Sermon: The Inspired, Sufficient Word

The Inspired, Sufficient Word 2 Timothy 3:16-17 February 17, 2019 I am surrounded by Bibles. One day in my office several years ago I counted 22 Bibles on my shelves and desk. I don’t have as many at home, but another dozen or so is likely (I haven’t counted them). I have 20 English translations […]

What will you see at Christmas?

The word “Christmas” elicits many sensory responses: the vanilla, buttery smell of spritz cookies baking, the sounds of excited children whispering with giggling anticipation about gifts and Christmas songs at church, in the car, on iTunes, and at the mall and Home Depot, the sights of houses lit up in various kinds of splendor every […]

Sermon: The Story of Jesus

“The Story of Jesus” 1 Timothy 3:16 December 17, 2017 Christmas is full of surprises. But one of the surprises about Christmas in Scripture is the brevity of the NT narrative of Christ’s first advent. For instance, the four gospels tell the story of Jesus Christ, yet two of the four gospels do not mention […]

Sermon: Essential Actions After the Election, Pt 2

“Essential Actions After the Election” Pt. 2 2 Timothy 4 November 6, 2016 This Sunday we conclude the brief sermon series, “Election Essentials,” where we have considered a number of topics related to the coming election. During this series we have examined: The role and responsibility of government — what should governments do and what […]

Sermon: Essential Actions After the Election

“Essential Actions After the Election” Pt. 1 2 Timothy 3 October 30, 2016 I have done more than one fix-it project at my home where just past the point of no return something has happened that made me think, “Now what am I going to do???” Most of those happened with the water turned off […]

But it tastes good

In 1960, Dr. Stanley Garn, working for the Fels Research Institute, whose objective was to study the physical growth and maturation of children, made this not-so-stunning conclusion: “[Milk shakes], fat-meat hamburgers, bacon and mayonnaise sandwiches may be good for the undertaker and bad for the populace.” In other words, there are some things that, while […]

Sermon: The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown

The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: A Short History of Jesus 1 Timothy 1:15-17 December 14, 2014 If you didn’t know better, it would be pretty easy to be confused about what Christmas is about. When you listen to Christmas music you might think that the heroes of Christmas are: Frosty the snowman Rudolph […]

Finish well

At 7 P.M. on October 20, 1968, a few thousand spectators remained in the Mexico City Olympic Stadium. It was cool and dark. The last of the marathon runners, each exhausted, were being carried off to first-aid stations. More than an hour earlier, Mamo Wolde of Ethiopia — looking as fresh as when he started […]

It’s not going to get better. But there is an answer.

In the middle of his second and final letter to Timothy, the apostle Paul writes a sober and startling statement: “But realize this, that in the last times difficult times will come” (3:1). That sentence jars the reader into wakefulness. That is not the kind of sentence that we like to read. Our presupposition is […]

Remember Jesus

I am afraid it is true. I have done some time in jail. I was young. Very young. And by the grace of God, the time I did was short. I did five minutes as a six-year-old first-grader. We had gone on a field trip to the county jail, and to give us a sense […]

Kindle afresh the gift of God

In a story that echoes the adage, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” U.S. News & World Report related the following story a few years ago: For most of the last decade, Chicagoans who worked in the Loop, the booming downtown business district, could easily ignore the city’s budget crisis; Washington’s […]

A character test

Robert Wilson, in his book Character Above All seeks to answer one fundamental question: “What is the relationship between the President’s character and presidential leadership?” He asks the question because it is his observation that as a group, the American people “‘started out such good people. What happened to us?’…Our political process does reflect us, […]

Treat others…how?

Grace Slan lived and died in a secret world where time stood still. When police entered her two-room flat in London they thought they had stepped into another era, a museum exhibit or a film set. Outside, planes buzzed overhead and traffic jammed city streets. Inside, the 81-year-old woman lived in a dark, solitary world […]

The discipline of discipline

“…discipline yourselves for the purpose of godliness” (1 Tim. 4:7b). Discipline. The word pictures a gymnasium filled with exercise equipment designed to conform the body to fitness. Physical wellness is the result of regular, continual exercise. The same is true of the soul. Spiritual wellness is the result of regular, continual spiritual exercise. But since […]

The church and truth

“but in case I am delayed, I write so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15; NASB). Many years ago, my wife was able to go out of town […]