February 7, 2017 · 5:39 am

God’s Created Order for Male and Female

 couple

Last night Norma Jean and I attended the Florida College Lectures. What a wonderful pleasure to join with brethren from all over the United States in singing, praying and reflecting on God’s word. There was joy in seeing old friends. Of sharing hugs and handshakes. Smiles and tears. And some good memories of by gone days.

The theme this year is “From the Beginning: Recovering the Divine Design for Marriage and Family.” Doy Moyer, a gospel preacher from the Birmingham area, delivered the key note address on the topic “In The Beginning: God’s Created Order for Male and Female.” Continue reading →

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February 6, 2017 · 6:20 am

WORD OF THE WEEK: FAMILY

family-sunset

 

This week finds Norma Jean and me in Temple Terrace, Florida, where we will be attending the annual Florida College Lectures. The theme is “From the Beginning: Recovering the Divine Design for Marriage and the Family.”

This theme and this week is an especially meaningful anniversary for us. It was 50 years ago that we had our first date. It was on Thursday, the last night of Lectures. And we heard Robert Jackson close the week with a powerful sermon on “The Final Word.” Continue reading →

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February 5, 2017 · 4:15 am

Sunday Seed Thoughts: What Do You Desire?

Seed Thoughts

Dr. Charles Stanley raised the question in one of his posts, “If you could have anything in the world, what would it be?”

“Your answer,” says Dr. Stanley, “reveals a lot about who you are.”

The psalmist penned, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). Continue reading →

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February 3, 2017 · 4:45 am

Watch Out For Word Rage

arguing

“Word rage” is how my friend and preaching colleague, Wilson Adams, framed it. I don’t know if he coined the term or not, but it’s descriptive of a pervasive problem among people.

In a recent facebook post Wilson wrote, “Social media is becoming akin to the psychological phenomenon of road rage. Psychologists tell us when some get behind the wheel of a car, their personality morphs into unrestrained aggressiveness. Suddenly the mild-mannered become the wild-mannered. Oddly, the driver’s seat gives them permission to see red.” Continue reading →

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February 2, 2017 · 4:49 am

Do ALL Things Always Work Together For Good?

work-together-for-good 

There’s an ancient fable about an African King who had a close friend. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation in his life, positive or negative, and saying, “This is good! God knows best!” Continue reading →

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February 1, 2017 · 5:28 am

Great Verses of the Bible: Matthew 19:4

boy-scout-oath

What happened to the Boy Scout oath?

“On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.”

Duty to God? Morally Straight? These words are but a dim memory of what the Boy Scouts of America used to be. Continue reading →

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January 31, 2017 · 6:18 am

Life Is All About Change

change-flowers

Love him or loathe him, but one thing is for sure, President Donald Trump has really brought change to Washington in just 10 days!

His demeanor, personality, approach, retorts, and of course, constant tweeting is change from every past President. Some like it. Others hate it so much their responses border on the irrational. Already there is a web site, ironically called change.org, demanding for the impeachment of President Trump. Continue reading →

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January 30, 2017 · 6:43 am

Word of the Week: Enthusiasm

enthusiasm 

Years ago I read a book by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale entitled Enthusiasm Makes the Difference. In it Peale presents the thesis that while life is full of disappointments, discouragements and challenges, the one ingredient that can make the difference between success and failure is enthusiasm. Continue reading →

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January 29, 2017 · 5:34 am

Sunday Seed Thoughts: Love Listens

Seed Thoughts

This morning I’m preaching on “Love is Kind” from 1Corinthians 13:4. Here’s a touching story from that lesson about Joseph Bayly. Three of his seven children died at young ages. So he was intimately acquainted with the pain of death and was all too familiar with what he once called the enemy’s “grim violence.”

From Bayly’s book, A View from the Hearse, he shares this emotional encounter following the burial of one of his sons. Continue reading →

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January 27, 2017 · 5:46 am

Ignorance in Action

ignorance-9

I opened my Franklin planner is this morning to this quote of the day by the 18th century German novelist and philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: “There is nothing more frightening than ignorance in action.”

I don’t know the context in which Goethe made this statement. I’m guessing from the social, political or philosophical viewpoint. Whatever the case, many of our problems exist when we blindly move forward without the proper facts or knowledge about what we are doing. Continue reading →

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