The term ‘Christian’ is now a voter bloc. Did you know that? This is another example of how people can come to a faulty understanding of what a word means. Because ‘Christian’ has been absorbed into the political parlance, there are many folks who think they know what being a ‘Christian’ is, but sadly, the…
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It’s no secret that one of the predominant cultural attitudes towards sex lives by the motto “if it feels good, do it.” But sexual license isn’t just from the Woodstock era. It has mutated to form dozens of strands: bi-sexuality, same-sex sexual intimacy, transgenderism, and more. The pervasiveness of sexual license hasn’t been part of…
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“I feel empty.” Have you ever admitted that to someone? Or just uttered it to yourself? I have! While I don’t know for sure, it’s probably a pretty common human experience. Why? There’s a story recorded in the New Testament that tells us why. It was the middle of the day and Jesus was thirsty so he…
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A church’s culture will be shaped by the beliefs and convictions the people in that church have. Some of our beliefs are known to us, but some aren’t, at least not immediately. Why? We hold to beliefs and convictions that lie underneath the surface and we may not even be aware of them. It’s those beliefs…
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The first definition of the gospel I taught my kids was: Jesus died for our sins. When looking at those five words with adult eyes, you realize that short statement begs more questions. So what is the gospel? This is where historical theology (i.e. what Christians in different ages believed about the Bible) can be…
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I love reading biographies of Christian leaders who have gone before me. I am inspired by them. I get ideas from them. Often the nature of their struggles make me grateful to God for the nature of my own. These are subjective reasons to read biographies, but there are biblical reasons to read biographies as…
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The church world is the only world I’ve ever known. My dad is a pastor. I have an uncle and a cousin who are pastors. I’m a pastor. In growing up in the church there are numerous realities one notices. Perhaps the most visible is this: people come and people go. People leave other churches…
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This Sunday we’ll conclude a short sermon series on the book of Job. Even though the subject of suffering is a dark one, Job is able to find hope. In the midst of excruciating pain, he is able to confidently declare: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand…
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When tragedy strikes, what do you do? You seek counseling. It may be with a professional therapist or it may be with your family and friends. Whoever it is, you seek them out primarily because you’re looking for comfort. In a few texts from Job, we’re going to look at three counseling models. Each one…
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The moment God used words to create the universe, he gave them an inherent power and dignity that is to be stewarded wisely. This is why I treasure words. And I am especially drawn to people who carefully craft words in such a way as to bring honor to Jesus Christ. “Spoken Word” is a…
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