If you’ve been with us for a while, you know that we’re closing in on the end of our late-summer worship series called ‘Christian’. One more message next week and we’ll finish up this series. But today’s message, if you haven’t caught it in your bulletin, is entitled ‘Loopholes’. And it’s titled ‘Loopholes’ because I thought we should talk about ‘loopholes’ today. You know what a loophole is, don’t you? It’s a way of getting around a rule or a law so that you can get what you want. And...
We’re a little past midway in our late-summer series called ‘Christian’ … where we’ve been talking about what that word means and what it doesn’t mean. We’ve discovered that ‘Christian’ is a word used by those outside the faith … to describe those inside—not a nice word either. But, Jesus’ followers didn’t call themselves ‘Christian’ and Jesus never called his followers that. He had a very specific, very technical word he used to describe those who followed him: disciple. And, folks, unlike the word ‘Christian’—mentioned only 3 times in the...
We are right in the middle of a series called ‘Christian’ as we begin today. And we’ve been talking about the fact that you could be a Christian and believe just about anything you want, do just about anything you want, and adopt just about any lifestyle you want … because the Bible doesn’t even tell us what a Christian really is. Christian was a term used by those outside the faith … to negatively describe or label those inside the faith, but it wasn’t the term used by Jesus...
I’ve had the privilege of being with several people as they were approaching death. A person’s dying words sometimes simply express his/her needs: “Could you move the pillow?” or “May I have a drink?” Sometimes they express a concern for others—a final ‘I love you’ or ‘It’s going to be O.K.’ A person’s final words reveal what is on his/her heart at that time, and sometimes they reveal the nature of the person’s faith, as well. I’ve told you before what my mother’s last words were: “I’m happy!” We interpret...
In the days of the great Chicago evangelist, Dwight L. Moody, a story is told about the LOVE of GOD. Moody was preaching an evening service one day and a poor drunkard stumbled up the steps to the front door of Moody’s church. He pushed the door open, scanned the room, and saw no one inside. His eyes, however, were drawn to a large sign that hung over the pulpit up front. It read: “GOD IS LOVE.” It struck him—with anger, I might add. He slammed the door, and staggered...
The age-old adage rings true for churches, too: If you are not moving forward, then you are moving backward. Stagnation, folks, is synonymous with … dying. There’s no two ways about it… In light of that, What kind of legacy do we want to leave for the future? Appealing to those of the Baby Boomer Generation and up, today, what do you want your life to be remembered for? If I may be so bold, the only kind of legacy worth leaving, folks, is one that is eternal! So, will...
I know that scripture does not record everyone who was at the foot of the cross on that first Good Friday. I cannot help but think that there had to be some there who were saying to themselves: “What are you doing up there, Jesus?” Here was a man who had roamed their land for the past three years—mostly in Galilee—who had healed the sick, fed the hungry, taught about God’s love—who God actually was, and gave the religious leaders a hard time (which they probably needed anyway). But, none...
We all fear something, don’t we? As a matter of fact, we’re all born with fear—a very human feeling… Part of that is a mechanism that God has given us to protect ourselves; we call it the instinct of self-preservation. Admittedly, that mechanism can be helpful in dangerous situations. Unfortunately, all too often our instinct of self-preservation is coupled with our instinct of sin. And, in situations where fear gets the best of us, we all have a tendency to do the wrong thing—to react in inappropriate ways… It’s a...
