Do you have a “pet issue”? Probably most folks do. It’s that thing that you feel particularly strong about and will mention in conversations with certain folks quite often. For example, if you talk to some church members about the worship service, it probably won’t be long before they talk about their “pet issue”—the choice of songs, the choice of men to lead in…
Let's Go Back to the Bible
Let's Go Back to the Bible
Posts by David Sproule (Page 3)
When we read the New Testament and study the Greek language behind our English translations, we find out that the Greeks had more than one word for “love,” and each of those words had a distinctive meaning. While the word agape existed in the Greek language before Jesus came to earth, Jesus came and snatched that word from the common language of…
The man after God’s own heart was getting ready to die. The words in the first nine verses of 1 Kings 2 were his very last, and they were directed at his son, Solomon. If you were deeply in tune with the heart of God and had one last message to give your son, what would you say? Men, pay attention! David started off by saying,…
When Sarai “dealt harshly” with Hagar and ran her off into the wilderness, the Angel of the Lord came to Hagar to reassure her that “the Lord has heard your affliction” (Gen. 16:11) and would bless her child Ishmael. Hagar realized that “I have seen Him who sees me” (16:13). After the birth and weaning of Isaac (about 17 years later), Hagar and…
When the football team is on the field, who has it easier to make the plays just right? The quarterback on the field or the armchair quarterback at home? It’s a lot easier to sit at home and rail on the quarterback for missing the throw or misreading the defense than it is to actually be the quarterback on the field making the throws…
It frustrates me when people talk about “the God of the Old Testament was vengeful, but the God of the New Testament was loving.” They don’t know God! It angers me when people say that “God only wants to send people to hell.” They don’t know God! It riles me when people claim that “God was just looking for people to make…
There is very little known about Demas in the New Testament. We know that he was a Christian, who spent time with Paul in Rome, while Paul was imprisoned there for the first time (Col. 4:14; Phile. 24). But by the time Paul was imprisoned in Rome the second time (about 5-8 years later), something had changed in Demas’ life. He had lost his first…
Kids! They know how to make excuses, don’t they! Whew! When they don’t want to do something, they can come up with “the best reasons” to explain their inactivity. “My foot hurts.” “I need to go to the bathroom.” “I’m tired.” As adults, we can see right through their excuses to just how pitiful their efforts to avoid action really are. It makes me wonder. If we can see right…