Church Life
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Intergenerational Respect
Titus 2 is a vital section of Scripture, as it pertains to how the church is to help one another. The emphasis is on generations and how they are to live in light of being followers of God. But there is also a clear emphasis on older generations teaching younger generations, and it seems that Paul had that especially in mind for older women to teach younger women. For that to happen at a deep and impactful level, though, there must be respect, and it must flow both ways. The older women must respect the stage of life those younger women are in, and seek to remember how difficult it…
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A Losing Quarterback with a Winning Quote
It was not “just another” Army-Navy football game. There were many factors that contributed to this particular game being unique. This particular game was scheduled for November 30, 1963. That meant that, if it was played as scheduled, it would take place only eight days after the assassination of president John F. Kennedy. There were questions about whether it would be advisable to cancel the game altogether. Ultimately, the decision was made to go ahead with the game, but to reschedule it for a week later. That meant that the game would be played on December 7th – the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. There were questions…
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His Eye is On the Sparrow
I don’t know where all of our readers live, but where this writer lives, it has been cold for the past 7 days! It has been so cold that memes on the internet about canceling our seven-day free trial of living in Alaska have circulated widely. Facebook has become not much more than “how are the roads?” During all of this beautiful – if brutal – cold, I noticed some of my neighbors and got to wondering how they survive. I’m talking about the birds that stick around and don’t migrate for the winter. It is not typical for us to spend so many days in a row below freezing,…
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Paul, Sports, and Preaching
Illustrating sermons is an artform. It is one that I have always struggled with. So this is not being written by some expert in that part of sermon preparation. However, there is something I have heard a fairly significant number of preachers say that bothers me. They will be getting ready to share a sermon illustration–maybe their second or third in a sermon–and they’ll say something like this: “Paul wrote about sports a lot, so I’m going to go back to the world of sports.” With that, they will launch into a story from some sport to illustrate the point they are making. Now, let me say this: I am…
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There’s Nothing to Do Here
I’ve never lived in a major metropolitan area. I grew up in a rural area outside the city limits of a town that, according to the latest census figures that I could find, has about 6,500 residents. After Donna and I married, we actually lived in that same town for the first eight years of our marriage. Since then, we have lived in (or just outside of) towns with populations of about 1,500, 8,000, and 27,000. That last figure is the population for Paducah, Kentucky, where we presently live. That figure may be a little misleading, though. That is the population for people who live within the actual city limits. There…
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VBS: Valley Bible Studies
Recently, Luke was part of helping a new work get off the ground for the congregation in Salem, Virginia where he is now the Youth and Family Minister. The work is called “Valley Bible Studies” (or, VBS) and is a multi-pronged effort. Below is a document he has shared with us about the various aspects of this online work. Click here to see the website and be sure to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast app. Breaking-Down-Valley-Bible-StudiesDownload
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Skating on Thin Ice
The temperature the last few days has been frigid and, added to that, we have snow covering everything. It’s a beautiful sight to behold. Our house is located on a decorative pond with a fountain at one end. In spite of the sub zero temperatures, that fountain has continued to run and that end of the pond isn’t frozen solid. Our end looks like a beautiful ice skating rink, but it isn’t. While working in our office, I noticed two young people leaning down over the side of the pond and hitting the ice with a hammer. Then I noticed that they were wearing, not ice skates, but roller blades.…
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The Iowa Caucuses and Evangelism
As this post is being released, the first true results of the 2024 election cycle will be in. Iowa held caucuses and people let it be known which candidate they preferred. But this is not a political article. It’s about how the coverage of these events always works, and how we can’t let it infiltrate a congregation’s evangelistic efforts. Huh? Here’s what I mean: every four years, when these first-in-the-nation events happen in an election, there will be wall-to-wall coverage. We will hear about how long candidates have been in the state. We will hear about the tremendous amount of work they have done. We will hear about how much…
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I Will vs. I Wish
Most who read this will probably be familiar with the section of scripture that is often referred to as “The Parable of the Prodigal Son.” If that is not the case, I invite/encourage you to read Luke 15:11-32. Neither the space usually used on these posts nor my ability will allow me to fathom the depths of this important text. With that being said, I would like for all of us to think about what I consider to be two important words found therein. I believe that they are worthy of our consideration at any time, but it may be the case that they deserve especially careful consideration at this…
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Another Year is Gone
How quickly time flies these days! I’ve heard it several times from friends who are in my same age bracket: “The years just seem to fly by…,” “I can’t even keep up with the days when time is going by so quickly,” “Another year has flown by,” “Is it Christmas already? What happened to Autumn?” These are just a few of the comments I have heard recently. And I have to admit that I have felt the same way. The older I get, the faster time seems to go! As this new year begins, I have decided to look at time differently. I’m planning to have a list of those things…
