Tag Archives: hypocrisy

Beyond Words: What Your Life Is Saying to God

Posted on July 6, 2024 by salooper57

In devotional literature, one sometimes reads of “a life of prayer.” That does not go far enough. Life is a prayer, or perhaps a curse. Whichever it is, God hears what a person’s whole life is saying. Most of us … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Prayer, Spiritual life, Theology | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Judas and the Roots of Betrayal

Posted on March 2, 2024 by salooper57

People have wondered what motivated Judas to betray Jesus for almost two millennium. There has been much speculation, from scholars and lay people alike, but it has been just that: speculation. However, we do know of two things in Judas’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Christianity, Church, Faith, Spiritual life, Truthfulness, Worldview and Culture | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Avoid the Shortcuts (Following Christ Today)

Posted on October 18, 2022 by salooper57

This class follows Jesus’s warning against using religion to build a reputation. The instruction he gives is straightforward: Be careful not to do your righteousness before people to be seen by them. The temptation to build a reputation – to … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Following Christ Today (Class), Spiritual life | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Becoming a Person Who Can Pray the Lord’s Prayer

Posted on September 18, 2022 by salooper57

When I was a boy, I wanted to be just like Mickey Mantle. In 1961, he had 514 at bats and he hit 54 homeruns. That means he hit a homerun one out of every 9 or so at bats. … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Prayer, Sermons, Spiritual life | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Don’t Use Religion to Impress People

Posted on September 17, 2022 by salooper57

One of the most influential teaching sessions in history took place on a mountainside – possibly because of the acoustics – and is known as the Sermon on the Mount. It is not a sermon in the modern sense of … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Faith, Spiritual life | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Stumbling Block or Steppingstone?

Posted on April 1, 2021 by salooper57

Follow my example, he says. Live the way I do. Be ready to make personal sacrifices in order to help people come over to Jesus’s side. Everything you do, religious or otherwise, must make God look good – that is, “do it all for the glory of God.”

This involves both a negative (what we should not do) and a positive (what we should do). We do certain things and do not do others based on the impact our actions will have on people who have not yet come over to Jesus’s side.

Paul states what we should not do first (verse 32): “Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks, or the church of God.” Stumbling here and throughout the New Testament, is not just about falling down but about falling away—from God. Our attitudes, actions, and words can make it harder for people to believe in God and confess Jesus Lord. We can cause them to stumble. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Lifestyle, Mission | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The God Who Feeds the Ravens

Posted on July 16, 2019 by salooper57

Hypocrisy and greed are responses to a real problem: fear. Hypocrisy is the pathological response of a malfunctioning soul brought on by the fear of what people think of us. Greed is the response of the soul to the fear of not having enough. Hypocrisy and greed are ways of self-medicating. They alleviate the fear problem … for a while.
But hypocrisy and greed are only temporary fixes; they are stop-gap measures. And, unfortunately, the temporary fix makes the long-term solution less likely. Continue reading →

Posted in Peace with God, Sermons, Spiritual life | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Wise Guy: The Two Kinds of Wisdom in James 3

Posted on March 27, 2019 by salooper57

http://lockwoodchurch.org/media (listening time: 25:24) Who is wise? Who’s got the answers? Who knows how to live the good life? Before you can answer the question “Who is wise?” you need to clarify which kind of wisdom you are talking about. … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons, Spiritual life, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

What you need to know to avoid God

Posted on October 10, 2015 by salooper57

Avoiding God is no easy task. Many people who try it fail. It takes effort. It calls for constant vigilance. As C. S. Lewis, reminiscing about his days as an atheist, put it, “Really, a young Atheist cannot guard his … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Faith | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment