Category Archives: Faith

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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Hope Wins in the Battle of Worldviews

Posted on April 6, 2024 by salooper57

The battle for worldviews – religious, atheistic, and materialistic – is nothing new. Today, it is dominated by monotheistic religions like Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, along with materialistic atheism, and the postmodern rejection of absolute truth. In the first century, … Continue reading →

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A Child Shall Lead Them: Lesson in Patience and Grace

Posted on March 30, 2024 by salooper57

My wife and I have been nomads since last November. After thirty-five years, I left my position as senior pastor of the church we love and, though I was open to new employment opportunities, it seemed that we were retired. … Continue reading →

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Holy Saturday: Waiting in the Shadow of Uncertainty

Posted on March 23, 2024 by salooper57

In his song “Maranatha,” Michael Card sings that “waiting is the most bitter lesson a believing heart has to learn.” I understand the sentiment, but doesn’t it depend on what kind of waiting we are doing? Waiting for the birth … Continue reading →

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Believing in Jesus: Not “For Once and for All,” but “For Once and for Always”

Posted on March 19, 2024 by salooper57

I preached this as a candidate for the pastoral ministry at California Road Missionary Church – my first time preaching a candidate’s sermon in 35 years! You can read the sermon below, or you can watch it on Cal Road’s … Continue reading →

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Palm Sunday: Why Is It Called That?

Posted on March 16, 2024 by salooper57

This is the time of the year that churches celebrate Palm Sunday and commemorate what is popularly known as the “Triumphal Entry.” What is the origin of Palm Sunday, and why is it significant? The original Palm Sunday took place … Continue reading →

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Faith, Politics, and the Problem of Selective Sight

Posted on February 24, 2024 by salooper57

Another election year, and it’s going to get ugly. As the citizen of a liberal democracy, I know we must have elections, but as the pastor of a church I came to dread them. People I have known to be … Continue reading →

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How to Tell People That a Friend Has Died

Posted on February 17, 2024 by salooper57

What is the appropriate way of letting people know that an acquaintance or friend has died? This can be a real problem. As a pastor for many years, it was too often my duty to announce to the congregation the … Continue reading →

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