As Christians, we all struggle with spiritual drowsiness. Thankfully, Romans 13 addresses this directly and provides us with encouragement and guidance to fight against it. This short sermon preached at First Artesia CRC explores three questions. What does it mean to be asleep spiritually? Why do we need to wake up? How do we wake … Continue reading A Spiritual Wake-Up Call
Christians and non-Christians alike constantly talk about the need for “self-care” these days. I wonder if farmers, working 80 hours a week in 1950s America, thought about “self-care.” That is a rhetorical question. Of course, they did not. The reason, I suspect, is not that hard-working farmers did not need to take care of themselves. … Continue reading Moses, the Mountain, and a Mass of Email
We are a people clamoring to be heard, but when the flood of voices drowns their own, many people will raise their pitch and resort to all kinds of hyperbole to gain an audience. Even journalists have degraded their profession by using misleading headlines to coax us into clicking their links. From politicians to personal … Continue reading Truth in a Culture of Noise
After Daniel had been delivered from certain death by a revelation given to him by God, he praised God and said, “He knows what is in the darkness.” Once we understand it, this truth should fill our hearts with joy. This sermon preached at First Artesia CRC looks at the context of Daniel chapter 2 … Continue reading The Lord Knows What Is in the Darkness
What is “the good life” according to the Bible? I recently introduced this topic with a short article called, To Love Life and See Good Days, but this weekend, I had the opportunity to expand on it at First Artesia Christian Reformed Church. Too often, we look for the good life in the things of … Continue reading Living the Good Life
Most of this site's readers are aware that biblical literacy in Evangelicalism is quite low. Many people claiming to be Christians are unfamiliar with Scripture, but another problem can arise for those who are well-acquainted with the Bible. There is a veil of familiarity that can cover its pages and cause us to miss the … Continue reading Scripture and the Veil of Familiarity
If you want to turn the world's wisdom on its head completely, this is it. The Apostle Paul says he will boast about his weaknesses (2 Cor. 12:9). We do not boast of weaknesses; we hide them because they hold us back from being who we should be. They threaten our competence. They are faults … Continue reading Weakness: Our Unlikely Ally
When revival hits, should we expect the participants to have all their theological ducks in a row and align with our particular shibboleth? There is a lot of discussion surrounding the multi-day worship service, which is still going on at Asbury University. Some are glowing about it with unmitigated acceptance, and some seem to believe … Continue reading Revival and Bad Theology
There are moments in scripture that are easy to miss, but they are deeply profound if we take the time to consider them. One of those moments happens on the road to Emmaus. Jesus speaks two words in light of the context that reveals a world of encouragement. It is resurrection Sunday. A handful of … Continue reading What Things?
Insisting that the nose is the faculty for experiencing gravity will produce nothing more than pointless sniffing. So, we cannot doubt God because we cannot perceive Him with the eye any more than we can doubt gravity because it doesn’t have a certain odor... CLICK TO READ MORE
The Fight of Faith 