Repentance, faith, and public identification with Jesus through baptism are the beginning of warfare for the Christian and the church. This is a reality that must be recognized if we are to live faithfully to Christ in the world. Acts 2 is filled with the good...
We live in a day when we have little room in our lives for feeling bad. Taken to the extreme, this kind of thinking leaves no room for the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. There is no virtue in self-loathing, shame, and sorrow...
A good way to kill a party conversation is to tell someone you were a history major in college. People automatically assume you are into names, dates, and war facts, not music, sports, and good food. While history may not be many people's favorite subject in...
"We hear them telling in our own language the mighty works of God." Acts 2:11 There are times when people repeat back to me what they think I said in a sermon or a conversation. I am often surprised that what they heard is not what...
"The Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of DavidÂ…" Acts 1:16 "What God has joined together, let no one separate" (Matthew 19:6). Jesus was talking about marriage when he spoke these words. But they apply as well to...
The phrase "timing is everything" is so commonplace that it's impossible to attribute it to any one person. You will find endless uses of the phrase in some form or another in songs, psychology, and speeches. It's the advice given to investors and comedians. There...
No one would argue that we are not "selves," with possibilities and responsibilities. The Christian message affirms that we are individuals, accountable to God and called to follow Christ as such. As Christians, our new aim in life is to bring glory to God. This...
"Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? Show us your steadfast love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation." Psalm 85:6-7 The last verse of Judges is, "In those days, there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was...
When we come to the end of the book of Judges we are left with a bleak picture of the state of God's people at this point in history. "There was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes." As...
Without an understanding of the gospel, we are not likely to appreciate the word repentance. Repentance is for most people a bad word. It sounds harsh and judgmental to say we need to repent. It sounds like it leads to the death of fun and...
