Christmas in August
Why are we celebrating Christmas in August? It is not because we have the months mixed up but it is because there is still a great need for the gospel of Jesus Christ to reach the nations. As a Southern Baptist Church we support the International Mission Board, which does a fantastic job sending out missionaries.
The Fallacy of Inter-Faith Relationships
As a church, it’s our responsibility to teach what the Bible says, and not what certain preachers may say. While there are many television preachers that I wish our people would ignore completely, my hope is that as we teach the Word of God, our congregation will begin to make these choices on their own. So while I generally don’t single preachers out for their comments to their congregations, I do feel that recent comments made by Rick Warren to the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) do warrant examination. He wasn’t preaching to a Christian congregation, and in fact wasn’t preaching at all. He was asked by the ISNA to come and speak to their group.
McMahon, Fawcett and Jackson
You might not think that Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson have anything in common. McMahon was known for being the “sidekick” for the king of late night, Fawcett was one of “Charlie’s Angels” and Jackson was the great “King of Pop.” At first glance these three iconic Hollywood figures do not really share any similarities. However they share quite a few similarities, just as we do with them also.
Have All Casualties Been Accounted For?
A headline recently caught my eye from Newsweek: “Abortion War Casualty”. It discussed the outrageous and terrible death of Dr. George Tiller who was murdered in his church. Having lived near Kansas, I knew of Dr. Tiller’s late-term abortion clinic as well as his weekly attendance in church. When the Bible says “Do not murder” in Exodus 20:13, the command is for both sides. The murder of unborn babies in our country is a blight, but so is the murder of a doctor who is performing a legal act.
Gender Confusion Among Penguins?
Okay I was shocked to read this story at foxnews.com. The article here is about how two gay penguins are raising a baby chick that has hatched without a mother present. The article in its entirety can be found by clicking here. Now this leads me to ask the question what challenges will the church face in the upcoming years? What issues will the church deal with over the next 10 to 20 years?
Perseverance Benefits the Godly and Ungodly
As believers in Jesus Christ, many of us have hailed the decision of the California Supreme Court to uphold the state’s ban on gay marriage. It became law after a majority vote of the people of California, and I personally was pleasantly surprised to see the court uphold a statute that clearly had constitutional grounds. As is often the case, the victory appears short-lived. Gay leaders say they plan to put a new measure on next year’s ballot to overturn the ban. This reminds me of my home state of Missouri. Year after year Missouri voters would vote on new forms of riverboat gambling, and year after year the voters would say no. Every time the casinos lost, they simply tried again. And when they finally won the vote simply by wearing down the opposition’s willingness to fight anymore, it was a done deal. Those against gambling didn’t attempt another ballot measure, but instead gave up.
