Traitors for Christ
The English language owes much to the Bible, especially the King James translation. Even the most non-religious often use expressions directly from its phrasings or stories—for instance, "the patience of Job." And Job did seem a pretty patient man. Even though he "was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil"1…
It's Jesus I'm going to turn this sermon, "The Reason," upside down and tell you the punch line right from the start. The reason is Jesus. There you go…now we can quickly finish the rest of the service and go grab some coffee and cookies in fellowship hall about 30 minutes early. 🙂 One could…
Not sure what your feelings toward tattoos are, but… Sola Scriptura — By Scripture Alone Solus Christus — By Christ Alone Sola Gratia — By Grace Alone Sola Fide — By Faith Alone Soli Deo Gloria — Glory to God Alone If you click on the thumbnail, you will see a larger image… (Credit for…
One of the least flexible rules in many Christian churches is about divorce. The only reason for it is adultery: And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?" He answered, "Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning…
Although I can appreciate almost any style of music that includes a melody, I am especially drawn to tunes with heavy guitars. Over the years, Ozzy Osborne has had a knack for not only putting out songs with great guitars—he also attracts especially talented guitarists. (For those not familiar with Ozzy, he first became famous…
Questions After last week's sermon I got two bits of implicit advice, one right after service, one late in the work week. First, get into the meat of the talk more quickly. Second, keep it shorter. So, let's jump right in with some questions: Did God create the heavens and the earth and everything that…
Overall it seems that arguing with pluralism is like pushing against the wind. If a pluralist will not even concede the validity of the law of non-contradiction, there is nothing to "push against" to even begin an argument against pluralism. Having said that, there are two approaches: one for a believer, and one for an…
I am no longer going to update this post. Instead please see the Beliefs page to read the most up-to-date list of what I believe. AKA, "What I Believe" I had an interesting conversation with a Twitter friend, and after he agreed to an uncomfortable implication of his belief system I commended him on being…
Canadian Bands Those of you who made it to church last Sunday know that for my sermons this month I am using secular (that is, non-Christian) songs as fodder for sermons. This week we look to our neighbors up north, Canada, for inspiration. How many here can name a Canadian band our musical artist? Other…
Although there is still a part of me that enjoys a good verbal sparring, I greatly prefer discussion over debate. However, for a conversation to be truly objective and not subjective (e.g. "Will the sun rise tomorrow?" versus "What is the best ice cream flavor?"), there are some fundamental rules about truth I think people…
Pray for Penn (PrayforPenn.org) has just launched as a way of remembering famous people or groups who need our prayer. (The initial inspiration was Penn Jillette, the talkative half of the magic act, Penn & Teller.) Please check it out…and let us know who you want to pray for. And they don’t have to be…
I continue to slowly read through the Bible in one year. Although there are some days it does seem like a burden (due to my humanity, not Scripture itself), being “forced” to spend time in God’s Word daily has been a great blessing. I’ve never really been big on poetry (I abhorred it in high…
Although you should go see the official version of “Golden Gate Bridge” on his site, I couldn’t embed it [youtube=http://youtu.be/ZBKIyCbppfs?t=2m38s&rel=0&w=512] If you go in about 2 minutes and 38 seconds, you’ll see why I titled this post “Heretic!” 🙂
My good friend Winslow reminded me that I had left another article hanging. At the end of "What If'ing the Lord Almighty," which included rather disturbing incidents in the Bible where God's judgment didn't work out so well for children, I wrote: So, how do I explain how a righteous God has children abandoned, swallowed…
AKA "Slash's Advice for Christian Living" Messages from Secular Songs If any of you have spent time on-line looking at (or listening to) my sermons before arriving here in Pleasanton, you'll notice a good number that are based on songs by secular groups. For instance "What You Need" was based on Aloe Blacc's "Little Miss…