Author Archives: Clark Bunch

On Wisdom and Foolishness

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A fool’s lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating.  -Prov 18:6

Earlier this week I indicated that this Proverb was my new favorite Bible verse.  But what is the purpose of such verses in Proverbs?  I have a good friend that is well studied in the scriptures that still has problems with the book of Proverbs.  Proverbs falls into what we call wisdom literature.  The book is a collection of Solomon’s wisdom, basically good advice he wants to leave his children, but the question is how does it fit into the gospel?  Consider these two scriptures:

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.  -Psalm 14:1

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge:  Proverbs 1:7

Continue reading →

Quick Quote: A Proverb

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A fool’s lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating.  -Proverbs 18:6

That’s my new favorite verse.  I think I teach this kid history 🙂

Bible Survey: Cain and Abel, Genesis 4

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bible-pagesWas it sin for Cain to offer fruits and vegetables instead of an animal sacrifice like his brother Abel?  I do not believe it was.  Cain later revealed the evil that was in his heart by committing a long list of offenses, including but not limited to, killing his brother in a fit of jealousy.  Read the rest of the story at Biblical Survey, Cain and Abel.

Defecting to Faith

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stain glass crossFirst, let me say that I’ve been reading several different blogs listed at SBC Voices, and will soon be adding some of those to my blogroll.  A button for SBC Voices appears in the sidebar if you would like to check it out; I’ve been introduced to some really good blogs over there including Confessions of a Recovering Pharisee, who shares the story below.

According to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, often quoted by atheists to show how quickly religion is failing, children raised in non-religious homes tend not to stay that way.  The New York Times calls the situation “defecting to faith,” and reports that over half of those raised with no religious affiliation will choose one in adulthood.  Only 13 or 14 percent of those raised in Christian homes will defect.  And although atheism has large numbers of “converts” each year, it also has one of the lowest retention rates. 

Link to Kevin’s article here, with more stats and links.

Mother’s Day Sermon

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mothersAs I began preparing to preach on Mother’s Day, I searched the internet just to see what other preachers would be doing that day.  What I ended up reading instead was a blogpost and comment thread about how most woman are unhappy with the Mother’s Day sermons they’ve heard in the past.  Some felt the day should not be celebrated in church at all, while others thought the church should recognize mothers in some way and then the pastor should preach his message.  More than a couple of commenters said that whatever text he was using, what they wanted to hear preached was the gospel!  Amen to that.  The general consensus was that too often the Mother’s Day sermon comes off as “light” and that wasn’t what the church needed.  Continue reading →

Our Call to Discipleship

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studyingAt the end of Matthew’s Gospel (28:16-20) Jesus gives his disciples the Great Commission.  In Mark’s account (16:15), Jesus commands the disciples to “preach the gospel to all creation.”  This was the first verse I ever memorized as a child.  In the King James it reads “to every creature.”  The wording in Matthew is a little different.  We’re not just to preach the gospel, we are to make disciples.  What’s the difference?  Continue reading →

Bible Survey – The Fall

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bible-pagesThe next installment of Bible Survey has been posted.  The Fall recounts the events of Gen. 2:4 – 3:24, and offers plenty of food for thought.  I’m sure you will wonder why some things were left out.  These posts are so long as it is, even though there were other things I would have liked to have said.  Perhaps it will happen in the comment thread as people respond or ask questions.  I think there are 3 points of interest that could spark debate:

  1. I definitely take the view that man has free will, and plainly deny predestination in my explanation of original sin.
  2. Marriage is defined as being between one man and one woman; at least, marriage that honors God as it was given by God.
  3. Genesis 3:15 is the first hint at the announcement of the Gospel.  The notion of Jesus appears as early as the third chapter of the Bible.  God knew even then what he was doing, and Moses writes it down without having a clue.

Link to The Fall at Bible Survey.

eBibleteacher.com

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background-cross2I am adding eBibleteacher.com  to the list of Useful Resources on the right-hand sidebar.  There are free children’s sermons, images, maps and entire Powerpoint presentations available at this site.  The thumbnail at left (click to enlarge) is a jpeg image that can easily be used as a background for Powerpoint.  I found lots of interesting stuff in only a few minutes of browsing around.  There is a search feature on the homepage if you ever need anything specific, and lots of links to other Christian resources.

A Letter to the President

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Tom Foreman is a correspondent on Anderson Cooper 360.  I actually read through his letter the first time thinking that it was written by Anderson Cooper, and although it’s not, it is written by one of his guys and displayed by CNN on their website.  Foreman has been writing President Obama a letter each week since he took office.  Here is a sample of his latest offering, in reference to Christians in America, since Easter is this week:

People of faith sometimes mistake their own fist for the hand of God; non-believers sometimes mistake scientific findings for proof that God is not there. Faith by its very nature is not subject to proof one way or the other. If you had proof, it would not be faith. If you need proof, faith is far away.

And if we can learn to accept those opposing stances in each other, we’ll be a stronger nation where both the faithful and faithless can share the peace and wonders of our world…

Read the entire letter here, and tell me what you think.  Is Foreman’s take on religion in America just about right?