They both went to Pierced Church but learned to listen differently to the sermon over time. One ear, trained on sitcoms and sound bytes, rarely got what the pulpit's talking ear was saying. He preferred brief, inspirational talks sprinkled with good jokes and well-timed stories. The other ear, however, knew that the message from God’s word was relevant to her. She knew that what she was listening ...  Read More

I have to admit that the older I get, burying my head in the proverbial sand is more attractive. Maybe, I’m a coward. It’s my protection “mechanism” against information overload and the drag that comes with it. I can’t digest all the information coming at me. Plus, I fear the fatigue that comes with the letdown in the news. But don’t worry, that will become old news in a few hours or days! Because...  Read More

“Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We k...  Read More

We naturally wouldn’t link the rigor of calisthenics with the malaise of dying. Calisthenics has to do with movement and fitness. It is an exercise. The question upon us—old and young— is how are we preparing to die? Simon Goulart was a pastor during the Protestant Reformation in Geneva, Switzerland, and a friend of John Calvin. In his Remedies Against Satan’s Temptations in our Final Hour,* Goula...  Read More

So goes an objection of many people whose religious experience has been jaded by the desperate pleas and manipulative ploys of churches or TV preachers. There is some merit to this suspicion, but if you’ve been around the church for a while or read the Bible much, you understand there is some obligation to give to the Lord. Two HUGE truths will shape your thinking about money and what the Lord “ge...  Read More

What would you say if you could write a member of Jesus' earthly family a letter?   Read More

You don't have to be well-off to be generous.  Read More

A couple weeks ago, I was at our church’s evangelism training. The turnout was superb and the conversation even more fascinating. So  engulfed were we in Jesus’ famous encounter with the Samaritan woman (John 4) that we barely had time to go further on some of the practical matters. That story in particular is instructive because of how a singled out woman meets our singled out Lord for the most l...  Read More

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Testing the second post...  Read More

The following blog is the newest installment in our Classics Series, where we revisit posts from days gone by. This blog was originally posted in July of 2014.“Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you are also in the body.”Hebrews 13:3We have it good here in America. We are comfortable and rarely face opposition for our allegiance to ...  Read More