“Never did a great man produce so little,” wrote William Barclay in describing the life of the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834).
Barclay further substantiated his charge writing, “He left Cambridge University to join the Army; he left the Army because he couldn’t rub down a horse; he returned to Oxford and left without a degree.” Continue reading
Filed under Fundaments of Faith
From my files is a collection of supposed answers that children have given to their Bible class teachers through the years.
The first book of the Bible was Guinness.
Noah’s wife was called Joan of Ark.
Sampson slated {sic}the Philistines with the axe of the apostles.
Continue reading
Filed under Fundaments of Faith
I recently read that John Wesley, the 18th century theologian and founder of Methodism, was “so concerned with building a righteous fellowship that he devised a series of questions for his followers to ask each other every week.”
Apparently some found the system too demanding and left the movement.
In a similar fashion, Chuck Swindoll composed 7 questions that he and a group of fellow ministers would periodically ask each other. Continue reading
Filed under Fundaments of Faith
This humorous story has been told by preachers through the years. In fact, I’ve probably told it. However, the Wyckiffe Handbook of Preaching and Preachers claims this actually happened to Joseph Parker, a 19th century preacher in London. Continue reading
Filed under Fundaments of Faith
Last week I was watching a YouTube interview of a man who’s well know in some circles.
The interviewer asked him, if he was a Christian. The reply was an affirmative “Yes.”
Then the interviewer asked about his daughter who had married a woman. The implication was, “How do you as a Christian deal with your daughter marrying a woman?” Continue reading
Filed under Fundaments of Faith
Concordia University has posted on their web page a piece by a pre-seminary student Adriana Thompson entitled “What are the Five Solas of the Protestant Reformation?”
In researching the former Augustinian Catholic monk, Martin Luther, who protested the teachings of the Catholic Church, Thompson concluded from his work and those other reformers there emerged five major doctrines essential to salvation. Continue reading
Filed under Fundaments of Faith
In his book Experiencing God’s Forgiveness, Luis Palau, tells a story about a mother who once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son.
The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and justice demanded death.
“But I don’t ask for justice,” the mother explained. “I plead for mercy.”
“But your son does not deserve mercy,” Napoleon replied. Continue reading
Filed under Fundaments of Faith
I recently read a story that during the early days of the Civil War a young Union Solider was arrested on charges of desertion.
The solider was found guilty and sentenced to death.
President Lincoln heard about the soldier’s sentence, felt compassion, and decided to offer him a pardon. Continue reading
Filed under Fundaments of Faith
There’s an old adage attributed to a Scottish proverb that says, “Confession is good for the soul.”
While this exact expression is not found in the Bible, the concept of confession is one of the fundamentals of our faith. Continue reading
Filed under Fundaments of Faith
In May of 1948 Al Johnson was one of three men who robbed a bank of $1000 in Hoyt, Kansas. He was only 19 years old at the time.
A few weeks later three men were killed in car accident in a nearby town and the police decided they were the men in the robbery. Case closed. But the authorities were mistaken.
In the ensuing years Al Johnson became a devout follower of Christ. But the guilt of the bank robbery ate at his conscience. Continue reading
Filed under Fundaments of Faith
ThePreachersWord 