The Sirens Call
Proverbs 7:1-23
I Thessalonians 4:1-8
In Homer’s Odyssey, the Sirens were gorgeous, but dangerous creatures, who lived on rocky islands in the Aegean Sea. From the waist down fish, from the waist up strikingly beautiful women, the Sirens sang spellbindingly beautiful songs that would lure passing sailors to their deaths. As they sang, sailors couldn’t resist the temptation and flung themselves […]
Hold Fast and Draw Near
Hebrews 4:14-16
Last week, I was straight up with you about how enticing temptation can be, about how once we give into it how intoxicating sin can be; about how destructive patterns of sin always lead to negative consequences. And although we ended by focusing on getting help from Jesus, I just had a feeling as you walked out that some, perhaps many of […]
Think Again and Pray
II Samuel 11:1-5
I Corinthians 10:1-12
In an article in Today’s Christian Woman, a Sarah Ames writes that her 7 year-old daughter, Jessica, is a deep thinker when it comes to theological questions. They had recently discussed the why bad things happen sometimes, re-reading the story of Adam and Eve and how sin came into the world. Later that week, Jessica was ill and […]
Why God Allows Testing
Mark 14:32-42
James 1:12-15
Last Tuesday afternoon, I put myself in a position to be tempted. I broke one of the commandments; the one that states: “Thou shall not go to the grocery store hungry.” My granddaughter Kate was with me and I told her we were breaking that rule and that it was probably going to be difficult getting out of there without […]
Why Do Good Things Happen to Good People?
Romans 8:28-30
There was a little boy named Johnny; a good boy to be sure. He loved hanging out at the local 7-11, so much so he offered to sweep the store once a day for free just to be able to hang out. The owner wasn’t sure if Johnny had some kind of problem, but he noticed that other boys would constantly tease […]
Bad Things Happen to Good People?
Hebrews 11:32-40
Lori Gilbert-Kaye was a good person. She was happily married and had one daughter. She was one of the pioneering congregants of her synagogue. Her best friend said of her she was always running to do a good deed and gave charity to everyone. “It’s not like she gave a million dollars for a building, but if someone was sick or someone died, she was the first one there with food or asking what she could do.”
A week ago Saturday she went to worship in her synagogue when she […]
To Be Most Pitied
Matthew 28:1-10
Corinthians 15:1-4, 12-22
As the pastor introduced his children’s sermon on Easter, he asked the little ones, “Do you see anything different about our church today?”
Little Heather quickly figured out the difference and blurted out, “It’s full!”
A guy attended church one Sunday and became increasingly annoyed as the pastor preached. After the service, he decided to speak to the pastor about […]
The Crucible (Palm Sunday)
Luke 19:28-40
Mark 14:26-72
Derek Lam is a courageous young Christian leader living in Hong Kong, who has entered The Crucible. In August, 2017 he wrote in The New York Times about the suppression of human rights for Christians in China:
Since I was 16 years old, I have wanted to be a pastor. I was raised in a Christian family in […]
Situational Awareness
I Chronicles 29:1-18
Luke 12:13-21
A fellow was riding a bus when he suddenly realized he needed to pass gas. The music was really loud, so he decided to decrepitate with the beat. After a couple of songs, he felt better much as he approached his stop. As he was leaving the bus, people were really giving him the stink eye. And that’s when […]
Avoiding Temptation
Matthew 6:7-13
I Peter 5:8-11
If you were only 8 years old and saw a commercial advertising a delicious Big Mac how far would you go to get your hands on one of those famous cheeseburgers? A boy from East Palestine, Ohio was not going to be deterred from getting one. While his parents slept, he
Overture to Temptation
Today as we open a Biblical inquiry into the subject of ‘temptation, ’I begin with an ‘overture.’ That is I’d like to talk about temptation in very general terms, while at the same time giving a preview of where we are headed in this series. With that in mind, let’s turn to the Bible as our foundation.
Genesis 3:1-6
Psalm 25:1-5
James 1:12-16
Four priests were on a spiritual retreat weekend and on Saturday […]
A Broken Orchestra
Acts 6:1-7
I Thessalonians 5:12-13
Reader’s Digest Life in These United States: A week after a father applied to enroll his son in a private school, he received a questionnaire. One of the questions was: “Is your son a leader or a follower?” He thought about it and then indicated his son was a follower. A couple weeks later, he was informed his son […]