All Posts (Page 39)

All Posts (Page 39)

Christmas: Bah Humbug or Gloria in Excelsis?

We do Christmas slowly. That is, instead of tearing into presents for a ten minutes rush of adrenaline, we open them one by one and take all morning. We wrap everything, even stocking gifts. If something can be divided into two packages, we do it. Even gum is wrapped. It happens like this. The question is asked, “Who gets to give the next gift?” Then that perfect gift is found, handed over, and opened as dramatically as possible. Exclamation follows…

Destroying the Future

The opposite sex—like any high school or university student, I had dreams of finding just the right one of that variety to spend my life with. In my dreams the standards were reasonable enough—brains, wit, stunning beauty, winning personality, the blindness to think I was great, and an exciting walk with God. But for many of my friends, the dreams turned to nightmares. Sex prior to marriage took them on a helicopter ride that eventually smashed them on the hard…

Dialogue On Christianity

 INTRODUCTION  John stood staring out the window at the blowing rain as Bryan made coffee. Light glinted off the racing drops like frightened cat’s eyes. “So what brings you out in a storm like this, John?” “My storm,” he said too abruptly. “And what is that supposed to mean?” “It’s something you said.” This seemed melodramatic. He knew he appeared to be foolish, as if he were not strong enough to sort out his feelings, to make logical categories for…

Guidelines for Children

  RULE # 1 WE ALWAYS TELL THE TRUTH. "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are His delight." Proverbs 12:22 "A lying tongue hates those who are crushed by it, and a flattering mouth works ruin." Proverbs 26:28 (New Jerusalem) "But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life." Revelation 21:27 RULE…

Invincible?

When I was caught for eating a bit of icing from one of the cupcakes planned for the Fifth Grade party, my principal was incensed. "What’s that on your shoulders?" she demanded. I didn’t have a clue what "that" was. She asked again, but finally had to inform me that it was a head with a brain inside. She was sure that any one with a brain encased in a head resting on his shoulders would have better sense than…

Mother Teresa Leona

James, the youth: If a person shows all the outward signs of being a Christian, should we assume the person is truly a Christian? The elderly but wiser Mr. Brockton: Not at all. The evidence for being a Christian will undoubtedly be seen in every true Christian, but the appearance of the evidence may deceive you. You must start at the starting place in your observations and be careful not to mistake the effect for the means. James: But suppose…

October 31st, 1517 Wittenburg, Germany

It was October 31st, 1517 in Wittenburg, Germany. Martin grasped a hammer and a long piece of paper covered with his writing. He walked out into the street and straight over to the castle church door. It was here that community messages were often posted. Martin nailed his 95 points of discussion on the door. He only wanted to lay out his newly discovered views of the Bible to other church leaders in the Medieval Catholic church. He thought he…

The Change of Mind

The young man was dying—without Christ. “I have a habit,” he said, as he looked up from the bed that had been moved into the living room for his last few weeks on earth. “I know that it is sin and that God does not permit it. I want to continue my habit, however, and I honestly don’t intend to stop it. On the other hand, I desperately want to go to heaven. May I become a Christian?” How would…

‘Tis the Season to Be Jolly?

"’Tis the Season to be jolly?" Well, maybe. The business of Christmas, that is, the hard and cold commercial trade of the Thanksgiving to Christmas sales window, is a measure of how well America is doing. It’s the thermometer in our corporate mouths. Needs are created through the media in order to entice the buyer into purchasing more this year than last. No one is to be disappointed at Christmas, after all. The manipulation is as blatant toward children as…

Writing Down Our Thoughts

It is a well-known fact that the spiritually facile New England pastor and revival leader, Jonathan Edwards, was taught by his father to write down almost every new thought he had, a method he practiced throughout his life. His “Miscellanies” are now an invaluable source of wisdom. In his written out thoughts are found the embryonic form for many of his sermons and books. I keep a “Commonplace Book” as well, as so many did in the past. And though…

Sooner Than You Think

A few years ago a Chicago news station reported a local skydiving incident. The video showed the skydivers jumping out and maneuvering into position from the vantage point of the open door of the plane. While still filming, the cameraman made his jump. Within seconds the camera was jerking wildly up and down and side to side as it plummeted to the ground. Reaching for his ripcord, the terrified diver discovered that in his excitement he had forgotten to put…

The Imperative of Preaching: A Theology of Sacred Rhetoric

John Carrick commences with a declaration from Dr. J. Gresham Machen’s Christianity and Liberalism: “Christianity begins with a triumphant indicative” (7). The truth of this statement is a leading premise of this “theology of sacred rhetoric.” Carrick is Assistant Professor of Applied and Doctrinal Theology at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and is also one of its preaching instructors. He graduated from Oxford University and has had pastorates in the U.K. and in Greenville, North Carolina. This is his first book.…