Our Conceit

The 17th century Puritan preacher, Richard Sibbes, was brilliant in his exposure of the human condition:  “Oh! We should dismount from the tower of our conceited excellency.  The heart of man is a proud creature, a proud piece of flesh.  Men stand upon their distance” [“A Description of Christ”, Works, 1.9]. At this stage of …

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That Low?

Good versus evil.  Light versus darkness.  We know the basic idea of this historical battle, but perhaps our mental image falls short of reality.  Maybe we don’t quite grasp how radically different God is to what we might expect. God is God and there is no other.  Absolutely.  This is no eternal tussle between equal …

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Ordinary People

Sitting in a busy coffee shop in downtown Chippenham as lots of ordinary folks stroll by I’m reminded of a movie title, “Ordinary People”.  It was an ironic title because the movie was filmed mainly in a posh suburb of North Chicago—Lake Forest—and portrayed people on the high end of the socio-economic spectrum.  The contrast …

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Shortcut

Everyone likes a shortcut.  Less travel, less time, less effort.  But not every shortcut is a good shortcut.  In fact, there is a very popular shortcut that fails in two ways: it does not take you where you want to go, and it does take you somewhere you don’t want to be. A shortcut to …

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Maslow’s Mistake

What do we think about in our free moments?  What delights us?  And what worries us?  I’m not asking about the immediate thoughts and concerns stirred by our latest circumstances but the deeper, persistent currents that stay with us over the years.  What, in other words, is the main motor of our soul?  Our deepest …

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Follow

“For example.”  This is one of those phrases that tends to get listeners leaning in during a sermon.  People want to know “what it looks like” to apply the Bible to their lives.  Consequently we tend to offer examples to copy.  Sometimes the person is not identified, sometimes it is someone famous, other times someone …

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On a Mission

Let me raise a question about Christian missions.  How robust is the growth of Christianity today?   Better yet, how did Christianity grow in the first century; and how does our present growth compare with early church expansion? I don’t have specific data but allow me to generalize from what I see, hear, and read …

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Crucifixion Billboard

For four years of my life I would drive home by going west on I-84 into Portland and then out the other side on Hwy 26.  I’d follow the sweep around from 82nd Avenue and pull onto the Interstate for just the last few miles into town.  Every day I would  have no choice but …

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What If?

What if every Christian loved God above all else; and, with that, loved his neighbor as himself? Would friendships be stronger?  Marriages sweeter?  Families healthier?  Churches more winsome and dynamic?  Businesses staffed with Christian employees more productive?  Governments of Christian-majority nations more just and trustworthy?  Yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes! The potential for change …

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Popcorn?

This may not be true in your Christian circles, but I tend to hear about popcorn.  Perhaps it reveals a suppressed hankering from those who miss going to the cinema because they have overloaded the schedule with church activities.  But what does popcorn have to do with Christianity? Is this a critique of junk food …

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