Author’s note: Often before worship services, I enjoy playing hymns and reflecting on their lyrics. One of my favorites is entitled “I Love to Tell the Story.” This is the story behind that song. While evangelism has been the responsibility of Christians since Jesus uttered His ‘Great Commission’ (Matt. 28.18-20), it has not always enjoyed
I shall make mention of the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, According to all that the LORD has granted us, And the great goodness toward the house of Israel, Which He has granted them according to His compassion And according to the abundance of His lovingkindnesses. (Isaiah 63.7) As I
Save those who are being led to their death; rescue those who are about to be killed. Proverbs 24.11 (New Century Version) On January 22, 1973, seven justices of the Supreme Court of the United States plunged our nation into the crosshairs of God’s wrath. In the infamous Roe v. Wade decision, they endorsed the
“For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” ~ Jesus before Pilate “What is truth?” ~ Pilate before turning over Jesus to be crucified Last month, the federal government announced the creation of a
Every few years, I like to remind believers that we need to pray for our elected leaders. This is true whether they stand for evil or good. Scripture tells us to make “entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings…for kings and all who are in authority” (1 Tim. 2.1-2). The Roman government in the first century
God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Genesis 1.27 In his classic Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis famously described a lunatic as “on a level with a man who says he is a poached egg.” In my wife’s nurses’ training,
One of the truisms in pastoral ministry is that ‘politics and religion don’t mix.’ The meaning of that axiom, while poorly worded, is this: The heart of our message to the world is based in the gospel, not politics. That gospel contains ‘bad news’ (which is about us) and ‘good news’ (which is about God).
After listing some of the great heroes of faith from the Old Testament in Hebrews 11, the author of this grand New Testament epistle begins the twelfth chapter with these words: Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so
Time markers are unavoidable: Birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and new years. We celebrate all of them, but when the party’s over, we’re reminded that life is short, and how we invest it is so important. The psalmist puts it this way: Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom
I think Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday: Madison Avenue hasn’t been able to commercialize it the way they do most holidays. At its core there is one idea: Give thanks – and when it comes right down to it, that thanks is directed to God. In the fall of 1621, after a difficult year of
