Mark Minnick Part One here, Part Two here. This article is an edited version of Alexander MacLaren’s sermon, “The Secret of Power.” The sermon made a remarkable impression on the men who first heard it. We offer it as an encouragement to Christians beginning a new year of ministry for the Lord. ~~~ This message…
Read MoreYour Bible Reading Plan Do you have a Bible Reading Plan? We are encouraging our church members to adopt a plan of regular Bible reading. I’d like to share some good options for you – some are more rigorous than others. From NavPress and their Discipleship Journal, three variations with flexiblity and ‘catch-up’ days. Here’s…
Read MoreMark Minnick Part One is available here. This article is an edited version of Alexander MacLaren’s sermon, “The Secret of Power.” The sermon made a remarkable impression on the men who first heard it. We offer it as an encouragement to Christians beginning a new year of ministry for the Lord. ~~~ This message to…
Read MoreMark Minnick Lying here beside me is a small volume entitled The Crisis of Missions by A. T. Pierson. My copy was personally autographed by Pierson and presented to Dr. Alexander Maclaren during the World Missionary Conference held in London in May of 1888. I enjoy having it in my hands and thinking of these…
Read MoreMore on school shootings: Game Theory: A Year When Real-World Violence Crept Into Play The author denies a connection between real world violence and video games (certainly a debatable proposition), but the article reveals some interesting insight into human nature as the author, a young dad, considers what to do about his video games and…
Read MorePart 3 (Part 1 here; Part 2 here) Doug Bachorik and Ryan Weberg In Part 1, the authors established the desirability of adopting new and unfamiliar music for church music ministry, but they insist all such music must be thoroughly tested before being adopted (or adapted) by local churches (and individual Christians). In particular, this…
Read MoreJohn Mincy Israel had nine appointed festival seasons, of which only three are technically called “feasts.” The Passover (Unleavened Bread), the Feast of Weeks (Harvest, Firstfruits, Pentecost), and Tabernacles (Ingathering) are the only three designated by the Hebrew word for feast. All the males of Israel were required to go up to Jerusalem for these…
Read MoreGrammatical notes on Luke 2:13 David Potter “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,…” A Christmas meditation: it starts out pretty technically, but stay with me to the end. It will be worth it. Our verse could be translated literally, ‘multitude of the host of…
Read MoreHaggai 2:6-9 Introduction During this Christmas season, many Christians will listen to the music of Handel’s Messiah. We will join in singing Wesley’s beloved carol Hark! the Herald Angels Sing or his less well known Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus. In either case we will hear musical settings of God’s prophet when he said, “and the…
Read MoreWebster defines hermeneutics as “the science of interpretation; esp[ecially] the study of the principles of Biblical exegesis.” Nevertheless, a well-educated person may have no understanding of hermeneutics. In a conversation with a college professor from a well-known conservative (non-Christian) college, he challenged a clear interpretation of Scripture with the charge, “That’s your opinion.” When I…
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