For the Christian, one of the similarities between ministry and business is the work of creation—the effort to provide people with a message, product, or service that will make their lives better. Stated this way, it makes both minister and entrepreneur an artist–or poet in the strictest sense of the word. The problem is this similarity also makes […]
Faith & Theology
Linus Got it Right!
Linus got it right. The meaning of Christmas is, without a doubt, the celebration of the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Godhead. But what does it really mean when Linus, reading from Luke’s gospel, says that Christmas is all about the birth of Jesus? Or, how are we to interpret the expression […]
C.S. Lewis: An Admonishing Angel for the Modern Age
Like the 49ers of the California Gold Rush, hoards of writers, educators and theologians have flocked to the Sutter’s Mill of English literature, hoping to stake a claim and strike it rich in literary ore.
For the Weekend 2015.06.26
A Weekend Reminder When the children of Israel were exiled into Babylon, the Lord told them to seek the welfare of the city until He returned to establish their dominion again: “But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in […]
Fellowship with One Another
Perhaps you heard about the pastor who skipped church one Sunday when he was out of town so he could play a round of golf. When the Devil saw what he was doing, he made a bee line for the pearly gates to accuse the back-sliding bishop to the Lord. “Don’t worry,” the Lord assured […]
Through Gates of Splendor
Elisabeth Elliot met Jesus early yesterday morning (June 15, 2015). She died at 88 years old as one of the most influential Christian women in this generation. It must have been a glorious experience for her to see our Savior face-to-face after a lifetime of kingdom service in a broken and violent world. One of the first books […]
Time’s Up!
I cried a lot in the first and second grade! If my clothes got dirty on the playground, I cried. If my hair didn’t comb just right, I cried. But mostly I cried if I didn’t get a 100% on a test. My second-grade teacher, Mrs. Doty, kept one of those airplane barf bags in […]
Already and Not Yet
The Kingdom of God (Synonymous with the Kingdom of Heaven) was understood by second-temple Jews as “God’s perfect reign in the earth.”[1] They anticipated an apocalyptic event at the end of history when God would come and purge the world of sin and error and establish his rule forever (Isa. 24:23; Zech. 14:9ff). This is one […]
Better Late Than Never!
You might have noticed my site went down the week before last. I was hacked by an overseas network trying to use my site for phishing. Fortunately, the security measures at Bluehost spotted the ruse and shut things down before my site could be used. That said, I spent a couple days on the phone with a website security […]
SAINT SERMON: A Sound and Replicable Model for Sermon Delivery
Jonathan Edwards has been described as “America’s greatest theologian.” But as I understand it, he wasn’t a terrific orator. As a matter of fact, it’s said when he preached his most famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” he actually read the manuscript in monotone, by candlelight. While I confess I haven’t […]