In one of his final acts, President Bush designated today as National Sanctity of Human Life Day. In so doing, the president noted that “the most basic duty of the government is to protect the innocent.” And who among us is more innocent and more worthy of protection than the unborn? On January 9 we lost an ardent spokesman for the pro-…
Yesterday we learned more details about the interfaith National Prayer Service that takes place on Wednesday morning at the National Cathedral in Washington. This particular event marks the end of the inaugural events for President Barack Obama. It seems as if the organizers tried to include everyone. Several evangelicals are taking part, including…
You’ve probably heard the famous story of how Jesus cast the legion of demons out of a man who lived in the region of the Gerasenes on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee (Luke 8:26-39). In that story three requests are made of Jesus:The demons request to be sent into the swine . . . Granted.The people of the region ask Jesus to leave . ….
During our get-organized campaign that started last week, Marlene uncovered this pin that we gave away in 2002 when the whole congregation took the challenge to “get on the Bible bus” and read the Bible all the way through. Every Sunday that year I began my sermon with the same question, “So how are you doing?” After the fir…
Last September I spoke at the Pentagon Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. We have just posted the podcast of the message I delivered that morning to a group of around 100 military personnel—from enlisted men and women all the way up to a three-star general. When I announced that I was going to speak on “Why you need your enemies and y…
Last Sunday Todd Wilson, senior pastor of Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park, IL, preached a powerful message on persevering in your faith from Colossians 1:21-23. He began with an illustration about how hard it is to climb Mt. Everest and then applied it to the Christian life. He challenged his hearers to take seriously the big “if” i…
Last week I mentioned that we were in the throes of a massive housecleaning, reorganizing and downsizing project. The process continued over the weekend, and as of tonight we are almost finished. Already we have thrown away bags and bags of unneeded and unused clothes, books, and assorted paraphernalia from the last 35 years. Along the way we&rsquo…
Recently George Barna released some new research showing that Christianity is no longer Americans’ default faith. For a long time most people assumed that being born in America meant that you were raised with a Christian background. That is, even if you didn’t go to church, you were raised in and around the Christian faith. That was you…
Most Christians struggle with doubt at one time or another. Doubt is not sinful but it can be dangerous. It can also be a spur to enormous spiritual growth. It’s what you do with your doubt that matters. Here are seven simple suggestions about how to handle your doubt.1. Admit your doubts and ask for help.Tell the Lord about your struggles. G…
This morning in Sunday School Mike Ferris led a discussion regarding the Second Coming of Christ from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. He pointed out that our focus ought to be on the fact of Christ’s return, not on the timing because no one knows when he will come back. The lesson dovetailed nicely with the pastor’s sermon on the same topic, t…