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 […]

Grab bag

Some helpful articles I’ve bookmarked: Monday is Reformation Day — the 499th anniversary of the day that Martin Luther posted his theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. Here are 10 things you should know about the Reformation. Andy Naselli and J. D. Crowley wrote an excellent book on the conscience. Now […]

He is King

God is sovereign. For God to be sovereign means that He is King. He is not merely a king, but He is the King. There is no one who rules alongside His Trinitarian deity. And there is no one who rules over Him, ordering, compelling, and dictating anything to Him. For God to be sovereign […]

Sermon: The Essential Issue in the Election

“The Essential Issue in the Election” Daniel 4:17-35 October 23, 2016 My sermon title this morning is, “The Essential Issue in the Presidential Election.” Pull up an editorial or blog post about the election and you will have someone’s opinion about what the most critical issue in the election is. Opinions abound: The makeup of […]

Remember your final end

I was born in Canada, straight north of Granbury about 1300 miles. Though I spent most of my childhood years in the Unites States, and primarily Texas, I remained a Canadian citizen until 2003, when I became a naturalized American. My citizenship changed. I had always considered the United States and Texas my home, but […]

Sermon: Essential Attitudes Prior to the Election, Pt 2

“Essential Attitudes Prior to the Election” Pt. 2 Selected Scriptures October 16, 2016 The Scriptures are unflinching in their willingness to speak about subjects that are difficult for us. The Bible speaks clearly and unashamedly about sex and sexuality (consider the Song of Solomon). The Bible is unafraid to address gender roles in marriage. (I […]

Do Christians Have to Vote?

In every election cycle there are always news reports about the number of individuals who do not vote. Often the reason for not voting is apathy — the individual is unconcerned about the issues in the election, believes his vote is inconsequential, or just doesn’t want to be bothered to learn the issues and get […]

Sermon: Essential Attitudes Prior to the Election

“Essential Attitudes Prior to the Election” Selected Scriptures October 9, 2016 Wednesday afternoon I was flying home from the ACBC conference in Indianapolis. As I was going through security, the officer at the x-ray machine saw a newspaper with a headline about the previous night’s vice-presidential debate poking out of my computer bag. “Did you […]

When civil disobedience is permissible

When the Scriptures speak about the Christian’s relationship to the government, the emphasis is consistently on the civil obedience, not civil disobedience. For instance: The believer is to pray for his civil authorities (1 Tim. 2:1–3) The believer is to submit to his civil authorities (Rom. 13:1; 1 Pet. 2:13–15) The believer is to obey […]

Sermon: Essential Reminders About Our Responsibility to the Government

“Essential Reminders About Responding to Government” Romans 13:1-7 September 18, 2016 Last week we began talking about “Election Essentials” — understanding what the Bible has to say about politics, the church, and you. We began that series by thinking about the role of government and the authorities in government — what is the role of […]

Sermon: Essential Reminders About the Role of Government

“Essential Reminders About the Role of Government” Romans 13:1-7 September 11, 2016 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 […]

Why manners matter

Apart from all the typical rhetoric and bluster of a typical political campaign, during this election cycle I have been particularly frustrated with the tone of the arguments. Many — too many — of the candidates have degenerated into ad hominem attacks, verbal bullying, condescending comments, and generally rude behavior. A number of years ago, […]

A hymn for today – voting day

Today the people of my state of Texas (and 12 other states) cast their votes in the primary election. There have been strong words and the divisions between the parties and there appear to be greater divisions and disharmony among the candidates within the same parties as well. Complaints and concerns about the candidates are […]

Living in uncertain times

This morning I glanced at the headlines of the newspaper and commented to my wife, “The Lord must certainly be coming back soon.” It wasn’t just the headline about China’s financial troubles and the resulting uncertainties in our stock market that triggered that comment. It was also the moral chaos that we have seen unfolding […]

An Open Letter from John MacArthur

From John MacArthur: The highest court in the land has passed its judgment. The headlines proclaim that a slim majority of Supreme Court justices considers freedom of sexual orientation a right for all Americans. This exchange of one set of values in favor of another does not come as a surprise to us who already […]