Category Archives: Theology

Seven Reasons to Commit to Christ (Col. 1:15-20)

Posted on January 15, 2023 by salooper57

This message was especially encouraging to people. If it encourages you, please let me know by leaving a comment. – Shayne The vision statement at Lockwood Church describes the reality we hope to see in this way: Committed: to Christ, … Continue reading →

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Do Not Throw Away Your Confidence

Posted on January 7, 2023 by salooper57

In our day, when so many people are “deconstructing” their faith, this warning to the Hebrews seems very contemporary. If faith can be deconstructed, it should be, and the clutter – the pietistic flotsam and jetsam carried on the tide of faith – thrown out. But the rash way in which some people are going about it almost guarantees that beliefs that warrant keeping will be discarded. Continue reading →

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The Ultimate Hero’s Journey: The Story of Jesus (Phil. 2:1-11)

Posted on January 4, 2023 by salooper57

When my son Kevin preaches, people take notes – including me. I’ve learned so much from him! It’s funny: ten or so years ago, when a staff position opened at our church and Kevin asked if I thought it was … Continue reading →

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The Telescoping Reality (Luke 2:1-14)

Posted on January 1, 2023 by salooper57

Have you seen a telescoping spyglass? There is a wide cylinder in which a narrower cylinder rests, in which a yet narrower cylinder rests, and perhaps several more. I think our view of reality is likewise telescoping. We live in the narrow end and view our world through the lens of our own experiences. But we and our experiences are contained within a family circle, and our family circle exists within a community, and our community exists within a nation, and our nation exists within a world. Continue reading →

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Does God Want You to Be Happy?

Posted on December 31, 2022 by salooper57

In his classic story, The Last Battle, C. S. Lewis has the great Lion, the Christ figure Aslan, say to the story’s protagonists, “You do not yet look so happy as I mean you to be.” Perhaps Lewis put these words in the Christ figure’s mouth because he realized that this was the kind of thing the true Christ was saying to him. Continue reading →

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God Keeps His Promises (A Minute of Advent Hope)

Posted on December 22, 2022 by salooper57

God promised to send the Immanuel – the “with-us-God” – and his word never fails. This week we rejoice in the fact that God always keeps his word. The Jesus of Bethlehem is proof!

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Violent Night: When Evil Came for Christmas

Posted on December 17, 2022 by salooper57

Our future historian would present a compelling case that violence entered the holiday season in the latter part of the twentieth century, but he would be mistaken. Violence surrounding Christ’s birth dates back to the very first century – a violence that was more gruesome than anything the writers of Violent Night included. Continue reading →

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Hope that Sustains

Posted on December 15, 2022 by salooper57

Hope is more than a feeling, more than a wish. It is more than “the thing with feathers that perches in the soul” (Emily Dickinson). Hope is an objective reality outside the soul which protects the soul. It is an … Continue reading →

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A Minute of Hope for Advent: Then You’ll See Him

Posted on December 13, 2022 by salooper57

Our hope includes seeing our loved ones again when Christ returns. They will astound us with their glory. It includes being glorified ourselves in the Great Revealing (Colossians 3:3-4). But our greatest hope is in the glory of God (Romans … Continue reading →

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“Everyone’s Insane Now” – and Then

Posted on December 10, 2022 by salooper57

(Reading time: 4 minutes) Peggy Noonan’s lede in her Wall Street Journal column from October 15, 2020 read: “Everyone’s insane now. I mean everyone in Washington.” It is not uncommon for people, even columnists for respected newspapers, to speak of … Continue reading →

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