40 years ago, there were over 400 different Christian denominations and sects. They could actually be cataloged and described. By now there are probably over 4,000 and I am not sure anyone cares enough to …
Christian Origins #62 - Ephesians
Unity is an abnormal state in the world at large. In fact, the only time there has ever been even a semblance of unity has been under force of arms. It is odd in a …
Christian Origins #61 - Acts
Sometimes when you’re reading through the New Testament, you can forget that the characters you are reading about are real people. It’s easy to forget that Paul was a real man—flesh and blood. At the …
An End to Sin
View PostChristian Origins #60 - Acts
Religious wars are the strangest wars of all. You can halfway understand nations going to war over boundaries, oil, or economics. At least when you are fighting over money, there is something on the table …
Feast of Huts
View PostChristian Holidays #15
If you have read much of the Bible at all, or if you have gone to church very long, you know that somewhere, out there in the future, there is a day of judgment coming. …
Christian Origins #59 - Acts
It is easy, when you read the New Testament, to lose track of what the argument is about. (And there was an argument going on.) It was an argument for the heart and soul of …
Christian Origins #58 - Acts
Most Christian churches at least make a stab at imitating the churches of the New Testament, but no one really makes it. That’s not very surprising, given the change in culture and technology—especially in the …
Christian Origins #57 - Acts
Being a Christian evangelist in the early years was a real adventure. By the early years, I mean, the first 100 years of Christianity. It was a dangerous and violent time in many ways, and …
Christian Origins #56 - Romans
What is it about us that we have so much trouble minding our own business? Isn’t managing your own life a full time job? How is it then that you can give so much time …
Final Judgment
View PostFeast of Trumpets: Judgment Day
As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Romans 14:11–12 KJV …
History & Prophecy #8
If we don’t have a good overview of what we’re reading in the Bible, prophecies will undoubtedly seem disjointed. In Isaiah 9:16 we’re told: Those who guide this people mislead them, and those who are …
Christian Holidays #11
One would presume that Christian people would like to know more about God. And yet there is a treasure trove in the Bible of which most Christian folk are blissfully unaware. In the first place, …
Christian Origins #55 - Romans
Since Religion and Faith are the very core and purpose of life. Since there is nothing that is more important, nothing else that is eternal, why are they so mysterious? Why doesn’t God just come …
Christian Origins #54 - Romans
What is the state of the billions of people who have lived and died who have never heard the name of Jesus? The apostle Paul was wrestling with this question in chapter 10 of his …
Christian Origins #53 - Romans
As you read through the book of Acts, one thing is abundantly clear. Paul was persistent in taking the gospel to the Jews first, everywhere he went, and the Jews were nearly as persistent in …
Christian Origins #52 - Romans
I don’t know what Paul expected when he set out on his first missionary journey, but I don’t think it was what he got. He does not seem to be prepared for the rejection he …
History & Prophecy #7
All too often, Bible prophecy is misconstrued or misappropriated. The Apostle Paul told us in 1 Corinthians that prophecies can fail: Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are …
Feast of Trumpets: Judgment Day
As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Romans 14:11–12 KJV …
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 …
Christian Origins #63 - Ephesians & Galatians
40 years ago, there were over 400 different Christian denominations and sects. They could actually be cataloged and described. By now there are probably over 4,000 and I am not sure anyone cares enough to …
Christian Origins #62 - Ephesians
Unity is an abnormal state in the world at large. In fact, the only time there has ever been even a semblance of unity has been under force of arms. It is odd in a …
Christian Origins #61 - Acts
Sometimes when you’re reading through the New Testament, you can forget that the characters you are reading about are real people. It’s easy to forget that Paul was a real man—flesh and blood. At the …
An End to Sin
View PostChristian Origins #60 - Acts
Religious wars are the strangest wars of all. You can halfway understand nations going to war over boundaries, oil, or economics. At least when you are fighting over money, there is something on the table …
Feast of Huts
View PostChristian Holidays #15
If you have read much of the Bible at all, or if you have gone to church very long, you know that somewhere, out there in the future, there is a day of judgment coming. …
Christian Origins #59 - Acts
It is easy, when you read the New Testament, to lose track of what the argument is about. (And there was an argument going on.) It was an argument for the heart and soul of …
Christian Origins #58 - Acts
Most Christian churches at least make a stab at imitating the churches of the New Testament, but no one really makes it. That’s not very surprising, given the change in culture and technology—especially in the …
Christian Origins #57 - Acts
Being a Christian evangelist in the early years was a real adventure. By the early years, I mean, the first 100 years of Christianity. It was a dangerous and violent time in many ways, and …
Christian Origins #56 - Romans
What is it about us that we have so much trouble minding our own business? Isn’t managing your own life a full time job? How is it then that you can give so much time …
Final Judgment
View PostHistory & Prophecy #8
If we don’t have a good overview of what we’re reading in the Bible, prophecies will undoubtedly seem disjointed. In Isaiah 9:16 we’re told: Those who guide this people mislead them, and those who are …
Christian Holidays #11
One would presume that Christian people would like to know more about God. And yet there is a treasure trove in the Bible of which most Christian folk are blissfully unaware. In the first place, …
Christian Origins #55 - Romans
Since Religion and Faith are the very core and purpose of life. Since there is nothing that is more important, nothing else that is eternal, why are they so mysterious? Why doesn’t God just come …
Christian Origins #54 - Romans
What is the state of the billions of people who have lived and died who have never heard the name of Jesus? The apostle Paul was wrestling with this question in chapter 10 of his …
Christian Origins #53 - Romans
As you read through the book of Acts, one thing is abundantly clear. Paul was persistent in taking the gospel to the Jews first, everywhere he went, and the Jews were nearly as persistent in …
Christian Origins #52 - Romans
I don’t know what Paul expected when he set out on his first missionary journey, but I don’t think it was what he got. He does not seem to be prepared for the rejection he …
History & Prophecy #7
All too often, Bible prophecy is misconstrued or misappropriated. The Apostle Paul told us in 1 Corinthians that prophecies can fail: Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are …
In His Name
Over the years, I have been unclear in my mind about the meaning of one phrase in the Lord’s Prayer. You know how it begins: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. …