“There are plenty of problems facing the world today. We can worry about them. We can talk about them. We can protest in the streets. We can form organizations that pressure politicians to solve them. We can give money. We can write blogs. The one thing we must do is pray. If Samuel does not […]
God with us
I am not the first, and certainly not the most eloquent, writer who has reflected on Emmanuel as one of the names for Jesus, the Messiah. This reflection, in no small part, has be influenced by the movie “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” which was released a little while ago. If Jesus is Emmanuel, God […]
Who gets the glory?
Have you ever sat through a sermon on a Sunday, thinking that the preacher was doing well, only to walk away not remembering the point of the sermon? I have experienced a sermon or two after which I remembered the opening joke or a touching illustration but did not remember anything about the Biblical text for the message.
But what are they for so many?
There are so many problems in our culture that it is easy to become overwhelmed just by listening to the news. Certainly, to get improved ratings the news curators pick stories based on their shock value, so things are likely not as bad as what the media outlets portray. But still, our own experience validates […]
On Biblical Joy
In a recent sermon, I heard a definition of Biblical joy that I would like to share with you: Biblical joy is the conviction that God sovereignly controls the events of life for his glory and our good. I am writing this two days before the Presidential election in the United States. When this post […]
Chilling words from 100 years ago
J Gresham Machen published a book in the 1920s describing the challenge facing the church of his day. I’m finding that some of what he predicted as the result of cultural trends in his time is impressively applicable 100 years after his writing. For example, consider this paragraph: The whole development of modern society has […]