Monthly Archives: June 2017

Who Will Really Follow Jesus?

Have you ever heard a sermon that you knew was true but was radically challenging to the point of making  you feel uncomfortable?

If not, then listen to Gary Henry’s sermon, “Come to Jesus our Example, from the Southside lectures. If you’ve heard such a lesson, I would suggest adding this one to your must listen list.

Gary’s thesis was following the example of Jesus is more challenging than we usually think of it. Too often we “cherry pick” the scriptures that we like. Isolate the aspects of Jesus that appeal to us. And thus to fail to really see the total picture who Jesus is. And how He serves as our example. Continue reading

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5 Reasons To Rejoice in Jesus

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., was a member of the U.S. Supreme Court for 30 years. His mind, wit and work earned him the unofficial title of “the greatest justice since John Marshall.”

One time Justice Holmes was asked about his career choice. He answered by saying, “I might have entered the ministry if certain clergymen I knew had not looked and acted so much like undertakers.” Continue reading

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How Do You Find Strength to Endure The Storms of Life?

“Some days life is hard. Some days life is harder,” observed Wilson Adams yesterday morning in his lecture “Come to Jesus for Strength to Endure.”

Norma Jean and I are attending the Southside Lectures in Pasadena, Texas, near Houston, and being encouraged and uplifted by the theme “Come to Jesus.

Wilson’s lesson spoke to the common lot of humankind. Job expressed it this way: “Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble” (Job 14:1). Everyone experiences trouble. Trial. Temptation. And adversity. That’s life. The key is not to look at it as something that happens to you. But to see it as an occasion to learn, grow and become stronger. Continue reading

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Jesus: The Only Way to God

Last Wednesday Russell Vought, nominee for the Deputy Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, was hammered by Senator Bernie Sanders.

Following a tense exchange of questions and answers, in which Sanders referred to a 2016 op-ed post by Vought, calling it “hateful,” “indefensible” and “Islamophobic,” the Senator concluded, “..this nominee is not really what this country is supposed to be about.”

So what did Vought write that was so offensive? Continue reading

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Word of the Week: Generosity

John Wesley, the 18th-century British evangelist, author, and theologian, was known to live a very frugal lifestyle during economically uncertain times.

From humble beginnings, Wesley became so well known that he earned 1400 pounds a year. Today this would be the equivalent of about $300,000. So what did Wesley do with his wealth? Continue reading

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7 Reasons to Memorize the Bible

Did you know the National Bible Bee took place this past week? I didn’t either. I must have missed that news report from the mainstream media.

The Bible Bee, started in 2009, is open to young people ages 7-18. In last week’s final round the participating contestants memorized 840 verses in just 90 days. The National Bible Bee Game Show, hosted by Kirk Cameron, assembles 72 young people in a contest showcasing Bible verse memory and applied Bible study. Continue reading

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Faith: What is it?

Henri Rechatin was a celebrated French tightrope walker who amazed audiences with his high-wire act as he walked across Niagara Falls in the 1970’s.

Once he crossed from the American to the Canadian side pushing a wheelbarrow with a grooved wheel. At the conclusion of this breath-taking fete, he was met with thunderous applause.  Rechatin then asked a little boy who was filled with wonderment, if he believed he could push him across the Falls in the wheelbarrow. Continue reading

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GREAT VERSES OF THE BIBLE: 1Peter 5:8

It was two years ago this month that Katherine Chappell, an American tourist, was attacked and killed by a lion as she toured Lion Park in South Africa’s Gauteng province.

It was a sad and tragic story of a woman who was described as “brilliant, kind, adventurous and high-spirited.” “She was very much-loved and shared her love for life with those she met,” her family said.

What makes this young woman’s death even more heartbreaking is the manner in which the attack occurred. Witnesses described what happened. Continue reading

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Has God Changed His Mind on Capital Punishment?

“Is the death penalty dying in Dallas?” was the heading of a front page article yesterday in the Dallas Morning News.

“Public sentiment on the ultimate sentence has shifted over time,” observed Staff writer, Tasha Tsiapheras.  She cited several examples.

“A college student killed three people at a drug house in a premeditated robbery.” Continue reading

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Word of the Week: Friendship

If you’re on facebook, you have “friends.” But that doesn’t mean you have a friendship with everyone on your list.

“I don’t need to go onto facebook and pretend to have friends I’ve never even met,” observed actress Stephanie Powers. “To my mind, that kind of destroys the meaning of the word ‘friend.’ I take exception to that. Because I value and respect friendship.”

Friendship is about relationship and rapport. Friendship has to do with community. Commonality. Closeness. Companionship. And comradeship. Continue reading

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