What Jesus Was Trying to Say . . .
Sadly, I have caught myself doing it. When opening up the Bible and discussing a passage with someone I can find myself saying something like: What Jesus was trying to say . . . What God tried to communicate . . . What the Spirit was attempting to convey . . . And...
Don’t Just Sit There . . .
It is the centerpiece of most Sunday church offerings. After the announcements have been made and the opening songs have been sung, attention is turned to the platform—to the podium or the chair or the video screen—and someone preaches. That is how it should be....
If You Could Have Those Hours Back . . .
Do you ever re-think the day? Reflect back on what you did, or did not, do? And have you wondered what it would be like if you could travel back in time, even for just a few hours, to live some moment differently? As I reflected on that, I wondered how amazing it...
Preaching Should Not Be Like a Magician’s Trick
Recently, in conversation with a student, he discovered that I "did magic." That is, over the years I have done everything from simple card tricks to full stage illusions. When I was a college student, my senior project was a full stage show of illusions I built....
Theology Trumping Texts
From time to time I find myself exchanging short posts with someone on-line. Obviously, these are not deep theological discussions; but there can be something instructive in even these minimalistic dialogues. One recent back-and-forth exchange illustrates how, at...
No God Replacement Therapy
With my friends—even with my wife—I sometimes find myself not “listening through.” I pick up on something the other person is saying and rather than listening to the whole of what he or she is saying, I draw my conclusions and form my opinions from only the...
Having A Good Discussion
I read an article about the essential questions that a “disciple maker” should ask his or her disciple. The author sought to provide direction for a typical meeting between a more mature follower of Jesus and one he or she is hoping to encourage in growth. It...
When You Vote: A Biblical Vantage Point
You can’t escape it. Political ads on the radio and television. Broadcast debates and newspaper editorials. Discussions at work and home and disagreements between friends. America is in the midst of the election cycle and the questions come: Will you vote? Who will...
Does It Matter That You Asked?
Isaac could not have missed the reality that his life was being played out under the sovereignty of God. The promises made to Abraham his father, the way that God graciously broke into life time and again, the trip up the mountain and the substitute sacrifice God...
How Will You Stock Your Brain-Attic?
Although he was a fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes' observation about what one stores in one's "brain-attic" is quite insightful. "I consider that a man's brain originally is a like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you...