Three Motifs For The Church’s Relationship To The World
What is the church’s relationship to the world? How much are we to be in the world yet not of it? How much influence are we to have on the world? How much separation? Should we simply let the world “go to hell in a hand-basket” or are we expected to get involved and change things? Jesus did not
What Happened to Civility?
The fall of 2004 has been an embarrassment in the world of sports. Yet, I am not surprised. NBA players out of control. Fans who act like morons. College football players fighting on the field. Oh where, oh where is sportsmanship? It went out the windows when values and morals became optional in our society.
Sanctified by Correction (Continued)
Second, the Word of God is the water that corrects our defilement. Sin defiles us. There’s no question about that. If you ever have any doubt about the defiling nature of sin, just read Psalm 51. as you know, Psalm 51 is David’s cry of repentance. Notice how often he talks about defilement. “Wash me thoroughly
The Lord’s Timing
When I began trying to teach my son how to hit a baseball this year, onlookers would have thought either I was Nolan Ryan or my son was destined to break the all-time strikeout record. It was the greatest effort in futility I had witnessed in some time. What made such a frustrating moment for
Twenty One Skills of Great Preachers
The one thing most of us would rather do than preach, is hear another great preacher. I mean a “Great” preacher. I’ve learned plenty from hearing the best preachers, especially in a live setting. For most of my life, when sitting under a great preacher, I’ve taken dual sets of notes, including content on one
Everyone Needs a Getaway Place
I just finished reading the U.S. News & World Report article on “Escapes from the White House, a behind-the-scenes history of presidential hideaways.” The article is based on the book From Mount Vernon to Crawford: A History of the Presidents and Their Retreats. Many of our nations Presidents had their own estates as they were
Sanctified by Correction
Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17). Second Timothy 3:16, 17 tells us that the Word of God is profitable for doctrine (what is right), for reproof (what is not right), for correction (how to get right) and for instruction in righteousness (how to stay right.) The word “profitable” means that
Father’s Day
During a recent little league game in which my son was playing, I made an interesting observation. When a child got a hit or made a catch, for the most part, it was the women who were cheering in the crowd. I was amazed that most men sat there silently. However, when you began to
At Least I Can Talk to God
I am totally frustrated with technology. With all our advancements, we are going backwards. With progress, comes regress. There was a time when our grandparents had to speak on party lines and there was no such thing as an area code. If you needed to talk to someone, you got an operator and they connected
Learning to Listen
Three hundred years before Christ was born, the philosopher Zeno of Citium said, “The reason why we have two ears and only one mouth is that we may listen the more and talk the less.” James had the same idea when he wrote: “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow
A Mother’s Womb
Ever since the beginning of time, men and women have shared differences that have left the other scratching their head with both confusion and curiosity. Naturally, there are the physical differences and the role differences. Men are by nature a protector and provider, while women nurture and nurse. However, while many of the differences have
People Are Good
Theologians often live in ivory towers far from average folk who dismiss their lofty theological notions. Not so with eBay, the current theological teacher of the masses. This Internet company is constructed on a simple theological proposition: “People are good.” If you’ve not seen their powerful theological video you should watch this convincing piece of