Monthly Archives: November 2014

GREAT VERSES OF THE BIBLE John 10:10

John-10-10

In an old “Peanuts” cartoon, Lucy is talking to her baby brother, Linus. The scenario unfolds like this.

Lucy: ’I’ll tell you something I’ve never told anyone before.

She points to a hill in the distance and says, ’Someday, I’m going over that hill and find happiness and fulfilment. For me all the answers to life lie beyond those clouds and over the grassy slopes of those hills.

Linus: (Removes his thumb from his mouth, points toward the hill, Maybe there’s another little kid on the other side of the hill who is looking this way and thinks that all the answers lie on this side of the hill. Continue reading

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A Veteran’s Day Tribute

Veterans-Day2014

During the Iraq war in 2004 the Wall Street Journal ran a front page story about the “new training” the Marines were receiving.

In addition to being drilled in combat skills and heavy weaponry, they were receiving instruction regarding respect for the Iraqi citizens. The Marine commanders borrowed the maxim from the Hippocratic Oath: “First do no harm.”  The philosophy behind the new protocol was not intended to put the Marines at unwarranted risk, but defuse hostility and suspicion. The article called it  a “reprogramming campaign” that teaches these skilled soldiers to ask questions first and shoot later.  Continue reading

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Word of the Week: Respect

Respect

Several years ago  Sandi Patti, the Christian music artist, had a hit song entitled “In Heaven’s Eyes.”   In part the lyrics go like this.

A fervent prayer rose up to heaven

A fragile soul is losing ground

Sorting through the earthly babel

Heaven heard the sound

This was a life of no distinction

No successes, only tries

Yet gazing down on this unlovely one

There was love in heaven’s eyes Continue reading

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IT’S FRIDAY. BUT SUNDAY’S COMING! The Incomparable Christ

JesusChrist

Billy Sunday, who was a popular National League baseball player in the 1880’s became a celebrated and influential evangelist in the first two decades of the 20th century.

Sunday’s preaching style was often described as colloquial and homespun. His frenetic delivery attracted large crowds to his campaigns in some of America’s largest cities. He was a conservative who espoused fundamental beliefs about the inerrancy of Scripture, the virgin birth of Jesus and the bodily resurrection.

In one of his famous sermons exalting the all sufficiency of Jesus Christ, Billy Sunday paid tribute to the Savior with these words. Continue reading

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3 Powerful Words We Rarely Hear From Preachers

Preacher.bible

The subject line, with the above title, in my email inbox begged to be opened. No, it actually it screamed!   “Open this email”

I wondered if I was guilty of neglecting three words that could improve my preaching. After all, it was a newsletter I receive weekly from “Better preaching.”

When I opened it and read the first two sentences, I had to chuckle. What were the three words? Continue reading

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GREAT VERSES OF THE BIBLE: 1Corinthians 10:13

MarshmallowTest 

“I’m the marshmallow man,” says Columbia University Professor Walter Mischel.

Over the past 50 years his “Marshmallow Test” has become synonymous with the concepts of self-control, temptation, and delayed gratification. The test is simple. A child is given a single marshmallow and this choice:   Eat this one now. Or wait for 15 minutes and you can eat two! As you can imagine the results are a bit comical as kids twist and turn trying to control themselves from eating!  Continue reading

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CityBacksOff

In a recent post, “Will I Be Put in Prison for Preaching?” I related the story of Donald and Evelyn Knapp who were threatened with fines and imprisonment for refusing to perform same sex marriages.

Yesterday, The Alliance for Defending Freedom, who was legally representing the Knapps posted this update to their blog that I’m reposting in its entirety.

To be clear, our concern is not so much political or social, but religious and spiritual. Continue reading

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Word of the Week: Grow

Cousins

Pablo Casals was a Spanish composer, conductor and cellist. He was regarded by many as the greatest cellist of all time.

In the final years of his life, a young reporter asked him, “Mr. Casals, you are 95 yrs old and the greatest cellist that ever lived. Why do you still practice 6 hours a day?”  Continue reading

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