Church Life
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What’s the Deal?
It’s that time of year! All of you last minute shoppers, it’s your time! Find the deals, grab the gifts, and make it to the finish line. It is that idea of deals that got me thinking for this week’s article. Actually, the title of this article is a line from the Grinch movie that makes me laugh, but then I thought about deals as related to gift giving and … well, you may not want to know all the twists and turns my mind takes as it churns out an article. You all know the basic premise of finding a great deal: it’s finding something you need or want…
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Abandoning, Cramming, or Prioritizing
What are your plans for this coming Sunday? If you are reading these words on the day or during the week that they are posted, Sunday is a special day. It is the day during which followers of Jesus gather for worship. According to the New Testament and history, this weekly practice has continued for over twenty centuries. This coming Sunday is the Lord’s day. This past Sunday was the Lord’s day. As long as the world continues, every Sunday will be the Lord’s day. “But, I thought you were talking about Christmas,” somebody might say. “I thought that Christmas Day was the special day you had in mind.” The holiday season is, indeed,…
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Preparing to Worship on Christmas
If I am correct, 2022 marks the third time since I began preaching that Christmas Day falls on a Sunday. (If you haven’t bought gifts yet, you’ve only got a week and a half!) It is interesting to watch on those days to see how families–especially those with young children–handle this situation. (By the way, this article is assuming your congregation will still have services on Christmas Day. To cancel or move services off of the Lord’s Day just for a holiday is wrong and sad, and you need to find a congregation that will be meeting on that Sunday with which to worship.) What are some things to keep…
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Interesting, But Sad
I was listening to a podcast recently that, in part, was explaining some of the differences between the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. During the relatively short podcast, I learned some things I did not know – starting with the fact that I had no idea that these two groups even existed. Among other things, I also learned that each group has its own “Patriarch” – one in Moscow, Russia and one in Kiev, Ukraine. At the same time, I was saddened to learn of their existence. These two groups are merely representative of something that directly contradicts the wishes of Jesus that He expressed in His prayer…
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Saying “No” for a Reason
There is an old principle that I have heard, I suppose, for my entire life, but it has never really sunk in until recently. Or, maybe, to put it a better way, I knew the principle but did not live it out in practice. I’ll share what that principle is in a moment. But, first, a couple of personal anecdotes that provide the backdrop to this article. I was asked a short time ago to take part in something I had done before. Most wouldn’t consider it a big thing, and it would have probably only taken a couple of hours each week on average (something like that, anyway). It…
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One of Satan’s Most Effective and Insidious Weapons
Most of us have heard the old saying that informs us that “laughter is the best medicine.” A long time ago, a very wise man was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write these words: A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. (Prov. 17:22) Those who know me know that I love to laugh. I love to be around people who laugh. I love to make people laugh. Somebody like me needs to exercise caution. The reason is that, like everything else that Satan touches, he can turn what could be a good thing into something not so good. In fact, laughter can be a very…
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Too Much On Your Plate?
Thank goodness I asked this now and not last week, right? If you are like me, you may be working on burning off some of the things that overloaded your Thanksgiving Day plate! Obviously, for the purposes of this blog, I am not only talking about literal plate contents. I’m also asking if you have too much on your theoretical plate. Too many irons in the fire. And any other cliches you can think of that mean we are too busy! I know it is the busy time of year. While two of my three children are now in college, the one left in high school has plenty of rehearsals,…
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Truth And Freedom
As I type these words, I am very aware of some of the risks in doing so. There is, for example, the risk of being misunderstood. There is also the risk of being perceived as being overly critical. I could be seen as being too “soft” or too “hard” in my assessment of preaching and/or preachers. The possibilities of negative consequences are almost endless. There is also a risk of people thinking that I am only concerned about preaching and/or preachers. It may be true that a lot of what follows has to do with that. However, I believe that if you will stay with this until the end, you will find that this is not…
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Where the Downhill Slide Started
Those who are familiar with the first chapter of the book of Romans will remember that it contains information about people characterized by their ungodliness and unrighteousness (v. 18). As one reads some of this material, he/she may think that they are reading descriptions of people, philosophies, and activities of our day. Maybe it would be appropriate at this point on our calendars to consider where the downhill slide into sin, degradation, and disobedience started. How did these people who, at one time “knew God” (v. 21) get to the point where they were objects of the “wrath of God?” (v.18) Where did the journey start that caused them to get to…
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The Tiny Crutches
When I was four years old, I was playing with some other children outside on a snowy day. What fun it was to play “follow the leader.” I was pretty small but thought I was as big as all of the other kids. When they jumped over an obstacle, I did the same thing. When they circled a tree, I did the same thing. When they climbed up on an old tree stump with a huge crack in the middle of it, I did the same thing…well, almost the same thing. They all jumped off on the other side of the stump, but I had on rubber boots, and when I jumped,…
