You shall be called… the restorer of paths to live in. – Isaiah 58:12
According to polls, per capita church attendance may be lower than any time in American history. Has the church-age run its course? Is church no longer needed except for the occasional wedding, funeral or concert?
If God has anything to say about it – and He does – church attendance is as important as ever.
Did you know that God establishes blessings at the same time we are busy messing things up? While it is certainly true that God cannot bless your mess, He certainly can bless you in spite of it. He can even transform your mess into something wonderful. Continue reading “12 Blessings Inside The House”
Last week I happened to catch a few minutes of the Glenn Beck radio program as the team was discussing comedian Louis C. K. ‘s monologue on a recent episode of Saturday Night Live. During the monologue, the entertainer joked about racism and child molestation. While some of his racism comments were perceived as controversial, it was the topic of molestation where I believe he really stepped outside the boundaries.
No, it’s not a typo. The fact that you thought maybe it was, shows that you are thinking inside the box that says you should always think outside the box.
Likewise, some so-called sacred cows are not sacred cows at all, (a sacred cow being a false god) instead they are immutable principles of God’s universe that should not and cannot be violated without severe consequences.
Confused on the metaphors yet? Let’s break it down.
OK, this is probably not big news to those who know me. I learned something while attending a Conference last week. One definition of a freak is something that is often unusual and unexpected. Who knows, maybe you are a freak too.
My beautiful, wonderful and long-suffering wife ,Teri, is probably tired of hearing it, but I frequently say to her, “I must be a weirdo!” or “I feel like I was born in the wrong century.”
As our cities burn, I am straining to hear the voice of God speaking clearly through His church. While there are a lot of church leaders speaking, much of what is being said is not helpful and therefore is obviously not the voice of God.
In Romans 12:18, Paul the Apostle wrote, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” (NIV) Some will quickly argue that it was written to a different time, with different people and different conditions. Indeed it was. It was written to a church that was ostracized from a pluralistic society that blamed natural disasters and other unfortunate events on the people Paul was writing to. Just a few years after this letter, Paul himself would die at the hands of Roman executioners, Peter would be crucified upside down and Nero would blame the city fire on Christians. This is the same guy – by the way – that liked to wrap Christians in oil soaked cloth and set them on fire to light his gardens in the evening.
Continue reading “Riots and Religion–Four Things the Church Can Do”
Attending a Christian concert last week, I was struck with how much some of the artists used the words “I” and “me.” I know there are many songs over the centuries that have used these personal pronouns, but it seems that more than ever, the Church is incorporating the philosophies of Carl Rodgers and Dr. Spock (The Physician not the Vulcan) into its theology. Continue reading “It’s All About Me”
SCRIPTURE:
“But we have sinned and done wrong. We have rebelled against you and scorned your commands and regulations.” (Daniel 9:5 NLT)
MESSAGE:
One of the most dangerous and destructive things I have witnessed in the church over the years, is spiritual pride. Regular pride is bad enough, after all the Bible says, “pride comes before destruction.” (Proverbs 16:8) Spiritual pride, however, takes things to a whole new level. Spiritual pride often comes dressed in faux-righteousness. We (or the devil) actually convince ourselves that we have the moral high-ground and are speaking the very words of God. Continue reading “Shared Sin”