Category Archives: Bible

Unanswered Prayers: The Rest of the Story (2 Cor. 12:6-10)

Posted on July 18, 2022 by salooper57

Here is the thesis of this message: When God says no, he does so because of love. When he says no, it is because saying yes would be unhelpful in the long run to you and to others. When he says no, it is to preclude some evil that would happen or to promote some good that would not happen had he said yes.

The evil that must be precluded and that good that must be promoted may not be apparent right now. They may not even be apparent in our lifetimes. That good or evil might be four generations away or twenty. We cannot see it, think it, or even imagine it – our minds are too limited; we are still babes in the infancy of humanity. There is so much we don’t know. Continue reading →

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What Do You Think of Church People?

Posted on July 16, 2022 by salooper57

Another church person trope, as prevalent as the hypocrite, is the stuffed shirt, the religious bore. Unchurched people believe that their churched counterparts are prigs. Unchurched intellectuals presume they are dolts. Church people are straight arrows, stuffy, and prudish. Fifteen minutes in their presence feels like an eternity. Continue reading →

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Prayer: The Heart of the Matter

Posted on July 13, 2022 by salooper57

In this message on 1 John 3:18-22, we learn what role the heart plays in prayer and how it can sometimes hinder our prayers from being answered. Yet, there is hope, for “God is greater than our hearts.”

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Getting Married This Summer? You Need to Know This

Posted on July 2, 2022 by salooper57

When I was a kid, I hated to go to the doctor’s office. My doctor was a tall man who always wore a white coat and seemed to have an affinity for hypodermic needles. The only redeeming value I could … Continue reading →

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Look Into the Life and Times of God

Posted on June 25, 2022 by salooper57

(Reading Time: 3 to 4 minutes.) I bought two side tables for our bedroom, the kind made of pressed woods and veneer, and assembled them myself. They came with step by step instructions, complete with diagrams. Somehow, I could never … Continue reading →

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Is Christian Lifestyle Instruction Odd?

Posted on June 21, 2022 by salooper57

It is easy to forget how odd some of the things serious Christians say and do must seem to people who are not familiar with the faith. I suspect there are times when people think Christians must be from another … Continue reading →

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Just Ask (Matthew 7:7-11)

Posted on June 20, 2022 by salooper57

Does God want to answer our prayers by giving us what we ask for? The answer the biblical writers give is a resounding yes. Then are the prosperity gospelers right? What about the “name it, claim it” crowd? And, if … Continue reading →

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Don’t Lose Heart – Pray! (Humility and Prayer)

Posted on June 13, 2022 by salooper57

This is the first message in a series titled, Don’t Lose Heart – Pray! This message on James 4:1-10 explores the foundational link between effective prayer and humility.

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Do Not Wait for the Last Judgment

Posted on June 11, 2022 by salooper57

In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, “For judgment I have come into the world.” Yet, later in the same Gospel, he says, “I did not come to judge the world.” Did Jesus contradict himself? Did he come to judge … Continue reading →

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The History and Mystery of the Gospel (Biblical Theology Class)

Posted on June 8, 2022 by salooper57

Did Jesus preach the gospel? Did he preach a different gospel than Paul? Was there a gospel in the Old Testament? What did Paul mean when he spoke of the mystery of the gospel? These and other questions are addressed … Continue reading →

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