Three Tests
In this pilgrimage called life, we often face tests. Usually we think of tests as something we took in school. They were something we crammed for the night before and then prayed hard we would pass. We take driver’s tests when we turn sixteen, blood tests before we get married, and the doctors often tell
Psalms 28-29
Checking HandsPsalm 28 When I was in grade school, every day the teacher would go up and down the aisles. She would make us hold out our hands. First, with the palms up to make sure our hand were clean. Then with the palms down to make sure our fingernails were clean. Of course, none
Seven Advantages of Starting in a Small Church
I’m getting to the part of my senior course where I urge ministerial students to start out their ministry in small churches. It is a hard sell. At IWU we have more than 400 students in our religion division. The median church they come from is about 700. Really! Half of my students come from churches larger than 700 and the other half from
Psalms 26 – 27
On the LevelPsalm 26 Integrity is a very important word. Integrity means that your life is whole, that your heart is not divided. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters” (Matt. 6:24). That’s integrity. Duplicity means trying to serve two masters. Our Lord also said that nobody can look in two directions at the
7 Advantages of a Denomination
A few years ago one of my students was facing a big decision. He was trying to decide between a future in an independent church (like the one he was raised in) or joining up with a denominational church. Justin took his decision seriously enough to undertake a research project. He interviewed pastors in both kinds
Will the Church Ever Learn?
Okay, you should be able to tell where this is going by the title. There are “churches” today that have little to do with what the New Testament or Christian history calls the church. Only in America could we have made something so sacred so trivial and irrelevant. If we were in a third world
Psalm 25
Don’t Be AshamedPsalm 25:1-7 Have you ever been really ashamed? I mean so ashamed that you wanted to go off somewhere and hide forever? Did you want to dig a hole somewhere, crawl into it and then pull the hole in after you? Listen to Psalm 25:1-3: “To You, O Lord, I lift up my
The Big Blog Bust
Since Christianity Today announced the death of the blog in their October 2007 issue I’ve been thinking about blogging. Of the 300 million people who took up blogging, a full 200 million have given it up and let their pages go inactive. There are today only about 100 million active blogs. Actually I guess I don’t “blog”
What Does Judgment Look Like?
Almost every day we see news of devastation in the world and in our land. Wildfires burn out of control in California. Lake Lanier north of Atlanta is drying up. Tornadoes rip through communities leaving their destruction in their wake. Texas is flooded in places that often lack rain. The Midwest finds rivers and creeks
Psalms 23 – 24
Expect ChangesPsalm 23 “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (v. 1). That must be one of the most familiar quotations from the Old Testament. Everybody has some kind of shepherd. Who is your shepherd? Jeremiah said, “It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (Jer. 10:23). You and
Shields of Brass
The prosperous reign of Solomon was followed by the apostasy under Rehoboam. You will remember how he listened to the rash advice of the young men and plunged the country into a course of idolatry. Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord. They provoked Him to jealousy; they built high places and images
Psalm 22
What God Won’t DoPsalm 22:1-11 “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (v. 1). Those words are familiar, aren’t they? We heard the Lord Jesus say them from the cross (Matthew 27:46). But, remember, these words were first spoken by David. He said them at a time when he was going through a