I think it is fair to say that God used the power of the Holy Spirit to jump start the early Christian church. They started with 120 members, then baptized 3,000 people in one day. …
Taking God Seriously
View PostJews and Christians
How should Christians think about Jews? For that matter, how should Jews think about Christians? The relationship between Jews and Christians has been strained right from the very start. It was a mob of Jews …
Christian Origins #4 - Acts
I remember my first experience with power. It was behind the wheel of a 1948 Chevrolet. Granted, by today’s standards, that is not a lot of power, but it was power to me. If I …
Christian Origins #3 - Acts
Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at …
Christian Origins #2 - Acts
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled …
Christian Origins #1 - Acts
How many hundreds of millions of Christians are there in the world by now? What is your guess? Well, I looked it up. Christianity of all stripes is the largest religion in the world and …
The Seventh Sabbath
There were three major periods in the preparation of the apostles for the work that laid ahead of them: first, they had three-and-a-half years of watching Jesus work; hearing him teach; asking him questions; and, …
The Power of the Spirit
View PostWater Baptism #2
Sometimes it takes a while to mess up your life. Sometimes you can do it pretty quickly. And the odd thing about it is how terribly hard it is to turn it around, and how …
Water Baptism #1
There is something truly satisfying about the Christian rite of baptism. I’ve baptized a lot of people in my time, and I never tire of seeing the joy on the faces of people who are …
About Pentecost
View PostChristian Holidays #9
Of all the Christian holidays, the one that surprises me the most is Pentecost. It surprises me that every Christian does not observe it. After all, it is the birthday of the New Testament church. …
The Power to Love
A man can live without food…for a while. He can live on short rations for quite a while. But sooner or later the body withers and dies. We know what it looks like, because we …
The Gospel of John #12
I can understand why Jewish leaders were concerned about Mel Gibson’s movie, The Passion of the Christ. If I were Jewish, I would probably feel the same way. I know I am profoundly disturbed by …
The Gospel of John #11
It’s fascinating that the longest discourse of Jesus in the entire New Testament is also the most private, the most intimate, the most personal. It is the night of the Last Supper and he’s going …
Everything Is Beautiful
I used to wonder at the decay of popular music in all of its forms. Why wasn’t anyone writing beautiful music? It seemed almost as though they had lost the ability. And then I read …
The War for Your Children
Not a few Christian folk are beginning to worry. They’re thinking that they may be losing the culture war. The strongest evidence they see: their young people are abandoning the faith in droves. You know, …
The Fifth Sabbath
I think the disciples had spent the last five weeks in a state of shock. They were running high before Jesus was arrested and crucified, and it’s hard to imagine their thoughts after he was …
A Mother to Remember
What would happen to you if you were down and out and there was no one to help? Where would you be if you were sick and broke in a strange city with no place …
The First of Weeks
We have long taken special interest in those eight scriptures that speak of the “first day of the week”. We have made the point that if authority for Sunday observance is to be found anywhere …
If Not Christmas, What?
Jesus was not born on December 25. On the evening of Jesus’ birth, there were shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. Shepherds, they tell us, would not have been …
The Resurrection
For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 Even if …
Church Music: Blessing or Burden?
Maybe I shouldn’t be so critical of contemporary church music. After all, even Johann Sebastian Bach was reprimanded by his pastor for his “modern music”. Bach was criticized, not because his music was bad, but …
Why Do You Believe What You Believe?
Where did you get your beliefs? Can you remember your first ideas about God, or how old you were when you first became aware of the existence of God? Maybe you remember praying as a …
An Uneasy Thanksgiving
As I sit down to my Thanksgiving dinner this year, one of the things I am thankful for is that we still have Thanksgiving Day. And I find myself mildly surprised that we still do. …
Saving the World
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has …
The Day of Atonement
For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also …
Trumpets and the Resurrection
Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed; in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, …
Is There Life After Divorce?
“Let none be faithless to the wife of his youth. For I hate divorce, says the Lord the God of Israel.” Divorce is painful. If you have been through a divorce, you need no one …
Baptized with Fire
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall …
The Body of Christ
The Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for …
Tracks of the Devil
If you were in the forest and were looking for evidence that a particular kind of animal lived in the area, you would look for the unique signs and tracks that would tell you the …
An Anxious Faith
And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. Mark 9:24 Jennifer’s husband was going into the hospital on Monday for open heart surgery. …
Could Christ Return Tonight?
View PostThe Design
I have to see my eye doctor three times a year, and I am always left waiting in his examination room. The walls there are covered with pictures and diagrams of the human eye. I …
Governing Sheep
What is the shape of a flock of sheep? This probably belongs on a list of the world’s most meaningless questions, for a flock of sheep has no shape. It is a collection of living …
Basic Christianity: The Opening Gambit
The Christian faith must seem downright confusing to an onlooker. Even the largest, seemingly the most monolithic Christian denominations are, in reality, composed of many factions. Unless you are an insider, you can remain unaware …
Second and Third Tithes
View PostA Funeral Service for Anyone
When we are young, we are a little unsure about funerals. We don’t like to think about death and we are uncomfortable being around people who are grieving. We don’t know how to feel, and …
Christian Origins #5 - Acts
I think it is fair to say that God used the power of the Holy Spirit to jump start the early Christian church. They started with 120 members, then baptized 3,000 people in one day. …
Taking God Seriously
View PostJews and Christians
How should Christians think about Jews? For that matter, how should Jews think about Christians? The relationship between Jews and Christians has been strained right from the very start. It was a mob of Jews …
Christian Origins #4 - Acts
I remember my first experience with power. It was behind the wheel of a 1948 Chevrolet. Granted, by today’s standards, that is not a lot of power, but it was power to me. If I …
Christian Origins #3 - Acts
Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at …
Christian Origins #2 - Acts
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled …
Christian Origins #1 - Acts
How many hundreds of millions of Christians are there in the world by now? What is your guess? Well, I looked it up. Christianity of all stripes is the largest religion in the world and …
The Seventh Sabbath
There were three major periods in the preparation of the apostles for the work that laid ahead of them: first, they had three-and-a-half years of watching Jesus work; hearing him teach; asking him questions; and, …
The Power of the Spirit
View PostWater Baptism #2
Sometimes it takes a while to mess up your life. Sometimes you can do it pretty quickly. And the odd thing about it is how terribly hard it is to turn it around, and how …
Water Baptism #1
There is something truly satisfying about the Christian rite of baptism. I’ve baptized a lot of people in my time, and I never tire of seeing the joy on the faces of people who are …
About Pentecost
View PostChristian Holidays #9
Of all the Christian holidays, the one that surprises me the most is Pentecost. It surprises me that every Christian does not observe it. After all, it is the birthday of the New Testament church. …
The Power to Love
A man can live without food…for a while. He can live on short rations for quite a while. But sooner or later the body withers and dies. We know what it looks like, because we …
The Gospel of John #12
I can understand why Jewish leaders were concerned about Mel Gibson’s movie, The Passion of the Christ. If I were Jewish, I would probably feel the same way. I know I am profoundly disturbed by …
The Gospel of John #11
It’s fascinating that the longest discourse of Jesus in the entire New Testament is also the most private, the most intimate, the most personal. It is the night of the Last Supper and he’s going …
Everything Is Beautiful
I used to wonder at the decay of popular music in all of its forms. Why wasn’t anyone writing beautiful music? It seemed almost as though they had lost the ability. And then I read …
The War for Your Children
Not a few Christian folk are beginning to worry. They’re thinking that they may be losing the culture war. The strongest evidence they see: their young people are abandoning the faith in droves. You know, …
The Fifth Sabbath
I think the disciples had spent the last five weeks in a state of shock. They were running high before Jesus was arrested and crucified, and it’s hard to imagine their thoughts after he was …
A Mother to Remember
What would happen to you if you were down and out and there was no one to help? Where would you be if you were sick and broke in a strange city with no place …