Be Careful Little Hands What You Tweet
I’m a tweeter. I look at Twitter as more than the mundane “I had lunch at…” and “Here I am sitting by the pool (a sight you really don’t want to see)…” Most of my tweets are related to the culture, preaching, revival, or churches. Some are biting. A few, I try to use a
For What Am I Praying? (Part 1)
Last month I asked two question in our prayer inventory based on Ephesians 3:14-21. The first question was, “Why am I praying?” Paul said, “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father.” We discovered that “cause” spelled out at the end of chapter 2–it’s the building of the Church. When you and I
Rubbernecking
Written by: Bill Elliff Drives me nuts. It always happens when you are in a particular hurry to get somewhere, only to discover that the traffic is backed up for miles. “There must be a wreck,” you surmise. But when you finally reach the scene you realize that the car is off the road, out
Silence
Ask any woman in society today how she’s doing, and most often she’ll respond, “Busy!” Forget “joyful,” “productive,” “blessed,” and so on. Career women, stay-at-home moms, college students, and senior adults are pulled in so many different directions that their first response is, “Busy.” I myself find the word rolling off my tongue as I
The Sword of Suffering
One of the most vivid illustrations of an embittered heart is seen in Herman Melville’s notorious character Captain Ahab in his epic masterpiece Moby Dick. During a fierce battle at sea, the mighty white whale, Moby Dick, destroys Ahab’s ship and bites off one of his legs. Although he survived the battle, Ahab’s torn body
The Signs of the Times Are Everywhere
No, I’m not agreeing with Harold Camping and his end times prediction. The fact that anyone would take him seriously is a revelation of biblical ignorance and arrogance. According to the Scriptures, if your “prophecies” don’t come true, you are a false prophet. God doesn’t think highly of false prophets. Because of his mockery of
R Is for Rejoice (Part 2)
The joy of preaching Christ Paul had a difficult situation in the city of Rome because the believers there were divided into three camps: those who helped Paul, those who opposed Paul and those who remained uncommitted (Phil. 1:12-18). Paul could have been discouraged over this division, but instead he rejoiced because Christ was being
The Most Important Thing You Do
How could eleven men replace Jesus and begin the most important movement in human history? It sounds impossible and yet it happened. This small band of leaders were used by God to begin the church, empowered by the Holy Spirit, but the genesis for their leadership happened three years before. And he went up on
Discerning God’s Will
There are few sights this time of year that are as captivating as watching geese flying south for the winter. They glide along in “V” formation with the grace and elegance of synchronized swimmers while giving their honks of encouragement to those in the lead. They possess the accuracy and precision of the mighty Blue
A View from Mount Perspective (Part 2)
Because Terri was home recovering from surgery, I had gone to the church to meet my friend, Pastor Ed Litton. Ed was in town to speak at Sherwood Christian Academy’s graduation that night. I walked out of my study and next door to the Strauss House, a guest house our church maintains for speakers who
R Is for Rejoice (Part 1)
On January 11, 1877, Phillips Brooks, the well-known rector of Trinity Church in Boston, MA, stood before the ministerial students, faculty and guests at Yale Divinity School to deliver the first of eight lectures in distinguished “Lyman Beecher Lectureship on Preaching.” After taking a few minutes to lay the groundwork for his series, Brooks made
The Suffocating Control of Good Pharisees
When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?” (Matthew 21:23) The church is filled with good Pharisees. Just as in Jesus’ day, there are people who