A Funeral Sermon

In chapter fifteen, the Apostle Paul is wrapping up his first letter to the Corinthian church by answering a few practical questions. The Corinthian church had been confused about many things, not the least of which is Jesus and the resurrection of the dead. For starters, there were some in the church there who didn't …

Attending a Church With 50 Members is Good For You (You Just Don't Realize It)

If you talk to church leaders – it won't matter what tribe you ask – they will likely tell you that attendance is down in their local congregation. Very few churches these days report numerical growth and many are in steady decline. That's bad news right? The problem with this issue is that there is …

Beyond Betrayal

"Hosea and Gomer" by Cody Miller. Hosea 3:1-5 1 The Lord said to me, “Go, love your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.” 2 So I bought her for fifteen …

Why Christmas is a Good Time to Grieve

I won’t be trite or fancy with this topic because there are many people I know and love that have a tough road to walk at Christmas time. What I mean by the title is this: the Christmas story, properly understood, is a great comfort to those who are grieving. Blogger Jon Bloom puts it …

What Fresh Water Means

I read an interesting article today by Craig and Marc Kielburger in the Globe and Mail.  The two brothers have been social activists since they were 12 years old, co-founders of Save the Children and were the ones that came up with the "Me to We" campaign.  Every elementary school I know of has a …

Book Review: Caring Beyond the Margins

It would be an understatement to say that the conversation between the Christian community and LGBT community has gone poorly over the past few years. Grace and understanding are both in short supply, which is why a book like Caring Beyond the Margins is so important. Guy Hammond, founder and executive director of Strength in …

The Motivation of Evangelism

At a ministerial gathering last week I was part of a sobering conversation with my colleagues in ministry about how to deal with the struggle for institutional survival.  Most churches (though not all) are at least partially distracted by the concern that they are a few bad months from institutional death.  Whether the church is …

Joy and Purpose

Three thoughts on Joy and Purpose: “This is the true joy in life, being used for a purposed recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am …

Nietzsche the Theologian

Friedrich Nietzsche is famous for saying a number of things: "Whatever doesn't kill you can only make you stronger," "I cannot believe in a God who wants to be praised all the time," "God is dead! And we have killed him."  In life he was as famous an atheist as the world has ever known, …

A Biblical View of Hell

Yesterday I wrote about things that we know aren't true about Hell from what the Bible teaches: Hell is not underground Satan is not in charge of hell Hell is not hot and full of fire. I believe the image of fire (which is common in the Scriptures) is meant to operate on a number …