How do I feel about capital punishment? The Bible gives guidance in this situation: “Because sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil.” (Ecclesiastes 8:11) A person who deliberately takes another person’s life deserves the death…
Many Americans have come to understand the separation of church and state as a command that religious belief must have no influence upon government or public policy. Under this view, religion may be practiced privately in homes and houses of worship, but it should remain silent in elections, legislative debates,…
A Prayer of Thanksgiving for the United States on Its 250th Birthday Almighty God, Today we pause with grateful hearts to thank you for the United States of America as she marks two hundred and fifty years of national life. You are the Creator of all nations and the Lord…
The question of whether same-sex attraction itself is sinful has become an important topic within the Christian church in recent years. Some pastors and teachers argue that merely experiencing homosexual attraction is a sin. Others maintain that Scripture condemns only same-sex lust and sexual behavior, not the experience of attraction…
To answer that question, we must look to the Bible for the answer, since it repeatedly warns God’s people against altering divine revelation to establish a new religion. From the Law of Moses to the final chapter of Revelation, Scripture presents itself as a message from God that must not…
I once heard a Christian leader venture the idea that major professional sports can become a kind of pagan religion. At the time, as a big sports fan in my younger days, I thought that was an exaggeration. Since then, having matured in Christ, my perspective has changed. When one…
Simple worship services centered on the elements that the New Testament explicitly mentions as necessary and desirable for the gathering of New Covenant believers: worship, Scripture, teaching, mutual edification, prayer, communion, baptism, and proclamation of the Gospel. MORNING SERVICE 1. Doxology & Call to Worship 2. Songs of Praise 3.…
In Book of Ruth 4:7–8, the removal of a sandal was connected with the legal right of redemption. The nearer kinsman who declined to redeem Ruth surrendered his claim by removing his sandal and giving it to Boaz. Boaz then became the kinsman-redeemer who would take the bride and preserve…
I once heard a Christian leader venture the idea that NFL football—along with its farm system made up of hundreds of college football teams—comprises America’s biggest pagan religion. As a big sports fan in my younger days, I thought that was an exaggeration. Since then, having matured in Christ (and…
By un-faith I do not mean open rejection of God, but the slow draining of trust that happens while we wait for Jesus’ return—what Israel felt at Sinai when Moses lingered on the mountain and what we today feel while Christ is in heaven at the right hand of the…