All week long we’ve heard the sad, sordid story of the senator from Idaho who has been accused of hypocrisy because he was allegedly soliciting gay sex even though he voted against gay marriage. Chief among the complaints is that the senator practiced in private what he condemned in public, and that complaint is stret …
Yesterday I received my copy of Teen People of the Bible by Daniel Darling. Subtitled “Celebrity Profiles of Real Faith and Tragic Failure,” this book examines some of the better-known “teen people” of the Bible, starting with Cain and Abel, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Esau, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Samson, David, Jonathan, S …
We have just posted a new sermon called Why We Pray. Here’s an excerpt:In the last two years God has led us in a new direction. After almost 27 years as a pastor, I now lead Keep Believing Ministries. And after spending all our time in large cities (Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago), we now live in Tupelo, Mississippi. As …
Last week a team from Harrisburg Baptist Church in Tupelo, Mississippi traveled to the mountains of Ecuador for a medical missions trip. They stayed at a hotel located at 7000 feet above sea level, and during they day they ran a free clinic for a village at 10,500 feet. Several area doctors and nurses went on the trip along …
Last night we had dinner with Mark and Vanessa and Parker, their nine-month-old Maltese they brought with them from California. After the meal Mark pointed out that this was their one-month anniversary. Since getting married on July 28, they have been to Puerto Vallarta for their honeymoon, back to California for a few days …
The current issue of Vanity Fair carries a report by Christopher Hitchens on his book tour to promote his mega-bestseller God Is Not Great. As always, Hitchens has many provocative things to say, and those who are enjoy his sometimes acerbic comments on various religious leaders will not be disappointed. I found it fascinat …
Over the weekend we received this email from a volunter chaplain in Texas:I am a volunteer Chaplain at the Henley State Jail in Dayton, Texas. We house approximately 550 women. We received a box of your books, An Anchor for the Soul”, a while back and our ladies have been requesting it constantly. We are totally out and we …
On Friday night, after I finished my final message on the life of Samson at Cannon Beach, a man came up and made what I thought was a profound observation. He said that Samson’s story fascinated him because it doesn’t fit neatly into our man-made categories. “When I read about a Bible character, I tend to put hi …
This week at Cannon Beach we enjoyed the ministry of an a cappella group from the Portland area called Rescue. These four young men (plus a sound guy) can really sing.Amazing would not be overstating it. They did hymns, contemporary songs, plus they did a number of their own compositions (including one based solely on the w …
We have just posted a new sermon called I’m Coming to Rome Someday, I Hope. Here’s an excerpt:Although Paul clearly states his great desire to visit the church at Rome, he cannot say when he will make the journey because he isn’t sure himself. Paul lays out his general priorities, explains his immediate pl …