Category Archives: Faith

Straightening Bent Souls: A Study in Transformation

Posted on June 22, 2024 by salooper57

Be sure to read the brief addendum. The timing – and the irony – was perfect. I recently bought a hand-held shower head and hose from a big box home improvement store. The shower head and five-foot PVC hose were … Continue reading →

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Life as Prayer (James 1:1-8)

Posted on June 19, 2024 by salooper57

This sermon compares our “lived prayer” with our spoken prayers. When the two contradict, it is unlikely that we will see answers to the prayers we speak. You can watch the sermon by clicking the link below. https://www.christianworldmedia.com/watch?v=hQ4igcy251-f. (Sermon starts … Continue reading →

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How to Drain That Other Swamp

Posted on June 15, 2024 by salooper57

In 2016, Donald Trump reintroduced the phrase “drain the swamp” into Washington-ese. He may have remembered how Ronald Reagan used the phrase in 1983 when he said he was in Washington to “drain the swamp.” However, the slogan predates these … Continue reading →

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The Gospel in a World of Fake News

Posted on June 1, 2024 by salooper57

In 2016, the Oxford Dictionaries people chose the term “post-truth” as their “word of the year.” Questions about truth and even doubts about there being such a thing pervade society. A number of things have brought us to this place, … Continue reading →

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The Gift of the Spirit (Acts 2)

Posted on May 29, 2024 by salooper57

I have been trying to figure out how to capture video from our streaming service so that I could post only the sermon on my blog. Two requests for help have gone unanswered to date. So, if any of you … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Sermons, Spiritual life, Theology | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

How to Find Freedom From Anger

Posted on May 25, 2024 by salooper57

A professor at the University of Texas once gave students an unusual assignment: if you have ever thought about killing someone, write an essay about it. 91 percent of the men and 84 percent of the women handed in detailed, … Continue reading →

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Antinomianism in America: Adrift on a Perilous Sea

Posted on May 18, 2024 by salooper57

We have a problem. Americans have been infected by antinomianism, and it is modifying their behavior, impacting their relationships, and weakening social bonds. If antinomianism is a disease, it is not a physical one. If it is contagious, it is … Continue reading →

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Churches: Go Small to Get Big Results

Posted on May 4, 2024 by salooper57

My wife and I have worshiped in some very large churches over the past six months. Thousands of people flood their campuses each Sunday. Their worship leaders are professional musicians. Their pastors are great communicators and exceptional leaders. I enjoyed … Continue reading →

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Talking About the Problem of Prayer Is a Problem

Posted on April 20, 2024 by salooper57

Pastors and Christian authors frequently speak and write about “the problem of prayer,” as if its problem was singular and well-defined. Prayer has many problems. It is not just the problem of unanswered prayer, but of answered prayer: why was … Continue reading →

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Faith Enables People to Embrace Change

Posted on April 13, 2024 by salooper57

Many of the churches in our community have participated in an initiative that we called “Bold Faith.” The churches, which come from various denominational perspectives, focused on the same biblical texts during their sermon time each week for a month. … Continue reading →

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