We live in a culture where people like to wear tags, and especially what to “identify” according to specific groups and preferences. Some want to carry those identities with them into Christianity. A few years ago, a visitor to our morning announced to me as he greeted me, “I am a non-practicing gay person…
Have you ever been hurt by something someone said? Or even worse, have you hurt someone deeply by something you blurted out? Maybe that heartache you felt caused you to hurl hurtful words at someone else too. When will all this stop? Proverbs 12:18 can help you and me stop hurting people and start helping…
The “fruit of the Spirit” passage is one of those so familiar to us that we often take little time to think about it. When we do think about it, we concentrate on getting all the terms just so. We are either blowing past it in our Bible reading or analyzing it to the nth…
What do we need God to tell us? The Word of God gives us everything God wants us to know. We call this the sufficiency of Scripture. All the words that God wants you to have when it comes to salvation, and trusting Him, and obeying Him are found in the Bible. That’s why in…
David should have helped Goliath? Lexus has recently produced a new, scripturally ignorant commercial. Empathy means not “David versus Goliath, but David helping Goliath.” (here) This is just dumb. Goliath’s clearly stated purpose was to enslave all of Israel and feed the flesh of David to the birds. You would think that empathy has a…
As Christians, we are as adept at putting on a show as the Pharisees of old. Only God accurately searches our hearts and knows who is genuine among us. We even deceive ourselves by ignoring the hypocrisy present in our prayer time with the Lord. This is why we must be immersed in God’s Word,…
Daniel 11:21-29 How can we live in a stable, confident manner when our nation is shaken by assassinations, fraudulent leaders, diplomatic intrigue, military force and greedy political leaders who turn against their own countrymen? In Isaiah 44:6-8, the prophet introduced the Lord, the King of Israel, and His credentials: “Thus says the LORD the King…
Sure, Scripture is nice to have. But is it necessary? Yes. Scripture is necessary. We need it. One dictionary of theological terms I checked gave me this definition. The necessity of Scripture means that the Bible is necessary for salvation because it alone reveals the gospel.”1 But that doesn’t go far enough. We don’t just…
“Pastor, I need to ask you a question.” Can we talk privately, please? The next few steps from the public to the privacy of my office are the most agonizing ever. Thoughts flood my mind. “What did I do? I wonder what they are upset about? I know I didn’t do anything.” Questions tend to…