Going into February, I’m reminded of the celebrations we had in grade school. When I was a kid, we didn’t celebrate “Presidents Day”; we celebrated George Washington’s birthday and Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. We read stories about how “Honest Abe” read and studied by candlelight and about how young George could not tell a lie. We … [Read more…]
I had called 2017 the “year of the Bible,” focusing sermon and lesson series on the Bible, its overall message, and how each individual part related to the others and to the Gospel message. It was my hope that we would grow in our faith and knowledge of Jesus so that we might all become … [Read more…]
What do you love about Christmas? That’s kind of a dumb question, isn’t it? What’s not to like about Christmas? We love the stories, The Story, the lights, the music, the food; it’s all good! And it doesn’t really seem to matter why a person celebrates Christmas, whether as a winter festival of lights or … [Read more…]
With this newsletter you will find the November calendar. Yep, there it is, fourth Thursday of November: Thanksgiving. Just as April showers bring May flowers, Thanksgiving brings a note about giving thanks. It’s like clockwork; it’s expected. And, like clockwork, when we give thanks at Thanksgiving, we typically focus on what we have for which … [Read more…]
We’ve spent much of our time this year focusing on the Bible, and I pray that you have been encouraged to spend more time reading, studying, meditating on, and maybe even memorizing God’s Word. Certainly, I pray that you have been trusting God’s Word and applying it to your life every day. While I have … [Read more…]
It’s hard to believe that we are more than halfway through 2017. If you’re keeping up with our Bible reading schedule, we should be wrapping up the Old Testament as we go back and read through 1 & 2 Chronicles, recapping the genealogy and history of Israel before diving into the life of Jesus. If … [Read more…]
Our independent nature and affinity for democracy sometimes gets us Americans into trouble. It’s not that we don’t recognize authority; it’s not that we don’t respect duly appointed authority. It seems that sometimes we just don’t recognize authority that is not established by election or by some other mechanism of group consensus, such as rules … [Read more…]
The Declaration of Independence tells the world, very clearly, what our Founding Fathers understood to be the foundational reasons for this country’s separation from England: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty … [Read more…]
In the May 2017 issue of Christian Standard magazine there are two news items that have affected me personally. Both are tributes to ministry leaders I have known who have passed away. Mike Grooms was the preacher at the church in Northern Kentucky where I was a part-time youth minister while I was studying at … [Read more…]
The April 2017 issue of Christian Standard focused on the question, “Why are we so afraid?” Throughout the issue there are articles about living in a culture of fear and how to resist it. One article was written by a couple who have been missionaries in England for the past twenty some years. Having returned … [Read more…]