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Most Uncommon (4/20/24)Last Sunday, in the Acts 2 reading, Peter was speaking to the crowds from the temple questioning their shallowness and naivety by what the people found so impressive: Peter’s healing of a man who had been lame since birth. St. Peter questioned their credulity because they were missing the life-changing reality that God had broken into His creation according to will of His heavenly Father to fulfill the prophecies of God...
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Together In One Place (4/13/24)On the second Sunday of Easter 2024, the book of Acts began with our Lord appearing to many of His trusted followers with startling proof of His resurrection from the dead. He was victorious and had broken into rebellious Man’s corrupted kingdom. He came to defeat sin, death, and the devil for His repentant, yet still sinful human creation. ...
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When Seeing Is Not Believing (4/6/24)Jesus appeared to His disciples the week of His resurrection. The disciples were hiding from unbelieving, establishment Jews—the leading enemies of Jesus the Christ. They were now after His followers, so the disciples were hiding behind a locked door. ...
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Following Jesus (3/23/24)A catechumen (a person studying God’s Word, preparing for membership in a church recently asked about the Lenten season, specifically asking why we Christians should repent (turn from our sins after asking for God’s forgiveness): “Does it really have to be daily?” Asking him a few questions revealed to him that he suffers from a sinful nature that all of us possess which results in our un-Godly thoughts, words, and deeds. ...
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We Are Not Able (3/16/24)Some Church bodies require their youth—usually between the ages of 12 to 14—to enroll in what is sometimes called a Catechism class, usually lasting from two to four years in which the students learn about Christianity, studying it in some detail, especially the Holy Bible. ...
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God’s Venues (3/9/24)During this current Church season of Lent, all people are supposed to repent, turn aside from our sins. God’s standards are nothing less than complete perfection, and He accepts nothing less from all of us. Yet it is impossible for any of us mere humans to live the perfect life, and that is because we humans are offspring of Adam and Eve, who rebelled against God, deliberately disobeying His command to not eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. But they did. (Genesis 3)...
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The Word of the Lord Has Come (3/2/24)A question that a Christian might ask his pastor is “Did God literally speak to His prophets in the Old Testament?” All the prophecies recorded in the book of Ezekiel includes his written record of dealing with the then-exiled Judeans who—along with Ezekiel—were taken captive to Babylon after the fall of Jerusalem, circa 587 BC. ...
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Happy Returns (2/24/24)As the blessed repentant season of Lent continues, one of our most cherished Scripture readings will be from the gospel of John. In chapter 14, John recorded Jesus declaring Himself to be “the Way, the Truth, and the life.” That was just one of Jesus’ self-revelations of being the great I AM. ...
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Face Time (2/17/24)The Transfiguration of our Lord was a momentous event in the life and ministry of our Lord. Traditionally, it has been celebrated by Reformation Christians and others on the last Sunday before Ash Wednesday as the Transfiguration of our Lord ends the Time of the Epiphany, which began January 6. ...
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It is What He Does that Matters (2/10/24)The current Christian Year calendar began with Advent, usually in December, and prepares for the Messiah who is God becoming Man to save His beloved people. Christ’s birth is celebrated during the 12-day Christmas season after which comes the day of the Epiphany (sudden revelation) when God is recognized in Christ as prophesied and certified by God the Father. ...
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Wake-up Calls (2/3/24)In our current syncretic (mixing of religions) era, many unbelievers will choose what religions they prefer and with which they feel comfortable. Years ago, I overheard a seminarian inviting a female friend of his to do yoga after the final class of the day. ...
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It is What He Does that Matters (1/27/24)The current Christian Year calendar began with Advent, usually in December, and prepares for the Messiah who is God becoming Man to save His beloved people. Christ’s birth is celebrated during the 12-day Christmas season after which comes the day of the Epiphany (sudden revelation) when God is recognized in Christ as prophesied and certified by God the Father. ...
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All Are Called (1/20/24)Most students of the Holy Bible will remember Jonah as the prophet who spent three days in the belly of a great fish. God had called on Jonah to go to Nineveh and for him to tell the people of Nineveh to repent, to turn from their great evil. But instead, Jonah fled to Tarshish to avoid conflict with the evil Assyrians. ...
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Our True Citizenship (1/13/24)The prophet Isaiah began his ministry around 740 BC during a prosperous economic period. Yet the northern kingdom of God’s chosen people, Israel, had been in rebellion to God for some time. Biblical scholars will know that Chapters 1-39 of the book that bears the prophet’s name will be Isaiah’s calling to God’s people to repent, to turn from their sins, which they did not. ...
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From His Beloved Son (1/6/24)Saturday, January 6, this year is the Feast of the Epiphany, marking the end of the twelve-day Christmas season. The early Church blessed us with liturgical (customary, prescribed orders of worship, often marking days which are opportunities to focus on Scripture readings which reflect observances of specific and important occurrences in the of God dealings with His beloved people. ...
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The Meaning of Life (12/23/23)One Sunday’s Lectionary Scripture readings for the Advent season is from the books of Isaiah, James, and the Gospel according to St. Matthew. The latter recorded the jailing of John the Baptist and his sending his own disciples to Jesus to ask Him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Matthew 11:2-15) Jesus told John’s followers to return to John and say to him, “…what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. ...
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Come, Lord Jesus (12/16/23)Advent is a special time in the life of the Church of Jesus Christ and those familiar with this 40-day or so long season may understand Advent as a preparation for Christmas. Yet in fact, “Advent is Advent!” as declares the Rev. Dr. Ely Prieto, Associate Professor at Concordia Seminary, St. ...
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O Come, All Ye Faithful (12/9/23)Years ago, a close friend of mine considered foregoing the traditional Christmas that year with the decorated tree, the holiday-laced fireplace mantle and even hanging any stockings at all, with or without care. He said that he was tired of all the pagan rituals with their shallow and unbiblical seasonal misrepresentation of Christ as who He is, according to His revelations of Himself through His appointed prophets, disciples, and apostles as recorded in the Holy Bible. ...
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The Greatest of Expectations (12/2/23)Thanksgiving Day has now passed and for Christians who follow the traditional calendar of the early-modern Church, we know the Church Year is ending and a new Church Year begins with the season of Advent (on December 3 this year) and the four-week repentant, penitential during which believers—simultaneously both saints and sinners--recognize our need for our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ and seek His forgiveness for our sins. ...
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The Advent of Thanksgiving (11/25/23)The theologies of Church bodies will vary, often guided by their accepted understandings of Who God is and focuses (or foci) of what is important to know about God and His expectations for His human creation. Some churches will emphasize what God commands or wills for us to do, while others look more to what God has done and continues to do for us Christians. ...
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Come Down, Lord Jesus (11/11/23)The current issue of World Magazine, a popular newsmagazine which may be considered the Christian version of faith-hostile secular publications like Time or Newsweek, had as its cover story of the increasingly acceptance and celebration within evangelical churches of what the Holy Bible unambiguously declares as sin. ...
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Dear Children of God (11/4/23)The disciple John, also known as “the evangelist” also called “the elder,” authored the book of Revelation, a series of letters and descriptions of visions. Such writings are known as apocalyptic which often employ colors and dreamlike images to communicate ideas and emotions. ...
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One Day, All Together (10/28/23)Six years ago, Christians—particularly Lutherans, Reformed, and many Calvinists—celebrated the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation. Luther had been a Roman Catholic but found some theologies (beliefs about God) of the Church to be in error, such as the primacy of the pope, but also the selling of “indulgences” (offering forgiveness of sins for a limited time), a fund-raising campaign led by Johann Tetzel to raise money for the building of St. ...
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That We May Know Him (10/21/23)In the late eighth century BC, the Lord was angry with the Israelites as the prophet Isaiah shared God’s ire with the nation of Israel: “The Lord is angry with all nations. His wrath is upon all their armies. He will destroy them. He will give them over to slaughter.” (Isaiah chapters 34-40) Like today’s weak believers, God had become a kind of good luck charm. ...
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More Than Showing Up (10/15/23)According to the Pew Research Center, the number of adults in the U.S. who are presently married remains higher than adults cohabiting. However, the study finds that among people ages 18 to 44, a large number have cohabited at some point. Clergy tell of decreasing numbers of couples who are willing to stand before other witnesses and make a vow to God to love and be faithful to Him and to each other until their death. ...
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Having Regard for the Vine (10/7/23)Israel’s King Solomon died around 931 BC, and the throne was given to his son, Rehoboam. However, ten of the twelve tribes of Israel splintered because of Solomon’s spending and taxes. Rehoboam eventually ruled one tribe—Judah—while Jeroboam, a former protégé of Solomon ruled in the northern kingdom of Israel. ...
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The Word of the Lord Has Come (9/30/23)A question that a Christian might ask his pastor is “Did God literally speak to His prophets in the Old Testament?” All the prophecies recorded in the book of Ezekiel includes his written record of dealing with the then-exiled Judeans who—along with Ezekiel—were taken captive to Babylon after the fall of Jerusalem, circa 587 BC. ...
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Last Day Payday (9/23/23)As a seminarian preparing for the pastoral ministry, I had been invited to sit among some pastors during one of their monthly circuit meetings. I thanked them for sharing their wisdom with me, which they found amusing as they denied that they had much wisdom, if they had any at all. ...
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As He Forgives Us (9/16/23)At this present “Time-of-the-Church ‘season’” of Pentecost (always fifty days after Easter Sunday), we Biblical believers reflect on the Church and its situation and setting in the world. The Old and New Testament recorded God’s revelation of Himself and His expectations for all human beings. ...
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Protecting God's Children (9/9/23)Some pastors have reported that many people who had been faithful in their worship service attendance before Covid had still not returned to the church. Three years is a long time without God’s Word spoken to them (Romans 10:14-21) and no Sacrament administered to them for the forgiveness of their sins (Matthew 26:26-28). ...
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He Restores Our Souls (9/2/23)As the time grew short for the conclusion of the purpose, the ministry of Jesus, we read from Matthew 16:21-28, “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. ...
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Welcome Unexpected Sources (8/26/23)In teaching Christian Apologetics (the defense of the Christian faith), I would look for online posts from unbelievers to copy and print to share with parishioners and the teen/pre-teen youth at the church I serve. Usually, the writers are mocking Christians, claiming we are uneducated, mindless followers of myths and fables that they claim have been disproved by the sciences and human reason. ...
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God’s Gift of Eternal Joy (8/19/23)God’s servant Isaiah began his prophetic ministry circa 740 BC amid the stable, fifty-year rule of King Uzziah. Jotham succeeded him and is remembered as another godly ruler. But he was succeeded by a wicked king, Ahaz, who refused God’s offer of His help and guidance as Ahaz ruled. ...
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Lord, if It is You… (8/13/23)The book of Job (rhymes with “robe”) is an excellent source for those who are curious about the Christian faith yet are not very familiar with it. It is not as though that book outshines the four Gospels or is more important, but for those who—like most of us when we first came to faith—need to know how to begin to understand the truth claims found in the Holy Bible. ...
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God Chooses Us (8/5/23)A recent news story reported that a Christian-hostile group (Freedom from Religion Foundation) had urged the California town of Albany Hill to take down a cross that stood there for fifty-two years. A judge agreed, giving the city possession of the cross, requiring them to take it down because it was on public land (although it had been private land when the cross was first erected). ...
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The Ascendant Life (7/29/23)The Church of the Reformation (beginning in the early 1500s AD) rewrote the liturgy (order of worship) of the centuries-old established church to remove some worship elements Reformation leaders found erroneous. Yet one of the elements of worship retained was a hymn or chant sung amid the Scripture readings called “the gradual.” Like its name implies, that brief song was sung just after the second or “epistle” (meaning “letter”) reading and just before the Gospel reading. ...
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Greener Pastures (7/22/23)Some time ago, I discovered that the youngest members of the parish I serve enjoyed my all-time favorite television comedy, the 1960s “Green Acres.” The show’s continual story involved the main character, a lawyer from New York City who had always wanted to be a farmer, “getting my hands dirty…digging in the rich brown soil!” His fellow rural citizens found him more than a bit odd, as he always wore suits and ties while plowing, weeding, and/or pulling stumps on his property. ...
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We Blessed Believers (7/15/23)A prominent philosopher who declares himself an agnostic (an unbeliever claiming doubts) says that he clings to that unbelief “day and night.” He quoted a believer from the past who suggested that there was a hole in the hearts of people to whom God calls, urging them to come or return to faith in Christ. The philosopher took comfort that he did not feel any aching emptiness inside him which indicated to him that he is not in need of faith in Christ...
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Who Knew? (7/8/23)Members and delegates of one of my favorite Church bodies of which I have never been a member recently met and took care of needed business to right their drift away from relying solely on the authority of God’s Word, the Holy Bible. Some of their past leaders substituted God’s Word with clever sounding but misleading statements, such as “Being heterosexual will not get you to heaven.” I have known countless people in that Church body who love the Lord and are faithful to Him. ...
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Rising, Overreaching, and Repenting (7/1/23)Going back to around 2350 BC, a wicked and prideful son of Noah—Ham—had left his father and godly brothers to set up a kingdom for himself. Ham’s own grandson, Nimrod, established a kingdom for himself and claimed sovereignty over it. (Genesis 11) The area was called Shinar; the city they built was called Babel. ...
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Making Sense of God’s Law (6/24/23)A fellow believer in the Church of the Reformation, the Rev. Dr. Voddie Baucham, shared a television program he watched on a Christian-hostile network which featured an exchange between a believer and an unbeliever. The atheist asked the Christian to open her Bible to Leviticus 18:22, where Moses recorded God’s command, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.” The unbeliever asked the Christian woman, “Do you agree with that?” to which she nodded in the affirmative. ...
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He Also Changeth Not (6/17/23)Some of us recall the 1950s television show “I Love Lucy”. The main character was a housewife who wanted to be involved with the musical and dance acts performed by her husband in his nightclub. She would conceal her identity to sneak onto the set to be a part of the performance. ...
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Calls From Home (6/10/23)Sundays after the Day of Pentecost recall the Holy Spirit’s work in the disciples of Jesus as they begin to grow the Church in faith and obedience to God. Like today and throughout human history, God’s people had drifted away from Him, but it wasn’t a corporate or “all together now” unfaithfulness or dismissal of God but a gradual questioning of God’s goodness, His faithfulness, and the relevancy of His will for the often rebellious but crown of His creation—we humans...
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Was and Will Be Again (6/3/23)The final book of the Holy Bible begins with the commissioning of the disciple John and his vision of the Son of Man (Revelation 1:9-20) That designation, ‘Son of Man” was used to identify Ezekiel as a spokesman for God. Other Bible readers may recall the use of the title of “son of man” in the book of Daniel (7:13-14) as a theological background for its usage in the New Testament. ...
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The Phantoms of our Operas (5/27/23)It’s likely safe to say that all of us have had imaginary friends, especially during our childhood. The neighborhood may have had no children close to our age or we only had older siblings. No more than a few years ago, I read a blog written by a woman whose name and age were not given, but she recounted her relationships, but most of them were “imaginary.” She has (or had) made-up friends, a boyfriend, and recounted how having them had somewhat helped with her loneliness. ...
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Would All God's People (5/20/23)In or around the year 1491 BC, God had freed His beloved, chosen people of Israel from slavery in Egypt. The ark of the covenant of the Lord “went out three days before them”, contrary to the general rule that the ark would remain in the midst of the camps, as it was to be reminder of the Lord’s faithfulness to His people. ...
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Knowing the Unknown God (5/13/23)During one of St. Paul’s travels through Greece, he had come to the city of Athens where we read that “he was provoked within him” that the city was full of idols. (Acts 17:16-31) As was Paul’s custom, he would come to the Jewish synagogues to “reason with them”. ...
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Promised and Received—Perfect (5/6/23)Most Christians are familiar with the word “sanctification.” In a wide sense, sanctification includes all effects of God’s Word in Man, drawing the believers closer to God, equipping them with the desire to please Him. Some describe it as spiritual growth. ...
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All Together Now (4/29/23)A well-respected, long-serving Biblical Church bishop was interviewed and questioned why so many of the older ecclesial (church) bodies were abandoning their centuries-long reliance on the Holy Scriptures, the Bible, as the norm and accepted Self-revelation of God to His human creation. ...
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When Comforts Flee (4/22/23)This year, April 23 serves as the Third Sunday after Easter Sunday. The Scriptures appropriately include the book of Acts which recorded early Church activities required after the resurrection of our Lord, including replacing Judas Iscariot. Christ also breathed on other disciples with the Holy Spirit which equipped them with the authority and needed Words of God to deliver to God’s people. ...
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Many Signs and Wonders (4/15/23)Last Sunday, April 9, 2023, was Easter Sunday—or also named, the Day of the Resurrection. Easter Monday came next, and the neighborhood in which I live was filled with happy laughter from children playing because there was no school. Tuesday meant a return to school and the familiar schedule of daily learning, chores, and routines. ...
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Who Is Your Life (4/8/23)Recorded in Matthew 28:1-10, we read “toward the dawn of the first day of the week” that there were many women there “looking on at Jesus’ tomb.” They were observing a rich man, Joseph, a disciple of Jesus whom Pilate chose to offer Jesus’ body for burial. ...
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Walking Into it (4/1/23)There are a couple of brave men with a YouTube channel called “Anglican Unscripted” in which they describe their very dystopian religious group’s rejection of Biblical, historical Christianity. Their religious group’s new “saints” are people who believe that they have risen above what they consider to be crude, mundane, and superstition and myth they claim to permeate today’s unsophisticated, pedestrian holy Scriptures. ...
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The Tides of March (3/25/23)In some years, the fifth Sunday of Lent will have Mark 10:35-45 as its Gospel reading. That passage is Jesus’ third time He predicts his death and resurrection in the Gospel of Mark. The first time, Peter takes him aside and rebukes him (8:31-32). The second time, the disciples do not understand and are afraid to ask him about it (9:31-32). ...
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The Lord Is Among His People (3/18/23)After Joseph had accurately interpreted a vital dream to the leaders of Egypt, Joseph’s brothers—who had sold him into slavery—came calling to Egypt’s leaders (by patriarch Jacob’s request) to buy some food for there was a drought in their homeland. ...
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The Deluge of Delusions (3/11/23)Reformation leader Martin Luther (1483-1546) once wrote, “No life is more difficult than one lived in faith like the one Noah and his sons lived. We see them utterly dependent on heaven, because the earth was covered with water, and they had no ground on which to set foot. ...
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The Deliberate Church Life (3/4/23)Years ago, on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, a congregation of my beloved Church body was (and likely still is) the day they had a little custom at the end of their children’s message. One child was given a small sign on a stick upon which the word, “Alleluia!” was written. ...
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It is—In Deed—Written (2/25/23)The historic Church Year Calendar always begins with Advent, usually at the end of November. Advent is the pre-Christmas season of repentance to prepare our hearts for the joy of God becoming Flesh to save us—His treasured human creation—from sin, death, and the devil. ...
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The Importance of Being Earnest (2/18/23)Playwright Oscar Wilde’s 1895 production of “The Importance of Being Earnest” takes aim at triviality and shallow superficiality of the Victorian era. The plot involves two male characters, John Worthing and Jack Algernon, who both adopt an alias to spice up their dull love lives by both taking the name of “Ernest” to attract two women who—for unknown reasons—are certain that they could only love and marry men named Ernest. ...
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Making Sense of the World (2/11/23)A network news show host interviewed six mothers of slain children and they each shared their grief over losing their beloved child. One mother recounted that her daughter was walking to school to receive an award for perfect attendance, but she did not make it. ...
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The Essential Jesus Christ (2/4/23)A preface to a section of Old Testament Scriptures from a Hebrew exegete (translator and commentator), the Rev. Dr. Reed Lessing offered this scenario: “Imagine a world that is cold and silent toward pain and human suffering. Try to envision a place where everything is driven by self-indulgence, and life is all about financial profit, business transactions, and the bottom line. ...
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These Things Are Written (1/28/23)Parishes of some Church bodies have been vandalized during these evil days because of their love of God and humans created in His image. Pro-abortion protestors have spray painted threatening, obscene messages on their doors, broken into their sanctuaries, desecrating their chancels and altars. ...
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Fits and Spells, Bells and Smells (1/21/23)The Hoover Institute, a conservative think tank at Stanford University, posts an interview show (“Uncommon Knowledge”) on YouTube featuring philosophers, historians, politicians, and authorities on current social, political, and demographic trends in the United States, the West, and the rest of the world. ...
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Songs of the Servant (1/14/23)Biblical historians will recount hard times for the people of the southern kingdom of Judah, circa late 700s BC, especially after the death of Uzziah, who had ruled over God’s people for more than fifty years. The Judeans had enjoyed a lengthy period of peace and stability, much of which can be attributed to one of Uzziah’s predecessors, Josiah, who, as one commentator wrote, “was Judah’s last gasp —the last good thing that happened to the Israelites before their kingdom was destroyed.” (722 BC) At age 25, Josiah made it a mission of his to refurbish Solomon’s temple that had fallen into disrepair. ...
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Children of the Light (1/7/23)The worldwide historical Church has a long history of festivals, feasts, and celebrations to acknowledge and mark important truths, events, and messages from and about God. It is important for Christians to live deliberately, to be consistent in our understanding of who God is and be reminded of who we Christians are to be as His redeemed, forgiven people. ...
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Joyful Christmas Witnesses (12/31/22)Years ago, an acquaintance shared his frustration after attending a Christmas Eve service at a church his wife likes to occasionally attend. Expecting the “swaddling clothes” narrative of the birth of Christ from the apostle Luke (2:1-20), he complained of having to listen “about some Old Testament prophet.” That was likely Isaiah who is often quoted during Advent, the multi-week, pre-Christmas season of repentance and eager expectation of rejoicing in God becoming flesh to offer Himself as sacrifice to save the world from sin, death, and the devil. ...
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Joyful Christmas Witnesses (12/24/22)Years ago, an acquaintance shared his frustration after attending a Christmas Eve service at a church his wife likes to occasionally attend. Expecting the “swaddling clothes” narrative of the birth of Christ from the apostle Luke (2:1-20), he complained of having to listen “about some Old Testament prophet.” That was likely Isaiah who is often quoted during Advent, the multi-week, pre-Christmas season of repentance and eager expectation of rejoicing in God becoming flesh to offer Himself as sacrifice to save the world from sin, death, and the devil. ...
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God With Us (12/17/22)In preparing for the celebration of The Nativity of our Lord—another designation for Christmas Day, it is comforting to read church signs in the community declaring Jesus Christ as the “Immanuel” which means God with us. (Matthew 1:18-25) As one astute Biblical Greek exegete (translator and commentator), the Rev. ...
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Speaking of God (12/10/22)Christian apologist Todd Friel’s YouTube channel “Wretched” recently responded to some popular but unbiblical teachings that have been circulating not just online but among some Christians, especially Evangelicals. (“Ten Christian Cliches That Need to Go.”) Most believers should know some of the older errors such as, “God helps those who help themselves,” which is found nowhere in the Holy Bible, as is neither “Cleanliness is next to Godliness,” sometimes quoted by mothers to offspring to encourage better housecleaning habits, but again, not in the Bible. ...
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Preparing for the Reign of Christ (12/3/22)When preparing for Church festivals and observances such as Christmas or the day of the Epiphany, it is helpful for believers to understand the meaning and purpose of our celebrations of God with us in Christ, what our expectations should be, and how the Word of God has fed us with His assurances of salvation. ...
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Blessed Beast of Burden (11/26/22)To a person outside of Christendom, the four-week, pre-Christmas season of Advent in the traditional (yet revised) Church Year calendar may be difficult to appreciate. Why, some might ask, would we need a time to reflect upon something that has already happened or how could we Christians be excited about the same story year after year? Birthdays are different because change is what is celebrated and when a milestone age is reached the family comes together to acknowledge the child or adult. ...
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Sweet Freedom (11/12/22)In an episode of the 1990s sitcom “Seinfeld,” the character of George Costanza, conversing with a friend, leaned over his cup of coffee, and with a look of intensity in his squinting eyes, he slowly and quietly said, as if it was genuine, reliable, and trustworthy: “Remember, it’s true if you believe it’s true.” I am not sure, but I do believe the audience laughed. ...
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The Better Question (11/5/22)After Jesus was baptized, He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After forty days and nights of no food, God Incarnate had become hungry. (Matthew 4) The devil tempted Jesus by saying, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” Jesus rebuffed the devil by quoting Scripture, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”(Deuteronomy 8:3) The devil continued, this time taking Scripture out of context, misusing God’s Word, tempting Jesus. ...
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Time to Speak (10/29/22)As of this writing, October 31 is fast approaching. As you are reading this, it may have already passed. For years, I could not help but notice that Halloween decorations often stay up much longer than Christmas decorations, perhaps with those who need to continue mocking death thinking it will soothe their consciences. ...
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Anything but Desperate (10/22/22)More than a year ago, a popular seminary professor wrote, “Frankly, I have little sympathy for the handwringers agonizing over the plummeting poll numbers of Christians in America and preoccupied with outsiders’ inaccurate perceptions of [believers]. ...
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To God Be the Glory (10/15/22)An acquaintance shared an experience in a congregation of which she had been a member. She had been the record-keeper at a meeting held to decide if a female could become the newest member of the board of elders. That church’s constitutions’ bylaws give elders some oversight of the pastor, she said, with feedback but also can influence the content of his sermons, evaluating his performance, and even recommend to the congregation if he should remain or be replaced. ...
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Going His Way (10/8/22)Some of you may be familiar with changing social practices among men these days as what is initialed “MGTOW” or Men Going Their Own Way. Some men explain their frustration with women who believe they feel entitled, expecting too much to the point that men no longer visit dating websites, ask women for dates, or pursue relationships with women. ...
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Where Security is Found (10/1/22)During the prophetic ministry of Amos (circa 790-740 BC), the people of Israel and Judah were experiencing an extraordinary period of prosperity. Although Amos was from the southern kingdom of Judah, God sent him to northern Israel to proclaim God’s message to them, a nation that was outwardly rich, yet as one commentator noted, “was inwardly rotting.” Their gain was often ill-gotten, and they misinterpreted their prosperity as a blessing from God, the heavenly Father toward His favored children. ...
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For All the Saints (9/24/22)Many look forward to the fall season for various reasons, such as cooler weather, shorter days, and the various holidays. Farm motifs, including hay bales, and carved pumpkins are set up in front lawns along with plastic skulls and the profile cutouts of flying witches appearing on front porches. ...
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The Oracle Awaits the Time (9/17/22)In the fall of 1968, my public-school class would begin our day as fifth-graders by opening our dark red New Testaments which were generously given to all students by a group of Christians called the Gideons. We would read some Scriptures and say a prayer and then began our secular lessons. ...
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Where We Find Joy (9/10/22)Sometime last year (2021), I was listening to a podcast associated with my church body which reported that forty-percent of our congregations received a noticeable increase in tithes and offerings during the months which Covid had shut down about everything. ...
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Givers Keepers (9/3/22)A Christian apologist is a person who defends the Christian faith by explaining misunderstandings, difficult passages, and debunking myths told by unbelievers and God-deniers. Today, non-Christians do not debate Christians as often as they once did, perhaps partly because there are more Biblical Christians and honest historians who can answer objections to the Christian faith. ...
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We Citizens of His Kingdom (8/27/22)Lamenting these evil days, a woman wrote a blog recording her heartbreak of doom and despair pervading here. She contemplated and confessed her participation in the decline of our civilization: “I used to be a libertarian—live and let live—but I know now what a mistake that was. ...
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Knowing What He Says (8/20/22)My mother used to say that it was impossible for her to ever become “big-headed” because her children often reminded her of her age, which was apparently ancient, she said, at least according to her offspring. I never remember any conceit on her part regarding her looks, but that may have been because of my siblings and me. ...
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The Word of the Lord Came (8/13/22)Most of you Biblical Christians know that when God called Jeremiah to be a prophet, the young lad (perhaps a teenager), used his youth as reason to question God’s selection of him to be a prophet. But Jeremiah’s very name means “the Lord will raise up” or “the Lord will set free.” Judah, Jeremiah’s prophetic turf, had become like their formerly northern brethren of Israel, rejecting Yahweh’s call for them to repent and worship only Him. ...
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Because He Is Good (8/6/22)The Rev. Dr. Reed Lessing, professor of Hebrew Exegetics and Biblical theology dates the prophet Amos to the first half of the eight century BC, circa 793-753. It was not a good time for the northern kingdom of Israel with its conflict with Aram, a nation that was northeast of Israel’s border, which occupied present day Syria. ...
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The Ties That Bind (7/30/22)A pastor likes to share an experience with a church elder who was unhappy with the pastor because he wore a necktie at the church and around town during the week. The elder told the pastor that “some people will not be able to relate to you unless you stop wearing ties. They won’t even bother to talk to you.” Tongue-in-cheek, the pastor defended his neckwear habit by suggesting it may end up saving his life, keeping away the potentially dangerous neckwear- phobe...
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Christ Satisfies His People (7/23/22)The results of a survey studying happiness among Americans was recently released. The study’s leader, PhD candidate and director of Population Dynamics Lyman Stone at McGill University, reported the latest findings from the General Social Survey, which originated in 1972. ...
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Being His Disciple (7/16/22)Religion
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The Uneasy Conscience (7/9/22)LIVING IN THE WORD
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Resting Assured (7/2/22)LIVING IN THE WORD
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Searching for the Suitable God (6/25/22)LIVING IN THE WORD
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Called by the One Who Knows Us (6/18/22)LIVING IN THE WORD
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Out of the Mouths of Babes (6/11/22)LIVING IN THE WORD
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The Church’s One-Day Foundation (6/4/22)LIVING IN THE WORD
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His Power, Influence, and Authority (5/28/22)LIVING IN THE WORD
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Good Questions and Guesses (5/21/22)LIVING IN THE WORD
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So You May Bear Them Now (5/14/22)LIVING IN THE WORD
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We Abide in His Word (5/7/22)LIVING IN THE WORD
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Worthy is He (4/30/22)LIVING IN THE WORD
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The Return of Alleluia: Halleluiah! (4/23/22)LIVING IN THE WORD
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His Word Endures Forever (4/16/22)LIVING IN THE WORD
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The Humble One (4/9/22)LIVING IN THE WORD
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The Only Know It All (3/26/22)LIVING IN THE WORD
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How Shall We Live? (3/19/22)LIVING IN THE WORD
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(Untitled) (3/18/22)ate
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Always Near Us (3/5/22)LIVING IN THE WORD
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Blessed Preparation for Lent (2/26/22)LIVING IN THE WORD
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Whom Do You Trust? (2/19/22)LIVING IN THE WORD
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Blessed is the Man… (2/12/22)LIVING IN THE WORD
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Many Happy Returns (1/22/22)LIVING IN THE WORD
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The Only One and Way (1/8/22)LIVING IN THE WORD
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The Father’s Business (1/4/22)LIVING IN THE WORD
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The Lord’s Deliberate Ways (12/18/21)LIVING IN THE WORD
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Unambiguously Ours (11/20/21)LIVING IN THE WORD
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Bound and Delivered (11/13/21)As of this writing (approaching mid-November), there are two more weeks left in the 2021 Church Year. November 28 begins the first day of the New Church Year, also the first Sunday of Advent, the four weeks preparatory season before Christmas. For the two weeks between All Saints Day (always November 1) and Advent, the Lectionary Readings (Scripture schedule) focus on the End Times or Jesus’ return. ...
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The Ascended Life (10/23/21)Each of Psalms 120 through 134 are labelled, “A Psalm of Ascent”. There are no explanations for the reason these psalms are labelled as songs of ascent, but there are some theories or suggestions to what is meant by these songs which involve ascending or going up. ...
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Most Blessed Children (10/16/21)A person who may be considered a social media “influencer” recently shared an online video described as a “dating profile” which had been posted by a woman appearing, at least to me, to be in her late-30s to mid-40s. One of her requirements for any man to be considered a candidate to win the opportunity to take her out to dinner was that the man must show his last year’s tax return which would prove that he earns an annual six-figure salary ($100,000+). ...
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The Goings Going On (10/9/21)In his excellent 2009 book, “The Devil’s Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretentions”, agnostic philosopher, and mathematician David Berlinski says that he authored the book for the defense of people who believe in God and to challenge atheists who make false claims that science can prove or has compelling evidence that God does not exist. ...
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Did God Really Say? (10/2/21)After completing the creation of the universe, including the earth, and after resting on the Seventh day, God told Adam that he could eat of the fruit of any tree, ‘but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Then, we read that God said that Adam needed a helper “fit for him”, and after putting Adam into a deep sleep, God removed one of his ribs and “made [it] into a woman…” (Genesis 2:18) Upon a careless review, it may first appear that God should have tried another rib because when asked by the Garden’s craftiest “beast”, “Did God say that you cannot eat of the fruit of any tree in the garden?”, Eve first did the right thing by perfectly repeating exactly what God said. ...
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Seeing This Is So (9/25/21)College students who major in history are sometimes required to purchase a copy of the book, “Ancient Near Eastern Texts” (often cited as “ANET”). This is an anthology or collection of writings from civilizations in the Middle East from the Mesopotamian region circa (around) 2000 B.C. ...
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Welcome Home (9/18/21)In one Bible survey text, the prophet Jeremiah is described as “only a young man when God called to him. The Lord forbade him to marry, he had no children…was not allowed to attend funerals or parties.” His service to the Lord was forty years of rebuff, rejection, and physical abuse. ...
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Blessed Christian Unity (9/11/21)Seminary students will often find the prophet Isaiah as an inspiring example to follow. The prophet recounted his calling from God, “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here I am! Send me.’ And God said, ‘Go… and say to this people: Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.”’ (Isaiah 6:8-9) It is easy to infer that Isaiah would have had a difficult ministry, and he did. ...
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Cleaning Up Our Acts (8/28/21)Recently a leader of a large evangelical church body was found to have delivered a sermon which had been written and preached by his colleague. The preacher/administrator apologized and explained his motivation by saying, “I wanted to show people my heart.” To avoid the “we all do that” dismissal of our sinful practice of self-posturing or “fronting”, we can think of examples of men at the gym who may choose cars some women find appealing, and the women with their makeup and revealing clothes, for whatever reasons. ...
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And We? (8/21/21)Psalm 14 is described by a Biblical Hebrew scholar and commentator as a revealing of ungodliness in two ways: in flouting God’s law and oppressing His people. The former is shown in Verses 1-3, where the psalmist sings, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good. ...
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Going His Way (8/14/21)Some of you may remember a story titled “The Prince and the Dragon”. It’s about a king and his son who lived in a kingdom that was terrorized by a vicious dragon which flies in the night air, killing and eating some of the king’s subjects, the citizens. His sons aided their king father in fighting and sometimes injuring the beast, hoping that someday, they would slay the dragon...
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Yes, Signs are Here (8/7/21)The first five books of the Holy Bible record God’s creative power, the fall of Man and Woman, the Great Deluge (Global Flood), God choosing His favored people, and His laws to govern their worship of Him and the ordering of their lives. God’s beloved chosen Israel was not faithful to Him, but history does show that their nation was governed for more than 300 years by judges who had ruled by those five books of the Bible. ...
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Our Good Hope (7/31/21)After Jesus heard of Herod’s killing of John the Baptist, our Lord withdrew “to a desolate place by Himself”. We see that the crowds had followed Him and that the Lord had “great compassion” for them. Much of the crowd was following Him not as the Savior from sins, but for His power to heal and make right their messy and painful temporal (earthly) lives. ...
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The Consistently Holy God (7/24/21)Most Christians know some things about David beyond his killing of the giant Goliath. About one half of the psalms composed and sung were prayers of David, often pleading with God to deliver him from his enemies. Others were songs of praise giving thanks to God for doing just that. ...
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Unity in Christ (7/17/21)A dear friend of mine sought needed counselling, and his first therapist had been a supporter of a treatment which began in the 1970s called Family Systems Therapy. His counselor explained to my friend that for it to be effective, it would require that all family members be present to discuss and help identify the issues, come to terms with them and begin healing...
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We Follow God's Clear Word (7/10/21)Five or so years ago, the leader of the largest (and until recently) Biblically-faithful 18th century church bodies in America compared God’s condemnation of sexual sins to a whisper as he highlighted that Christ addressed the issue of greed much more than adultery. ...
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After the Windy Storms (7/3/21)In the second wave of deportees from Judea to Babylon around 597 B.C. (the first circa 605, the third in 587), Ezekiel went with them. In chapter one of the book which bears his name, we learn that Ezekiel was likely a priest and of some standing because he had been deported with Jehoiachin, who had been king of Judah but dethroned by Babylonia’s King Nebuchadnezzar II. ...
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Turning Sorrows Into Joys (6/26/21)Churches are often busy in June but not always for weddings only but also for ordination and installations of pastors. Some church bodies are corporate in polity, with bishops or other overseers who appoint or send pastors to the congregations they will serve. ...
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Now Is the Favorable Time (6/19/21)An always-present high school teacher was absent was one day. Her granddaughter had been killed while riding her bicycle and was struck by a car. Upon the teacher’s return a week later, deeply affectionate expressions of sorrow and shared mourning flowed from the administrators, faculty, and students. ...
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Who's In Control (6/12/21)The nation of Israel had been first established after taking possession of the land Yahweh (God) had promised them, defeating the people who lived there and had already called it home. But God promised and granted the rights to it to the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ...
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Jesus Christ, Our Savior (6/5/21)Five or so years ago, I shared here what appeared to be an almost prophetic-sounding prediction of the world to come from the then-ailing Chicago Archbishop Francis George who extrapolated, “I believe that I will die in my bed. I predict my successor will die in prison. ...
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Hallowed Be Thy Name (5/29/21)Christian apologetics is for the purpose of explaining the faith and defending it from erroneous accusations. No one is argued into believing, but Christians should know and understand as well as internalize the truth of God’s Word, to be able to identify fallacious charges against Christianity. ...
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We Will Live Again (5/22/21)When teaching Christian Apologetics to youth, a good starting point is with epistemology, a word more useful than attempting to impress the opposite sex. Epistemology refers to how we know things. It is perhaps a more important tool to Christians because we expect to be challenged as Christianity is based on faith in Christ as God who created us and became Man to substitute His fallen, yet sinless human flesh for us, sacrificed for the sins of the world. ...
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Where Reason Is Found (5/15/21)In his 2012 book, “The Unintended Reformation: How a Religious Revolution Secularized Civilization,” author Brad Gregory makes the claim that Martin Luther (1483-1546) and some other Reformers inadvertently brought about moral relativism by encouraging discussion, debate on Christian matters. ...
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Perfect Union (5/8/21)Easter 2021 ends May 13, on the Day of the Ascension of our Lord. The Easter season lasts for forty days because that is how long our Lord walked on the earth after He was resurrected from the dead by God the Father. Ten days after Ascension Day is the Day of Pentecost, recalling how our Lord fulfilled His promise of “the Helper” (the Holy Spirit) to come to His disciples to transform them into God’s messengers. ...
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These Testy Times (5/1/21)The disciple John wrote his three epistles (letters) to churches unknown to us today but had been plagued with division, some leaving the churches because they were caught up in what they saw as genuine intellectual pursuits in Greek philosophy that had seduced the once-faithful followers of Christ into questioning the presuppositions (foundational assumptions) of the gospel of Jesus Christ and His defeat of death and hell in His resurrection from the dead. ...
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Greenest Pastures (4/24/21)The Rev. Dr. David Peters, professor at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, once shared with his hearers of an experience during a trip he made to the Holy Land in the late ‘90s. He was in what is known as the Judean Wilderness near the Dead Sea. They noticed some goats and sheep being shepherded by Bedouin shepherds. ...
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Indeed, He Is Risen (4/17/21)Jesus appeared to His disciples for a second time and greeted them again with “Peace be with you.” The disciples were stunned, still suspicious that Jesus’ resurrection was too good to be true, so the Lord offered them another look and feel of His wounds. ...
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All Together Now (4/10/21)The first Easter or the Sunday of the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ, did not begin with rejoicing, singing praises to God, or Christians gathering to worship the Lord. Ten of the disciples (minus Judas and Thomas) were gathered in a room behind locked doors because they feared that the Jews would do to them as they did to Jesus. ...
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All Together Now (4/10/21)The first Easter or the Sunday of the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ, did not begin with rejoicing, singing praises to God, or Christians gathering to worship the Lord. Ten of the disciples (minus Judas and Thomas) were gathered in a room behind locked doors because they feared that the Jews would do to them as they did to Jesus. ...
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Just As He Told You (4/3/21)The author of a commentary on the Gospel of Mark concluded that the early morning is God’s preferred time of deliverance in the Old Testament. The Israelites left Egypt in the early morning; the same time Jesus’ tomb was found empty. But other Christians will point out that discovery is not the same thing as the action or event. ...
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The Eyes Have It (3/27/21)Sixth-century BC prophet Zechariah was a contemporary of prophet Haggai, both of whom had gone to the Promised Land, in and near Jerusalem after the ex-Judeans were allowed to “return” there. Yahweh’s Old Covenant people had been in Babylon for about a half century and thus this was not technically a homecoming, especially for Zechariah who was born in Babylon. ...
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The Tides of March (3/20/21)In some years, the fifth Sunday of Lent will have Mark 10:35-45 as its Gospel reading. That passage is Jesus’ third time He predicts his death and resurrection in the Gospel of Mark. The first time, Peter takes him aside and rebukes him (8:31-32). The second time, the disciples do not understand and are afraid to ask him about it (9:31-32). ...
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Our Deliverer (3/13/21)Psalm 105 is popularly thought among Bible scholars to refer to the salvific acts of God towards the patriarchs of Israel, beginning with God’s Covenant with Abraham to some 640 years later with the exodus from Egypt. Psalm 106 picks up with the Red Sea crossing, then comes the grumbling of God’s rescued Israelites and their worship of the golden calf. ...
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Anything but Desperate (3/6/21)A few months ago, a popular seminary professor wrote, “Frankly, I have little sympathy for the handwringers agonizing over the plummeting poll numbers of Christians in America and preoccupied with outsiders’ inaccurate perceptions of [believers]. Christians need not to give much thought to what non-Christians think of them; what matters is the judgment of One. ...
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Counted as Your Righteousness (2/27/21)Last week’s Living in the Word column presented the Old Testament Reading for the First Week in Lent, according to the popular Three-Year Lectionary Series, Year B, with Abraham’s obedience to the command by Yahweh (God) for Abraham to sacrifice his beloved and only son, Isaac. ...
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Reunited with Christ (2/20/21)An Old Testament reading for Lent is from Genesis 22:1–18, which tells of Abraham’s obedience to God’s command, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” Abraham followed God’s instructions, as he “bound Isaac his son and laid him atop the wood”. ...
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Fiery Gatherings (2/13/21)The Christian Church Year calendar begins with Advent (December) preparing for the coming Messiah. Next is Christmas—God becomes Man, then the day of the Epiphany—the God-Man prophesied and certified by God the Father. Then comes Lent—the 40-day season of repentance, preparing our hearts for Holy Week, the Passion of the Christ. ...
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His Will Be Done (2/6/21)Marvin Olasky is editor-in-chief of my favorite magazine, “World”, which is a great source of news from the Biblical Christian perspective. He will confess to making secular conservatives angry at times because they may see his suggested solutions as tepid, weak responses to the growing threat to decency, rationality, and general sanity here in the United States. ...
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It is What He Does that Matters (1/30/21)My father was a pastor who had great patience with me, his youngest son, as I was always following him around, asking questions. His church was liberal mainline, but he believed that the Holy Bible is God’s self-revelation of Himself and us, His beloved creation, we humans. ...
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Saved by Flood Waters (1/23/21)Main Street in Houston, Texas runs more than fifty miles. I am guessing that Los Angeles has some more impressive numbers as it is the second largest city while Houston is in fourth place. Jerusalem in Jesus’ day was inhabited by popular estimates of around 40,000, but festival times could see as many as a quarter of a million people milling the streets. ...
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Non Separatum (1/16/21)I’ve known some very faithful Christian couples who found each other by employing a mate-match service. But last week, I faced the double-embarrassment of learning that some of the internet services (a.k.a. “social media”) simply provide one-night hookups for adultery, which is the sin of any sex outside the marriage bond between a man and a woman. ...
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Shoveling and Burying (1/9/21)The term “helicopter parent” was used to describe a mother or father who stayed so remarkably close to their offspring the point of injecting themselves in every aspect of their lives—even involving themselves in the minute details of the friendships their elementary aged offspring—usually daughters—including all the drama. ...
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Wisdom for the New Year (1/2/21)The author of a recent article addressing issues of relationships between men and women offered advice to women on how to deal with husbands. She counseled wives, “Your man should be allowed to have a part in your life. Don’t shut them out but encourage them to add what they can to your life’s experiences and goals.” Some observers see the irony of that suggestion, as sixty or seventy years ago, women complained that their roles were for their husband’s sake, with little sense of self. ...
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Immanuel, God with Us (12/26/20)A recent article appeared including an interview with a popular but unBiblical “messenger” of the prosperity or Word of Faith movement which entices their viewers or parishioners to believing that God will ease life in the hear and now if you make “vows” of financial giving to their “ministries”. ...
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God's Big Plan (12/19/20)Years ago, while preparing for the pastoral ministry and working as an intern at a congregation in Michigan of the Church body through which I now serve, a parishioner asked me when I first realized that I was going to be a pastor. I confessed that I did not know (at the time) if I ever was going to be a pastor. I was not having second thoughts, but I asked her that if on my drive home later than evening if I accidently plowed into a tree and was killed, would God’s plans be thwarted?...
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Restoring Us (12/12/20)My personal favorite movie of all time is the 1956 production of “The Ten Commandments”. On a recent Saturday night, I watched two scenes from that movie on YouTube. The first scene was of the eve of the Passover, where John Derek, playing the role of Joshua is painting lamb’s blood on the threshold doorway of the home of Jewish turncoat Dathan, played by Edward G. ...
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Advent Meditations (12/5/20)A Messianic (Jewish) Christian acquaintance of mine likes to tell jokes using old clichés of Jewish mothers. He once told of the late actor Walter Matthau who was raised in dire straits by his mother, after his father deserted the family. Many years later, when Matthau had risen to the heights of his film career, wanting a little praise, he asked his mother her feelings about his success. Her answer? “If you had had a decent father, you could have been a doctor.”...
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Come Down, Lord Jesus (11/28/20)Some Christians are currently enduring dark times, feeling pressures from growing numbers of faithless people in this fallen world. There are almost audible moaning groans from some Christians, mourning some loss of society’s approval. Add to those sorrows real fear of coming loss of freedom to be faithful to God as He has revealed Himself through His appointed servants. ...
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True Brotherly Love (11/21/20)For November 22, the Last Sunday of the Church Year, the updated Lectionary (appointed, selected Scripture Readings) include Jesus’ Last Day discourse, recorded in Matthew 25:31-46, which has been one of the most abused, misread Scripture readings for the past century—completely differently than it has been read for the previous nineteen or so centuries. ...
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Happy Returns (11/14/20)As the Church Year winds down, ending this year on Saturday, November 28, the focus on the traditional Church Year calendar is on Christ’s return. That will complete God’s forgiveness of the sins of His people through the atonement of Christ’s body and blood for His children, judging the unbelievers, destroying this sinful earth, replacing it with the new eternal heaven and earth. ...
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Living Leaven (11/7/20)Students of Jewish and Christian first century A.D. history learn that the Roman Empire leaders somewhat admired the Jews because although they were not aggressive, they fought back if oppressed or bullied. The Romans thought much less of Christians because not only was their God killed by crucifixion, Christians were not willing to fight to defend themselves but willing to die for their faith in Christ. ...
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Where Are You? (10/31/20)When you were in a large mall or amusement park, you came across a map near the entrance. To find where to go, you first located your present position by finding perhaps a large icon with the words “You are here”. That is your starting point. The early Church used a yearly calendar to navigate and direct our attention to the works of the Lord and the proper response by His people. ...
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Who Sets You Free (10/24/20)You don’t need me to tell you that there is a lot of fear out there these days. The 2020 general election will be held in about a week, and it may decide if we continue to have nine lawyers in black robes or perhaps ninety who will be interpreting for us what the U.S. Constitution says, and who deserves freedom, the most freedom, the least freedom, or no freedom at all...
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Our Great Hope (10/17/20)Psalm 96 is believed by some learned Bible scholars as a song of celebration when the treasured Ark of the Covenant was returned by the Philistines who had taken it from Israel. Some saw its return as nothing less than having God with them again. That elaborate, God-designed box contained the Ten Commandments, the staff of Aaron which had led the people from slavery in Egypt, and a bowl of manna from heaven which fed the hungry people in the desert. ...
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We Shall Not Want (10/10/20)Some of us are old enough to remember when people used to dress more formal for church than they do today. It was thought to be a display of respect for the Lord. And because the resurrection of our Lord is the foundation for the Church on earth, dressing up was particularly popular for Easter Sunday. ...
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What More Could he Do? (10/3/20)Israel’s King Solomon died around 931 B.C., and the throne was given to his son, Rehoboam, who was supposed to rule the entire kingdom of Israel. But ten of the twelve tribes of Israel were upset with Solomon’s spending and high taxes. They rebelled and coalesced around Jeroboam, who eventually ruled in the northern kingdom of Israel as the kingdom split. ...
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Power, Influence, and Authority (9/26/20)The Holy Bible would be a good resource for studying political science, a subject which addresses power, influence, and authority. One case study could be from Ezekiel 18:1-32. Ezekiel had been called by Yahweh (God) to be a prophet, which meant directly delivering what God told his prophets to tell the people. ...
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Cheap Travel and Talk (9/19/20)When it comes to travelling, I am a cheapskate, would rather spend money on something else. The internet can take us curious Georges and Georgettes to dangerous places, but it can also take us travel tightwads to just about anywhere in the world. The price is one computer and Wi-Fi—yes, Google Earth. ...
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Places, Everyone (9/12/20)Most Christians are familiar with the historical account (not merely a Bible “story”) of Joseph with his brothers and his father, Jacob, recorded in Genesis Chapters 37-50. Joseph and his brothers were the sons of Jacob, who was the grandson of Abraham. ...
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Getting Past Ourselves (9/5/20)Years ago, I knew a teacher who had lost her mother. She was surprised, she said, of the grief she suffered in the loss. “I thought I was better prepared for it”, she said. Then we both concluded that full preparation to the point of saying goodbye to someone we love was not easy, sometimes impossible. ...
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Unsightly Wisdom (8/29/20)The much-vaunted David, the boy hero and mighty king, suffered much in his life. God chose David to replace the overly self-reliant and independent Saul, who tried to kill David. But Saul had murderous company as David’s own son, Absalom, tried to kill his father to take his throne. ...
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Blessed Suffering, Servant (8/22/20)2020 has been a challenging year, and some Biblical Christians are afraid, praying for political leaders who will at least tolerate us. It could very well be that we are looking for the wrong friend. We can read of places and times remarkably similar to what is going on today, not only in the West, but wherever there is amoral chaos and confusion among people. ...
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Our Sincere Apologetics (8/15/20)One responsibility of a pastor—or Christian laymen for that matter—is to alert fellow Christians of challenges to the Christian faith and opportunities to address those trials. I am convinced that this present-day rise of violence, chaos, and hate-filled intolerance is a purposeful attempt by the god of this world—Satan—and his spiritually blinded to distract from the growing evidence disproving their mythologies, including misuse of good science and the increased knowledge of scientific proof for the truth claims of the Holy Scriptures. ...
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Emerging Signs Ahead (8/8/20)About twenty years ago, I began hearing of what some called the “Emerging Church” movement. It was explained to me that it was an effort to refresh the Christian faith by reaching out to the unchurched to find out why they felt disconnected to the Church at large or perhaps the Christian faith in general. ...
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His Feeding of Forgiveness (8/1/20)Just before the disciple Matthew’s account of Jesus’ feeding the five thousand (Matthew 14:13-21), we read, “When Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there to a desolate place.” What Jesus had just heard was that John the Baptist had been martyred—beheaded—for calling King Herod Antipas to repent for his adultery with his brother’s wife. ...
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Gathering Clouds and Reign (7/25/20)By the thirteenth chapter of the Gospel According to Matthew, roughly half-way through the disciple’s record of the Christ, His ministry is beginning to disappoint many hearers. Immediately following His ushering in of the New Covenant through His Sermon on the Mount, Matthew wrote, “And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.” (Matthew 7:28-29) But trouble was brewing, and proverbial storm clouds began to gather. ...
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For His Children Only (7/18/20)As I write this, the church I serve is in the final days of our Vacation Bible School 2020. It is a simple, sweet gathering, with biblical, upbeat songs, fun games, and—most important—basic Scripture readings, disclosing the will of God and why we are so opposed to it. ...
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Mountain Seed (7/11/20)A retired seminary professor told of a new professor who confessed that among his reasons for accepting the call to teach was because he realized that there would be chapel services every day. “Look at all the additional opportunities I will have to hear God’s word in the daily chapel services,” he said. “Why, in no time at all I should be moving mountains!” Not much time had passed before both professors noted that the mountains were still there...
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Mirror, Mirror, Off the Wall (7/11/20)In 1525, a revolt broke out in central Europe known as the Peasant’s War. Some radical theologians joined in solidarity with the peasants who were protesting what historians have not really understood. Some of the peasants were looking to Martin Luther to support them, but Luther had translated the Latin Vulgate Bible into German, thus knew God’s Word very well, and its prohibition against demanding what today is known as “economic justice”...
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Chomping At the Bit (6/27/20)A fellow Christian of the Reformation, The Rev. Dr. Voddie Baucham, recently shared of a television program episode he watched broadcast on one of the old networks. This particular program featured a scene between a believer and unbeliever. The unbeliever asked the Christian to open her Bible to Leviticus 18:22, which says, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.” “Do you agree with that?” asked the atheist. ...
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Numbered (6/20/20)Christians most likely know the story of the prophet Jeremiah, a.k.a. “the weeping prophet” who was thus dubbed because he mourned for the unrepentant people of Judah. When God announced that Jeremiah would deliver His Word to the people, Jeremiah balked, claiming he was too young, and therefore did not have the words to say to them. ...
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The One Wrong That Was Right (6/13/20)The recent incivility in the streets of American cities highlight what heroic courage it takes to be in law enforcement, especially the grieving families of officers killed for evil done by someone else. As our elementary teachers taught us: two wrongs do not make a right. (Romans 12:17-21; 1 Peter 3:9-14)...
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The Perfect Union (6/6/20)Christianity is not merely 2,000 years old, but goes back to creation, where we read in Genesis 1, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” He did so by speaking all things into existence. We also find those same three words opening the Gospel of John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ...
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The Zealous or Jealous Servant (5/30/20)A fellow pastor recently told me that the average percent of men who become pastors in our Synod (church body, denomination), but do not stay in the ministry all of their working lives is about ten percent. Later, I went to my office and took down the framed photo of my own graduating class and looked at the faces and names and judged only two I would not have been shocked to find that they were no longer in the ministry. ...
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Gone, but Here (5/23/20)Years ago, while driving, I passed a church where the sign displayed a message immediately underneath the name of the church, which is also long forgotten, but the message under the name read, “Where Every Day is Lent.” Lent is the forty days (minus the Sundays) before Easter where we recall our Lord’s victory over Satan, rebuffing the devil’s temptations. ...
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It Gets Personal (5/16/20)A historian described the city of Athens in the first century A.D., specifically in the days of St. Paul: “Athens taught the world the concept of democracy, the rule of the people. It had been the great center of philosophy, the love of wisdom…but its glories had dimmed, and it was no longer the chief city of Greece.” Luke recorded in Acts 17:16ff that St. ...
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His Presence (5/9/20)The president of the church body through which I am so blessed to serve the Lord recently shared something Martin Luther wrote to a fellow believer while the black plague was striking his hometown of Wittenberg (Germany) in the near-mid 1500s. We are not facing anything as horrendous as that scourge, but his counsel sounds a lot like what we are advised today. ...
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We Shall Not Want (5/2/20)The fourth Sunday after Easter is always Good Shepherd Sunday in the traditional Church Year calendar. With it is the almost obligatory Psalm 23, which is also popular for funerals. Personally, I never understood the latter because that psalm presents a difficult life for most people. ...
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Christ, the Victor (4/25/20)Have you ever wondered why Jesus, after His resurrection from the dead, did not make an appearance before Pilate, the Jewish High Priest, or Nicodemus? Well, Jesus is no beggar. He has a wonderful lesson for those who are glued to their television sets these fretful days, watching programs which are friendly to Biblical Christians or from networks hostile to Biblical Christians. ...
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For His Pleasure (4/18/20)The bookshelves in my church office are crammed full, so I looked for some books to give away or toss. However, I could only part with two. One was on evangelism that was published almost seventy years ago by a publishing house of a once-large church body but has long ago abandoned the Holy Scriptures. ...
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The Lord is Risen, indeed! Alleluia! (4/11/20)The title of this week’s column is the reply a Christian would give after another Christian says, “The Lord is risen!” on an Easter Sunday or on any of the following 39 days of the Easter season. Most of us Christians will confess that as Ascension Day nears, excitement may wear off, but Easter 2020 may be an exception. ...
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We tremble not (4/4/20)Holy Week is upon us as we observe our Lord accomplishing what He came to achieve: the overthrow of Satan and the liberation of Man from the bondage of sin. Recorded in the Gospel of John (12:31), Jesus declared of His upcoming crucifixion, death, and resurrection, “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.” Some astute biblical theologians will refer to this as the “second fall of Satan”, with the first as described by Jesus with His sending out of seventy-two disciples to tell of His new kingdom on this earth and to cast out demons. ...
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Dying to live (3/28/20)As the time of Lent draws to its glorious end, the appointed Scripture readings (the Lectionary) include the theme of death, but pointing to Jesus as He travels closer and closer to Jerusalem to fulfill His purpose as God becoming flesh to die for the sins of the world. ...
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Who's doing the preaching? (3/21/20)One day God called upon His angels to appear to Him and Satan was among them. God said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Satan’s reply was a two-fold accusation, claiming that Job was not actually righteous but was motivated by God’s generous provision granted to Job: wealth, health, wonderful family, etc. ...