If the world was going to blow up at noon tomorrow, would you want to know? I don’t just mean having an asteroid hit us, spread some dust and dirt around, and create a new …
The Gospel of Matthew #35
If you could ask Jesus, Lord, what are the signs of your second coming and of the end of the world? would you want to know the answer? It’s a teasing question, isn’t it? And …
The Gospel of Matthew #34
I know that Jesus was a gentle man. I am certain that he was kind, that he was merciful, and very gentle with the people he dealt with. But, you know, at the same time …
The Gospel of Matthew #33
There is a time in a man’s life when he must act—when he must seize the day. There are moments of opportunity; there are simple chances to do things—an opening to produce something really worthwhile. …
The Passover #3
And the Lord spoke unto Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, Let the children of Israel …
The Courageous Christian
I’m always grateful when the news media gives credit to people who have done very brave things. It is so good to see these people and to hear what they have to say about how …
The Gospel of Matthew #32
What is the Kingdom of Heaven like, really? Listening to preachers when I was growing up, I was under the impression that the Kingdom of Heaven was Heaven itself—that is was a city with streets …
The Gospel of Matthew #31
What is it about children that makes some people so ready to dismiss them as though they were of no consequence? You know, I have finally become convinced that one of the the reasons children …
The Gospel of Matthew #30
When you were on your way home from work yesterday, and you drove by a schoolyard with a couple of hundred kids out there—either playing, or waiting for buses, or waiting for Mom and Dad …
The Gospel of Matthew #29
Is it possible for a sinner to be forgiven and then have that forgiveness taken away? It doesn’t sound right, does it. After all, God says he will remove our sins from us as far …
The Passover #2
And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel and say unto them: Concerning the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are My …
The Christian Virus
An article recently showed up in my email about the state of Christianity in China. I almost didn’t read it. I have heard about Chinese Christians before, but nothing to make me think they could …
The Gospel of Matthew #28
Jesus told Peter that he was giving him the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and that whatever he bound on earth would be loosed in heaven, and whatever he loosed on earth would be …
The Gospel of Matthew #27
Would you assume that Jesus wanted everyone to know that he was the Messiah? There was a lot of controversy at the time about who he was. On one occasion he asked his closest disciples, …
The Gospel of Matthew #26
Unless you’ve just arrived from another planet and are not yet up to speed, you probably have some notion about what Jesus Christ was like. I would guess you even have some visual images of …
The Gospel of Matthew #25
Even when Jesus went to the desert to be alone, he could not get away from the crowds. There’s nothing particular unusual about that, I suppose. If you had a little girl with a terrible …
The Passover #1
And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the …
Love and Marriage
If you think marriage is tough, try divorce. At least that’s what a friend of mine told me after about a year of divorce. Divorce is a nasty business, and especially nasty for the children. …
The Gospel of Matthew #24
What is the Kingdom of Heaven like? Is it a great city with jeweled foundations and streets of gold; a marvelous city with gates made from a single pearl; a land with a river of …
The Gospel of Matthew #23
It’s downright annoying, when something is bothering you, to have one of your friends say, Well, try not to think about it. Right. Have you ever tried not to think about something? It’s pretty well …
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 …
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. …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Passover at Home
View PostThe 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 …
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. …
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, …
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 …
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 …
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 …
A Second Chance?
“There are two kinds of people in the world,” intoned the preacher, “the saved and the lost. There is no middle ground with God.” Now there is a sobering thought. If indeed there are only …
The Gospel of Matthew #36
If the world was going to blow up at noon tomorrow, would you want to know? I don’t just mean having an asteroid hit us, spread some dust and dirt around, and create a new …
The Gospel of Matthew #35
If you could ask Jesus, Lord, what are the signs of your second coming and of the end of the world? would you want to know the answer? It’s a teasing question, isn’t it? And …
The Gospel of Matthew #34
I know that Jesus was a gentle man. I am certain that he was kind, that he was merciful, and very gentle with the people he dealt with. But, you know, at the same time …
The Gospel of Matthew #33
There is a time in a man’s life when he must act—when he must seize the day. There are moments of opportunity; there are simple chances to do things—an opening to produce something really worthwhile. …
The Passover #3
And the Lord spoke unto Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, Let the children of Israel …
The Courageous Christian
I’m always grateful when the news media gives credit to people who have done very brave things. It is so good to see these people and to hear what they have to say about how …
The Gospel of Matthew #32
What is the Kingdom of Heaven like, really? Listening to preachers when I was growing up, I was under the impression that the Kingdom of Heaven was Heaven itself—that is was a city with streets …
The Gospel of Matthew #31
What is it about children that makes some people so ready to dismiss them as though they were of no consequence? You know, I have finally become convinced that one of the the reasons children …
The Gospel of Matthew #30
When you were on your way home from work yesterday, and you drove by a schoolyard with a couple of hundred kids out there—either playing, or waiting for buses, or waiting for Mom and Dad …
The Gospel of Matthew #29
Is it possible for a sinner to be forgiven and then have that forgiveness taken away? It doesn’t sound right, does it. After all, God says he will remove our sins from us as far …
The Passover #2
And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel and say unto them: Concerning the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are My …
The Christian Virus
An article recently showed up in my email about the state of Christianity in China. I almost didn’t read it. I have heard about Chinese Christians before, but nothing to make me think they could …
The Gospel of Matthew #28
Jesus told Peter that he was giving him the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and that whatever he bound on earth would be loosed in heaven, and whatever he loosed on earth would be …
The Gospel of Matthew #27
Would you assume that Jesus wanted everyone to know that he was the Messiah? There was a lot of controversy at the time about who he was. On one occasion he asked his closest disciples, …
The Gospel of Matthew #26
Unless you’ve just arrived from another planet and are not yet up to speed, you probably have some notion about what Jesus Christ was like. I would guess you even have some visual images of …
The Gospel of Matthew #25
Even when Jesus went to the desert to be alone, he could not get away from the crowds. There’s nothing particular unusual about that, I suppose. If you had a little girl with a terrible …
The Passover #1
And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the …
Love and Marriage
If you think marriage is tough, try divorce. At least that’s what a friend of mine told me after about a year of divorce. Divorce is a nasty business, and especially nasty for the children. …
The Gospel of Matthew #24
What is the Kingdom of Heaven like? Is it a great city with jeweled foundations and streets of gold; a marvelous city with gates made from a single pearl; a land with a river of …
The Gospel of Matthew #23
It’s downright annoying, when something is bothering you, to have one of your friends say, Well, try not to think about it. Right. Have you ever tried not to think about something? It’s pretty well …