The Power of Escalating Forgiveness

Practically everyone believes that violence is wrong, it is evil, and it is a huge problem all around the world. We long for peace that is real, that is lasting, and that is more than just an oasis in a desert of violence. We just can’t agree on what to do about it. Nor can we agree with what the Bible says...

The Only Thing That Matters

1st in the series, “ChurchWorks.” Delivered May 22, 2016, First Baptist Church of Frederick, Maryland  A Wedding Homily I’m going to let you in on a little trade secret: very few pastors write new messages for every wedding they do. They just reuse basically the same one over and over again. You’ve probably...

Parenting in the Modern World

3rd in the series, “Modern Family?” Ephesians 6:1-4 Larry L. Eubanks, First Baptist Church, Frederick, Maryland, April 17, 2016 Maybe you know who comedian Jim Gaffigan is. He has five children. Yeah, I know. Nowadays if a couple has more than three kids, the whispers start behind their backs. “Don’t they...

Do Not Judge: What Did Jesus Really Mean?

Jesus said, quite straightforwardly, “Do not judge, so that you will not be judged.” (Matthew 7:1) Darn! We like the last part—I mean, who likes to be judged?—but judging others is so…satisfying. Maybe even fun. Certainly natural. It comes so easily to all of us. But that first part. There must be...

Grace Unbalanced

Something interesting happens whenever I talk about grace, forgiveness, and acceptance. People push back. As much as we like those things, as much as we need those things, as much as we realize that they are central to our faith as Christians, we seem to want to qualify them. To put an asterisk by them....

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