When the Jews returned from Babylonian captivity, they immediately began to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem that Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed, and they had a major problem. In one of the three times Satan is mentioned in the Old Testament, he magnified this problem. There was no high priest who was holy to offer the sacrifices for sin and atonement. Read about this…

Have you ever played a pickup basketball game where every guy on the court thought that he was in charge?  Two things usually result: chaos and frustration.  What about in your workplace—what if every person there thought they were the boss?  Can you imagine (or maybe you don’t have to) the chaos and frustration that would erupt?  How easily we understand the…

Alright. I need you to stop what you’re doing and pray! Right now. Yes! Right now. Put down the bulletin and come back to me when you’re done. Sometimes we need a good reminder to pray. Unfortunately, it is far too easy for us to forget. There are so many things of far less value that we never forget to do. So,…

Jeremiah chapter twenty-three gives a vivid picture of what was happening just before Nebuchadnezzar came to bring God’s judgment on the Jewish nation. The land was filled with many prophets, but Jeremiah stands in marked contrast with those false prophets found throughout the land. There are so many lessons to be learned from reading this chapter. First, there is the reaction of…

All sorts of things have been said and written about the Bible, and it can sometimes be hard to sort through it all.  So, here’s the question, “What can we know about the Bible?  Is it possible to know if it is really from God or not?”  Consider just a few things we know about this amazing book. Amazing Fact #1: The…

One of my favorite sounds in the world is a chorus of young people singing cheerfully, “Jesus loves me. This I know for the Bible tells me so.” It’s a song simple enough that any child can learn it and start singing along in minutes. It has a simple melody and a simple message. Why do I know that Jesus loves me?…

Have you ever had someone tell you that you were “important” to them, only to find out later that wasn’t really the case?  Maybe a boss said, “You are incredibly important to this company.”  Maybe a sweetheart told you, “You are the most important thing in my life.”  But, after some time passed, the job and/or the sweetie had left you.  That…

Americans love freedom. The plea for liberty that convinced a band of men in Massachusetts to toss 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor is written into the heart of every American. This country was founded on the idea that some guy living thousands of miles away has no right to authority over our lives. So, when someone tries to tell us…