Friday's Catch: The Humility of Hobbits and More

Let Hobbits Teach You Humility

Even though the ending of J. R. R. Tolkien’s classic Lord of the Rings series isn’t entirely happy, we rejoice that something has been made right. The humble triumph over the power-hungry, and peace extends across the land. We long for that to happen in this world, too. And so these lowly hobbits help us comprehend, deep in our hearts, the beauty of humility and the horror of self-serving power. Read More

A Dozen Reasons God Hates Lying & Liars

Deception, in one form or another, is a regular part of many people’s lives in our world today. However, much to the church’s shame, many Christians continue to give in to the temptation to lie their way through life as well. What does God think of this? Proverbs 6:19 includes on the list of things that God hates, “a false witness who utters lies.” Why does God hate lying? And why does he not only hate lying, but liars as well? The Bible provides many reasons. Here are twelve of them. Read More

Developing a Framework for the Secular Mind

How do we break the stereotypes surrounding Christianity? ... I believe Christians perpetuating COVID-19 conspiracies will do irreparable harm to our gospel witness for generations. Spreading conspiracy theories and fooling a disproportionate number of Christians during a global public health crisis will not only call into question our good judgement but only reinforce what many in broader culture already believe about Christianity today.Dumb. Anti-science. Brain-washed. Read More

When You Don't Hit a "Home Run" Sermon

I preach verse by verse through books of the Bible. On the one hand, this keeps me from the temptation of cherry-picking my favorite texts each Sunday. But on the other hand, it means I may have to preach not-so-favorite texts. Read More

While I have nothing against verse-by-verse expository teaching, I believe that we are living in a time when congregations, whether in person or on the internet, need to hear what Jesus and the apostles taught. Many Americans who identify themselves as Christians have been poorly discipled or not discipled at all. They do not pattern their lives on Jesus's teaching and example or the teaching of his apostles. Until the COVID-19 pandemic they were indistinguishable from the rest of the population except for their habit of attending church. Now they do not have that to set them apart from other Americans in many parts of the United States.