Yesterday I ran into a link to an article I think every Christian, especially budding theologians, should read: “Learning skepticism, an essential skill for citizenship in 21st century America” Contrary to what some might argue, doctrine is important. For instance, Jesus is the Son of God; if you do not believe that, you are not…
Category: Pastoral
“Be Nice”
Augie and I were out getting mom birthday cards and gifts…and at the Hallmark Store I couldn’t help but purchase what is pictured here. Now, Michelle liked it so much that instead of it ending up in my office, it’s in her hutch. 🙂 But, how biblically correct is it? Well, I suppose it all…
LGBT and the Church
A friend of mine on Facebook linked to this article: “Homosexuality: We Need A Posture Shift” You should read the whole thing to ensure you aren’t basing your opinion on my post, but it starts off with: Jesus’ radical love toward the marginalized and outcast is shocking. Not just that he loved, but how he…
“Nonsense Remains Nonsense Even When We Talk it About God”
I started C.S. Lewis’ The Problem of Pain today on a flight to Honolulu. Now, before you get envious, it is for work. However, I sill stipulate that there are far worse places and things to do for work. 🙂 In either case, it is yet another thought-provoking work by him, and I am sure…
I Am Ordinary
Ordinary. I’ll never walk with God like Enoch. I’ll never be as righteous as Noah. I’ll never match the meekness of Moses. I’ll never show the fearlessness of Daniel. I’ll never develop a heart like David. I’ll never attain the wisdom of Solomon. I’ll never have a voice in the widnerness like John. I’ll never…
When Your Death Shows God’s Favor
I’m reading through the Bible again this year and a couple weeks ago I ran into an interesting section. My instinct is to consider God having a person die early is a bad sign…e.g. Ananias and Sapphira (see Acts 5). Basically, early death by God’s decree = bad. To quickly catch you up for a clear…
When Kings (Should) Go Off to War
Greetings It has been waaaaaaaay too long since Michelle, Augie, and I have been here at the Antrim Church of Christ…and as I typed up my sermon notes I knew I could confidently say how great it is to see you all. We may live 2,000 miles away for now, but you are still our…
Arguments from Silence
A couple days ago a friend of mine tweeted this: I know there are many faithful men who have “multi-campus” video churches,I just don’t see Scripture that allows for pastor who’s not there. My response was: But it also doesn’t directly speak against it. I think, however, it goes against the scriptural motif. Personally, I…
Polls Won’t Matter When You Stand Before God
I suppose you could consider its title trolling, but I clicked through on “Science Is a Good Substitute for God.” The article’s final line (other than a disclosure from the author that he’s been an atheist since his teens) is: It turns out that people who rely upon the efficacy of the human intellect to solve…
Defining Sin So You Cannot Commit It
This post is a collection of musings based on how the world seems to be interacting right now, especially on social media. Hopefully it won’t seem too disjointed. 🙂 #1 — If you are a Christian, everything else is secondary to our Lord and His commands. That statement is the most important thing you’ll read in…
An Exclamation Point Society (and Church)
As I was driving Augie to our monthly-ish haircut and our weekly Saturday morning breakfast together and reflecting on a Twitter friend saying a popular pastor committed blasphemy… It hit me that, at least on social media (and it seems elsewhere), we are an “exclamation point society.” Nobody just misspeaks, they LIE!!! Nobody just interprets…
“Is It Okay to Be Mean to a Bad Person”
A month or so ago my little guy, Augie, asked me, “Is it okay to be mean to a bad person?” How would you answer that? Not just “yes” or “no”…but what would be your reasoning for your response? I cannot remember exactly what I told him (my memory is not that good), but it…
Now that You Have Blown It
New Year’s Resolutions We are 10 days into the new year…and here is hoping that it has started off great for everyone sitting here in front of me. I know the Lord continues to bless my family and me in 2016. How many of you made New Year’s resolutions? [Wait for hands to raise.] Anyone…
Merry Christmas!
The stockings are emptied; the gifts are open. What remains is more important: time with loved ones. Perhaps the greatest gift the Lord gave us in 2015 is a new home in a new town. From the first day we visited Strasburg, Colorado, we have seen the beauty of its land and its people. That…
The First Tree?
Last Saturday, heading to breakfast at Burger King followed by a haircut, Augie (my eight year-old) and I were chatting…and…I can’t remember exactly why…but the subject of trees came up. That led to a question of the first tree, and Augie said the first one created by God was the Tree of Life. What do you…