This week the Associated Press carried a moving story about Kaia Jorgensen, a basketball player at David Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee. Just before the season started she became critically ill with a form of bacterial meningitis. As her condition worsened, her family asked for prayer and students at the Christ…
Sermon Series: Ponder This - 2000Recently I was asked to write a letter to a young man on the occasion of his 13th birthday. The father asked a number of men to offer advice, counsel, and wisdom that his son could use as he navigated through the challenging teenage years. After considering the matter I felt that I should address the topic of Christian cour…
Sermon Series: Ponder This - 2000Until recently most Americans had never heard of Bob Jones University. It is a large (5,000 students) fundamentalist Christian school in South Carolina well-known for its academic standards, cultural emphasis, and very strict rules. Bob Jones is so strict that students may not attend movies, watch TV, date without a chapero…
Sermon Series: Ponder This - 2000Early in January I received an e-mail from Aletta Bell, our longtime missionary to India. Four years ago this month I was part of a team from Calvary that visited Dr. Bell to see firsthand her work at Duncan Hospital in a city called Raxaul, on the border between India and Nepal. Day after day we watched as Dr. Bell and her…
Sermon Series: Ponder This - 2000Let’s talk about evangelism for a moment. Sometimes Christians are afraid to share their faith because they feel totally inadequate to lead another person to Jesus Christ. They worry that they can’t answer questions, they fear they won’t say the right words, and when you get right down to it, they aren’t certain enough of t…
Sermon Series: Ponder This - 2000Did you know that Calvary has an online discussion board where you can trade thoughts with people from around the world? Over the last few months more and more people are dropping by to offer an opinion, ask a question, or join in an ongoing discussion. The discussion board contains a number of sections, such as Community B…
Sermon Series: Ponder This - 2000Last Sunday I preached on the story of Nebuchadnezzar losing his mind and becoming like a beast of the field for seven years (Daniel 4). It all started when the king had a dream of a vast tree with branches stretching out in all directions and birds of every kind coming to nest in the branches. Suddenly the tree was cut dow…
Sermon Series: Ponder This - 2000The phone rang and the voice on the other end came from a high school student. “Pastor Ray, could I talk to you for a moment?” It was a “Dear Abby” sort of question. She wanted my advice on how to speak up when she is the only Christian in a class of 30. Actually, there may be other Christians but she is the only one who da…
Sermon Series: Ponder This - 2000Several weeks ago I put forth a modest collection of “self-evident truths.” Here are a few more that seem appropriate for the beginning of a new year. 1. If it’s truly important, you will find time to do it. How many times have we made excuses for not doing something when in the end, we know we didn’t do it because it just …
Sermon Series: Ponder This - 2000In case you haven’t heard, the Bible Reading Marathon begins this Tuesday at 6:00 a.m. For the last 90 hours of this millennium, hundreds of people will take turns reading the entire Bible from the pulpit in our sanctuary, starting in Genesis and continuing until we reach the end of the book of Revelation. You are welcome t…
Sermon Series: Ponder This - 1999