Thanksgiving. A day dedicated to two quintessentially American things: football and overeating. Oh, and being thankful. More on that in a moment. Thanksgiving is also the time wherein the nuts from every limb of the family tree can come together for calm, rational, even enlightened conversation on non-controversial topics like politics, religion, and the NFL. […]
I want to tell you a story of a man who was crucified. He was crucified some time in the first century A.D. He was probably in his late twenty’s when he died. He was most likely a convicted political agitator: he was somebody Rome saw as a threat and so they crucified him for […]
What does the Gospel of Jesus Christ have to say about your relationships with other people? That’s an important question, but don’t answer it just yet. Answer this one first: Is the Gospel of Jesus Christ primarily about going to heaven when you die, or is it about having every aspect of your life, both […]
“Gospel” is simply a word that means “good news” but many people use it as shorthand for the central message of Christianity. Usually then, “gospel” refers to the good news about Christ and his Kingdom. So what’s the good news about Christ and his Kingdom? To understand that good news, we have to understand its […]
A common phrase in Christian circles is “once saved, always saved.” Many hold it, many reject it, but a lot of people have questions about it. Here are a few brief thoughts I recently shared with someone who asked me about it: The Bible speaks clearly to the nature of salvation: 1) It’s a work […]
Indifference. It seems to be a perennial problem. Obadiah dealt with it. Obadiah was a prophet. His book is the shortest in the Old Testament. If you can quote a verse from it without looking it up, you’ll have earned my undying respect. We just don’t seem to pay much attention to Obadiah. I think […]
If God is good, why do bad things happen? The question is not new. People have asked it for centuries. It shows up in historical, philosophical, and religious texts. One of the places it appears is in Psalm 10. Most think that David is the author of Psalm 10. Assuming that, what David is doing […]
Psalm 10 is one of those heavy Psalms. It forces us to wrestle with a question that has been asked throughout human history and that question is this: “if God is good, why do bad things happen?” Most think that David is the author of Psalm 10. Assuming that, what David is doing in Psalm […]
We’ve got a problem. There are too many gods and not enough worshippers. Yep. That’s what I said. Go read it again in case you missed it. And then let me explain what I mean. First off, I want to defend my orthodoxy and say that I believe there is only one true and living God, […]
When it comes to worship music in the church today, there’s a much better atmosphere than that which existed a few years ago. “Worship wars” is how many described the rough transition from a church that predominantly relied on hymnals and pianos to one that rolled out a dizzying array of guitars, keyboards, and (heaven […]
