Hello and congratulations. You are the first graduating class of the new millennium. There won’t be another class like yours for a thousand years. That has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? You might as well celebrate the occasion because what we used to call “real life” is about to hit you in the face. A f…
Sermon Series: Ponder This - 2000A recent article by Philip Yancey contains one of the best illustrations of the free will-predestination problem I have ever read. The “problem” simply stated is this: How can God be in charge of everything that happens and still give humans the power to make free moral choices? It’s easy for us to go to extr…
Sermon Series: Ponder This - 2000I happened to catch a few minutes of an interview Tim Russert did with Hamilton Jordan, Chief of Staff under President Jimmy Carter. He has written a book with the intriguing title, No Such Thing as a Bad Day. It’s his own story about being diagnosed with cancer on three separate occasions before the age of 50. “W…
Sermon Series: Ponder This - 2000A few days ago I received an e-mail from a friend writing to another friend with a carbon copy sent to me. These words from a new Christian contain enormous spiritual insight: “When you said, ‘Let Jesus fill you up with Joy,’ I re-read that line about 100 times. I would love that. I will do it. I say now ‘Jesu…
Sermon Series: Ponder This - 2000Like most pastors I spend a fair amount of time talking with people who are trying to discover God’s will for their lives. It’s been my experience that most people I talk to are sincere and truly want to do God’s will if only they could figure out what it is. And most people realize there is no easy answer to…
Sermon Series: Ponder This - 2000A few days ago Bob & Amber Leland stopped by to see me one final time before leaving this area. In a few weeks they will return to Irian Jaya for another term of missionary service. In case you don’t know, Irian Jaya is a part of the multi-island nation of Indonesia. It is on the other side of the world and the best th…
Sermon Series: Ponder This - 2000Someone asked me recently where Jesus’ spirit went between the crucifixion and the resurrection. I replied that Christians have debated that issue for 2000 years since the Bible doesn’t answer the question with total clarity. Then came a second question. What is the meaning of John 20:16-17, which tells us about a…
Sermon Series: Ponder This - 2000This week a friend visited a funeral home and then sent me a few thoughts afterwards: “I think I may have mentioned to you how much I have struggled with the fears of losing loved ones. Now God is showing me that He can be with me as I face those fears. I am developing a different time perspective. Life seems very shor…
Sermon Series: Ponder This - 2000When did it all begin? Some things are blurry in my mind and others are crystal-clear. The vision to start a Christian school in Oak Park was planted in my heart the day I arrived in the village in 1989. At first no one (except my wife) took me seriously when I said that someday, somehow, it was going to happen. Looking bac…
Sermon Series: Ponder This - 2000The following e-mail arrived a few days ago: There is one fundamental thing I still have such a problem with. That is that Jesus Christ is the only way to God. What about the people who just don’t get it? I can’t seem to reconcile Jesus Christ and God with not giving good people another chance. Is there a loophole…
Sermon Series: Ponder This - 2000