I’m going to post this today and then Happy Monday as usual tomorrow. This is an update from an archive post dated 5/18/2009.
Memorial Day is traditionally the first long weekend of summer, so maybe for you it’s just another excuse to break out the grill and water toys. If you have to work that day, maybe it’s an inconvenience that that the Post Office and banks will be closed. Some people will simply sleep in that day and not care why. The American dream lives on. Continue reading
In 2008 I said the Problem with Religion is that it’s easier than following Jesus. Posting a list of rules or setting up a routine to stick to is often easier than imitating Christ. Jesus challenges us to love unconditionally, to love the unlovable, to consider others before ourselves, to act in humility, to seek God’s will about our own and all others for that matter, and the list goes on. “Keep these 10 commandments” is predictable; following Jesus is not. Your family at home and your boss at work probably appreciate rule following and predictability; acting Christ-like may not make friends and influence people. Continue reading
Here’s a couple of posts that have been getting increased traffic this week what with Mother’s Day coming up this weekend and all. Hopefully no preacher is looking for material at this late date but hey, I’m not here to judge.
This Mother’s Day Sermon was written in response to some gripes, actually. What many are looking for on Sunday morning, even mothers in the crowd, is the Gospel. Many in the crowd, including a few mothers, don’t want to hear another man read Proverbs 31 and tell them what biblical womanhood looks like.
A year later Instead of a Mother’s Day Sermon I preached about relationships. God is relational and a relationship with his people is what he most desires. Each relationship we develop, including with our mother/ with our children, helps us understand some aspect of what our relationship with God is like.
I’ve heard sermons, lessons and seminars that advise Christians to do something for God and “get out of your comfort zone.” It gets really awkward when Ray Comfort does it. Carrying your Bible in public, praying over lunch in the school cafeteria and volunteering for short term foreign mission fields are all examples of what can only be done once we leave our comfort zone. While all of those and many other examples are great things that Christians should be doing, I’ve never like the expression. I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone to get out of their personal comfort zone. My blog archives go back to 2008, check me on that if you’d like. Continue reading
In the 70’s we were told that Rock music was Satan’s tongue. Then in the 80’s came the advent of “Christian rock,” loud music featuring electric guitar solos and driving drum beats with lyrics promoting the Gospel.
In the past 24 hours I have encountered two polar opposite opinions. There’s this guy:
UPDATE: This post talks about the persecuted church and what life is like for some Christians around the world. In his address today President Obama said in part: “As we give thanks for our liberties, we must never forget those around the world, including Americans, who are being held or persecuted because of their convictions. Let us remember all prisoners of conscience today, whatever their faiths or beliefs and wherever they are held. Let us continue to take every action within our power to secure their release. And let us carry forward our Nation’s tradition of religious liberty, which protects Americans’ rights to pray and to practice our faiths as we see fit.” Continue reading
reprinted from September 19, 2011
Stamps, coins, baseball cards… all things that get collected. Perhaps Barbie dolls and firearms could be collectible. It takes a special type of person to collect exotic sports cars. What collectors have in common is the desire to gather, catalog and/or display as many of a particular item as can be obtained.
God is a collector, too. What could God possibly collect? He created the heavens, the earth, and all that exists. He owns the cattle of a thousand hills. What could be of such importance to God that he pays careful attention to gather, store with care, and perhaps one day put on display? Continue reading
Tomorrow is the National Day of Prayer. Paul Wilkinson has compiled a collection of archived posts from Christianity 201 on the subject of prayer and this post at Everyday Student has several quotes on prayer (Joseph Smith and Rick Warren on the same list) and a huge collection of Bible verses on the topic. Continue reading
I went looking for some good blog posts on prayer yesterday and came up with a rather extensive list. It’s not my list, check out 50 Great Prayer Blogs at PrayerCoach.com. The site also offers prayer quotes, prayer guides and is itself a resource. I can’t personally vouch for every link on the list but I did click quite a few before giving the list a head nod. This one – Daily Devotion – is particular well done while others, well. (If your blog title is A Prayer a Day maybe update that more often than three times a year.) Continue reading
From General Washington’s struggle at Valley Forge to the present, this Nation has fervently sought and received divine guidance as it pursued the course of history. This occasion provides our Nation with an opportunity to further recognize the source of our blessings, and to seek His help for the challenges we face today and in the future. -Ronald Reagan
The Second Continental Congress (as in the guys that signed the Declaration of Independence) first asked colonists to pray in 1775, recommending “a day of public humiliation, prayer and fasting.” Only in 1952 did President Harry Truman sign a bill stating that each successive president must designate a national day of prayer each year on a date of his choosing. A National Prayer Committee was formed in 1982 to establish a fixed day annually. Since 1988 the National Day of Prayer has been the first Thursday of May. George W. Bush is the only president in recent history to host an annual event in the nation’s capital in observance of the Day of Prayer (Reagan and H.W. Bush each had one). Continue reading
