If you Google “something is wrong with the church,” you’ll get millions of results in a matter of seconds.
A quick perusal of the articles reveals a familiar theme.
“5 Stupid Things the Church Needs to Quit Doing.”
“Anatomy of a Sick Church: 10 Symptoms to Watch.”
“7 Things We Get Wrong About Worship.” Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder
Imagine flying at 10,000 feet through thick clouds with no visible horizon. The pilot looks outside, but there is nothing to see. His senses tell him the plane is flying straight, but his instruments reveal that he is slowly descending and turning. The question is: Which will he trust—his feelings or his instruments? Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder
Yesterday morning, I received a complimentary email from one of our readers, who’s also a friend of mine, regarding our ministry with this blog.
In addition to her kind words, she shared that reading our posts helped her reflect on her life and the areas she needed to work on. Furthermore, she spoke of how it strengthened her spiritually. Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder
A father asked his son, “If three frogs were sitting on a limb that hung over a pond, and one frog decided to jump, how many frogs would be left?”
The little boy grinned and said, “That’s easy, Dad. Two.” Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder
In his book, Water from a Deep Well, Theology Professor Gerald Sittser suggests that many modern Christians suffer from spiritual shallowness because they only draw from contemporary sources. The past, he argues, provides deep nourishment for faith and discipleship.
Sittser then offers this observation and indictment of modern Christianity: Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder, Psalms
The word glory and its related forms appear hundreds of times in Scripture. Often, they are connected to the glory of God, the greatness of His name, and the praise He deserves.
In the Old Testament, God’s glory filled the tabernacle, the temple, and even the whole earth. Today, we are His temple — His people — called to glorify Him with our lives and with our words.
The Psalmist declared, “Let my mouth be filled with Your praise and with Your glory all the day” (Psalm 71:8). Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder
Dr. Clarence Macartney, an early-20th-century minister and author, once related a story about a supposed meeting in hell.
Satan called his four leading demons together and commanded them to think up something that would trap more souls.
“I have it!” one demon said. “I’ll go to earth and tell people there is no God.” Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder
“Leadership is influence,” wrote J. Oswald Sanders, “the ability of one person to influence others. One man can lead others only to the extent that he can influence them.” Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder
Few sins are more subtle—or more dangerous—than hypocrisy. It hides behind good deeds, dresses itself in righteousness, and fools everyone…except God.
“Half of the misery in the world comes from trying to look, instead of trying to be, what one is not,” once wrote the 19th-century Scottish minister George MacDonald.
This practice can be summed up in one word: hypocrisy. Wearing a mask. Pretending. Acting instead of being. In a twisted way, “Hypocrisy is an homage that vice pays to virtue,” suggested the French writer La Rochefoucauld. Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder
The late R. J. Stevens and his son Tim have done more to elevate the praise of God’s people than any two men I’ve ever known.
But their greatest contribution wasn’t just teaching music, how to beat time, or how to pitch a song. They reminded us of the why and the Who behind our praise. Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder
ThePreachersWord 