Prepare for a Messy 2020 Election Season
Pastors and congregations, fasten your seat belts, secure your crash helmets, and get ready. The 2020 elections are coming, whether we’re ready or not.
Now Hear This
Most of us take our hearing for granted. If you doubt that, let me ask when was the last time you thanked God for your hearing? Did you ever do so?
Looking Back to Look Forward
January marked the 50th anniversary of my brother Dennis’s death. The sheer volume of days, months, and years is staggering. But it’s more than that. I’m amazed that after five decades, the dull ache of loss persists.
God Is Sovereign
One of the challenges followers of God experience is that, although God is sovereign, God sometimes allows things to occur that we do not understand, and life may not go the way we envisioned. But even amid those realities, God is still in control.
Our New Collective Sin
As Christians, we tend to view our sin as personal, to be eliminated as much as possible throughout our lifetime so that we may walk closer with God. Our Sunday School teacher, Nat Burns, used to remind us years ago: “Keep your sin list short
A Failed Game of Thrones
Jeremiah 23:1-6 holds many similarities to Game of Thrones. Jeremiah’s context is filled with kingdoms that were at odds with each other, and political and military jockeying by multiple kings who either wanted power or were afraid of losing it.
The Sins of Society
Sin winds its way into our lives so insidiously we excuse ourselves as though we are morally blinded. The Bible tells us when mankind calls sin good, we have lost our way.
The Gospel & the Limits of Consumerism
Confronted with the crass materialism of our times, people of faith often assume a superior attitude, as if the unchurched are the only ones who have their priorities all mixed up. But are we, the followers of Jesus, any less enslaved?
Remembering One on the Journey
`In December, my best friend, Charles, passed away. I was devastated. From the outside looking in, someone might wonder how Charles and I ever became friends, especially since there’s a 57-year age difference.
Things Happen — But Don’t ‘Just’ Happen
It happened that Caesar Augustus ordered a census. Because of the census, it happened that Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem, which happened to be the village of their ancestry.