Category Archives: relationships

The Bible’s Commands Ranked?

People seem to have an innate desire to rank things. What was the best Star Wars movie? Who has New York’s best pizza? What was the worst television show of all time? What are America’s 25 best beaches? This penchant … Continue reading

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How Do We Get There from Here? (1 Peter 3:8-15)

Do you know how some TV shows begin with a scene that is full of peril and you don’t even know how you got there? The hero is covered with blood, he’s holding a knife, and a woman lies dead … Continue reading

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The Submission Is for the Mission (1 Peter 3:1-7)

Christian marriage as part of God’s Big Plan. A few years ago, a cartoon was published that showed a pastor behind a pulpit that had been armored so that it was like a fortress. There was something like a gun … Continue reading

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Holiness Is Back in Vogue (or Should Be)

H. B. Warner is perhaps best known for playing the drinking druggist Mr. Gower in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” but 19 years earlier he was cast by the legendary director Cecil B. DeMille to play Jesus in the silent film “King … Continue reading

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Presumptive Listening: Obstacle to Understanding

In response to that column, I received a highly critical letter. It stated: “It is telling that you complain that there are too many Muslims, Catholics (read: Hispanics), and Hindus who claim to be Evangelical. This is easy to translate. These nasty brown people are contaminating your lily-white movement.” Continue reading

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The Restorer of Lost Things

“The Restorer of Lost Things” explores 2 Samuel 13-19, looking at the ways in which God restored King David after his sin and repentance. Continue reading

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Identity Issues: Growing Up in the Adam’s Family

Everyone carries baggage from their growing up years. No family is perfect, some are hideous, and all have their oddities. It’s like everyone grows up in the Addams family. For some people I have known, the Addams family would have … Continue reading

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Digging Bunkers: The Misuse of Knowledge

If you and I were to type in the same search term or phrase on Google, we would likely get different results. Let’s say we search for “Fun things to do.” Our Google search will be personalized by our location … Continue reading

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Is Marriage on the Way Out?

My son the youth pastor asked me this week if I thought that marriage was on the way out. He wondered, he said, because cohabitation is now widely accepted and many people who do get married don’t stay married for … Continue reading

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Justice Offers Forgiveness but not Escape

I once called on a mother of two girls who were in our little mission church’s Sunday School. I was nervous about what I had to say. Her daughters were both out of control, disrupting Sunday School classes and even … Continue reading

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