Currently Browsing: Blog
Many of us have been taught that Bible doesn’t allow any mixture of works in the appropriation of our salvation, but Paul, James and, especially, Jesus don’t necessarily support that contention. Part of the problem is that we treat gaining salvation as a single point in time—one second I wasn’t saved, the...
One of the central tenets of Protestant theology is the idea that salvation is given by grace alone and achieved through faith alone; it is impossible to earn it through good works. This is as good a paraphrase as there is of Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not...
This week I have to come up with a sermon for Mother’s Day. This is will be my 28th Mother’s Day message, and that’s a problem. There just aren’t that many ways of saying, “Mom’s are great! Go, Mom’s!” And there aren’t that many Scriptures to draw from. I’ve not tried to count, but trust me, there aren’t...
You’ve probably heard about “Christmas and Easter Christians”—those Christians who only show up to church for the big, important services of Christmas Eve and Easter Sunday. Sometimes they are called (somewhat pejoratively if not self-righteously) “chreasters” or CEO Christians(Christmas/Easter Only). For...
The Bible makes a big deal about the sin of idolatry, and since it does we feel like we should also, but the truth is that there aren’t too many idol-worshiping religions to be found in the U.S. It’s just not a threat, so when we teach about idolatry we tend to say that anything that we place above God is...
This is a follow-up to yesterday’s post The book of Judges established the pattern of sin-judgment-repentance-forgiveness, but the fact that it was a pattern showed that it wasn’t effective in turning the hearts of Israel permanently to the Lord. God abandoned this pattern with the Babylonian Exile by...
Having Faith to Work the Plan
Working Out Your Own Salvation
A Fresh Look at the Proverbs 31 Woman
Christmas and Easter Christians
Idolatry and Injustice: Two Sides, Same Coin
There’s Sinners and There’s SINNERS.
Welcome!
I am a lifelong student of the Bible, and have been a pastor for over twenty-five years. My desire through this blog is to help people see things in the intersection of Scripture and real life that they might have missed. The careless handling of the Bible is causing a lot of problems in our churches and our culture--and is literally turning people away from the church, and, sometimes, God. I hope to treat Scripture with the respect it deserves, and, even if you don't agree with what I say, give you some insight.
Feel free to leave a comment. I promise to respond to you. All I ask is that you be respectful in your comments. 
Connect with Me