seemed to coincide with this new revelation for Peterson. “I just figured this out this week.”…
We had a deacon’s meeting this week in which we rejoiced in the financial blessings God has given our congregation through a very uncertain economic climate. It was almost 8 years ago now we embarked on a faith journey to take on the largest building project in our church’s history. We had hoped we could…
One cannot help being somewhat repulsed at the strikingly short-sighted response of King Hezekiah recorded in 2 Kings 20:19. “Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken. And he said, Is it not good, if peace and truth be in my days?” Isaiah had been sent to…
God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). During the week, how much time do you think you personally spend in worship? When you attend church, how often do you actually worship? Worship Defined by Others Worship is nowhere defined in Scripture, yet aspects…
Titus 3:12-15 At the risk of over-stereotyping, please allow me to suggest that typical Midwestern Americans (and Americans in general) tend to function in an individualistic way. We keep to ourselves, rely on ourselves, and interact with other people to a limited degree. This individualistic lifestyle contrasts with the more social, relational, and community-oriented lifestyle…
Revelation 3:1-7 How can we come back from the dead? What steps would we, as a church, take to return from near lifelessness? We can learn a great deal from the dangerous difficulties present in a church described in Revelation 3:1-7. They had once been a living church, but were in peril of becoming “the…
The Arizona Democratic party this weekend censured Senator Kyrsten Sinema for not voting to get rid of the Senate filibuster—a parliamentary practice that has been in place for almost 200 years in our Senate. This democratic senator from Arizona has taken heat from both sides over the last few months. While I disagree with her…