The Ten Percent Tithe

Tithing is a tricky thing.  If a church pastor preaches a sermon on tithing, he will be accused of being interested only in money.  The pastor’s salary (minister, priest, etc) is probably set in the church budget.  It’s not like if the church has a good day at the offering plate, he’s going out to [...]

The Pagan Roots of Halloween; and Easter and Christmas

Just like the Internet Monk rants here, I was raised in a fundamentalist Baptist home.  We read the King James Bible, went to Sunday School, prayer meeting, revival, and every other time the church door was open.  We didn’t wear shorts at my childhood home, nor go swimming in mixed company.  My dad went to [...]

Parable of the Sower (Fling the Gospel)

In Mark chp 4, one of the parables Jesus shares is the Parable of the Sower.  If you didn’t just click the link to Mark 4, it may be that you know this parable well.  I hope you either know this story already, or at least take the time to read it now.  After telling [...]

On the Other Hand

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—  for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.  Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those [...]

Discussions That Are Academic

There are some discussions/debates that are purely academic in nature, meaning that they have no real bearing on anything practical.  Is Superman strong enough to beat up the Incredible Hulk?  It doesn’t matter who wins the debate, there is no practical application for the results. 

Re-Introducing Jesus

This is everything some have us have been saying about “other” Jesus for years (Hippie Jesus, Cool Jesus, BFF Jesus, Discount Jesus) we just haven’t been throwing down lyrics.
Thanks to The Joy of Grace  for posting this (so I could post it also).  I figure the more people see it the better.
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Jesus’ Involvement in Starting the Christian Church

If we began a study of the first century church, 9 times out of 10 we would begin with Acts chapter 2.  The Holy Spirit comes as promised, and Peter preaches a fiery message proclaiming Jesus is the Christ.  Certainly by the end of Acts 2, we see the first Christian believers come together in [...]

Jesus Was Not Religious

I’ve said before that the problem with religion is that it’s easier than following Jesus.  It is usually a given that something is wrong with us, wrong with the world, perhaps critically or else just a little off, but most people agree that something must be done because all is not right in the world as [...]

Father Abraham (A Father’s Day Sermon)

There’s a lot of negative things to say about topical preaching, but I know two things: 1) Father’s Day will be one of the most searched terms today on the Internet, and 2) No matter what “topic” I begin with, before the sermon is over I will preach the Gospel. 
“Father Abraham had many sons, many [...]

Can A Person Get Saved Reading the Old Testament?

I certainly teach that the whole Bible is about Jesus.  The Bible, on the whole, is the story of how a holy God relates to a sinful and fallen people.  Jesus is at the center of that story.  You’ve heard all this before.
The question I heard raised this morning is “Can a person get saved [...]