A new religion for the Jewish nation was revealed at Mt. Sinai. It was so different from the way men had worshiped and served God for thousands of years. There had been no written law for men, but now commandments and statutes were revealed through Moses. There had been no national priesthood, no temple, no annual feasts, no place worthy of the…

Even after being baptized for the forgiveness of sins, a child of God still finds that sin can creep back into his life.  Sometimes it’s the same sin, over and over.  We try to avoid it, but we are not always as successful as we’d like.  We feel sorrow, shame, guilt.  We pray, confess and beg and beg for forgiveness.  But, sometimes…

Forgiveness is hard. It is easier to focus on the hurt that the offender caused to us or others. It is easy to focus on the pain until it sickens us and brings us to the dark places of hatred and contempt. It is there that we feel helpless and paralyzed by the venom upon which we have been feeding. How do…

When the Jewish leaders asked Jesus which of the commandments of God was the greatest one, it was of real concern to them (Matt. 22:34-40). The Jews had carefully gone through the Old Testament and identified 613 distinct commands God had given to them. They had divided them into positive and negative lists. There were 365 times when God had given a…

Having our Christian young men involved in leadership roles in worship is such an encouragement to me!  Sometimes there is a mindset that says, “We ought to wait until they are older and more mature and better trained to lead before we ‘put them up there.’”  But such an approach is harmful!  It’s harmful for everyone involved! I am encouraged when the…

“How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word” (Psa. 119:9). It is a rather basic concept and an easy Sunday School answer. The more difficult task is answering the “how to.” I would like to propose four things to help us with the day-to-day of raising children toward a secure relationship with God. Education…

David makes some truly amazing statements in Psalms which allows us to look into his heart and learn why he was so special to God. How do we become what he was since God has such high regard for him even from his youth? His words express the kind of heart he had. If we spend time making his words our words…

“I hear people talking about the church and how important it is to them, but I have found that I feel closer to God on my own.  I found a way that gets me reconnected with Him.  I know that I am right with Him.  I don’t need the church to be close to God.”  This has been the general reaction of…