Is Our Kingdom His Kingdom?
Confession: I have a terrible problem of talking, and sometimes walking, in my sleep. It’s an old family trait that I’m carrying on, much to my family’s sometimes dismay. Last…
Confession: I have a terrible problem of talking, and sometimes walking, in my sleep. It’s an old family trait that I’m carrying on, much to my family’s sometimes dismay. Last…
As the ancient Israelite people–suffering under the hands of the Egyptians–lifted their voices to God for help, He heard their cry and surprisingly responded by sending a fugitive, fearful, and…
DEFINITION Sexuality refers to God’s anthropological design and pattern for the procreative relationship between male and female and to the experience of erotic desire within that design. Gender refers to…
HOW GOD’S WORD CHANGES US ABIDING Read: John 14:23, 15:10; I 3:24, James 1:22 Becoming a spiritual young man begins by “Abiding” in God’s Word. We abide by: Knowing God’s…
GETTING TO KNOW THE HOLY SPIRIT As a new believer in Jesus you have probably heard about God the Father and Jesus the Son. But have you heard of the…
KNOWING YOU ARE SAVED Read: John 1:12-13; Romans 8:38-39; I John 5:11-15; We can know we are saved because of the promises in the Bible about our salvation. (Hebrews 10:23)…
Dear Roger, I have often wondered what you believe about the Bible and how it influenced your life and ministry. Could you give me a short summary of just a…
Luke 15:11-32; Genesis 2-3 Aloneness reaches deep into the inner recesses of the human heart. No one likes to be alone. I was flying recently to Orlando: girl on airplane:…
What do you believe and why? There is a difference between a biblical absolute, a spiritual conviction, and a personal opinion. It’s important to know the difference and not misapply…
Reading the Bible can be a daunting task. Practically speaking, when we open our Bible, we can feel like we’ve been dropped in an unfamiliar forest in the middle of…
THE END OF THE MATTER Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 This morning, as we come to the end of the book of Ecclesiastes, I am going to talk about fear—and love. “Now all…
KNOWING GOD FROM THE INSIDE OUT Ephesians 1:15-19; 3:14-19; Colossians 1:9-12 Imagine before we had the Bible, how would we know what God is like. Imagine you lived on…
“Why do so many bad things happen to good people?” Open up to Mark in the New Testament, Mark, chapter 10. As you are doing so, I want to tell…
As the Church, we must not say of abortion, “This is murder,” without saying to pregnant women, “We will serve you.” If we’re doing the former without the latter, we…
Paul’s divinely empowered role in the administration of God’s plan forms a paradigm for the ministry of all believers, as God is made known to the cosmos through the church.…
Dear Roger, How can we trust that the Bible is reliable? Sincerely, Alexa Dear Alexa, The Bible is an old book in a world where age is no longer considered…
Dear Roger, I grew up in a church that emphasized emotional expression in worship. If I didn’t have an ecstatic, exciting experience in a service, I felt like I…
Dear Roger, I’ve always wondered, why did God give us four Gospels? And why are they different in some places? Sincerely, Bob Dear Bob, Imagine four…
How was the New Testament Scriptures Compiled? One day I was visiting with a friend who was raised in church, but a bit of a skeptic. He asked me, “Jan,…
Do you want to experience all that God has in store for you? The gateway to much of that experience is in the scripture. The Bible says of itself: “All…
In Part Two of “Rightly Divided,” we learn that In order to truly interpret the Bible accurately, we must understand the Biblical narrative.
Like Paul praying for the church in Ephesus, we should earnestly seek the things that God has promised to those who are in Christ. www.thevillagechurch.net.
Perhaps the biggest impediment to believing in God (as stated by those who don’t) is the presence of pain and suffering in the world. How can there be a God…
This book was co-authored with Benjamin Vrbicek and may be purchased at www.amazon.com. Why Am I Blogging, and Who Am I Trying to Reach? We were off, each of us…
Dear Roger, We hear a lot about God the father and Jesus the Son but we seldom hear anything about God the Holy Spirit. The subject of the Holy…
The Bismark was the pride and terror of the German Navy in WWII. It could outrun and outgun anything in the English Navy. But when being pursued by the British on…
Atheists.org begins its post on Biblical Contradictions[i] with this statement: “It is a central dogma of all fundamental Christians that the Bible is without error. They teach this conclusion by…
Dear Roger, I’ve always wondered what Jesus meant in the Gospel of Luke about taking up our cross and following him. Just what is this cross and how do we…
Would it surprise you to know that according to at least one study, 20.4 million Americans practice yoga?[i] Can Christians do yoga? Should Christians do yoga? When my wife approached…
It was during a family dance party to Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off” that our patriarch commented about the vapid lyrics. “They just don’t make them like they used to,”…
In an age where everyone is looking for alternatives to gathering together, here are 10 things that—helpful as they may be in some respect—aren’t church. If it gets a bit…
Have you ever considered the words of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who, when told by Moses to let Israel go, responded, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his…
Have you ever considered the words of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who, when told by Moses to let Israel go, responded, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his…
“What is truth?” Pontius Pilate The greatest pursuit of mankind has been that of truth. What is truth? How do we know? How is it lived? Truth is that which…
Here is an enlightening answer to a seldom-studied character in the Bible: Job. The book of Job is a profound work on human suffering, worthy of a lifetime of study…
Here is an enlightening answer to a seldom-studied character in the Bible: Job. The book of Job is a profound work on human suffering, worthy of a lifetime of study…
In the beginning, God created humankind in His image. We have been creating God in our image ever since. But what you end up with is a god who looks…
We often hear that those who don’t affirm modern feminism are “anti-woman.” Christians are no exception. We sometimes get tagged with this epithet, and once the label sticks we’re either total sellouts…
Dr. Russell Moore’s most popular and profound article this year came on the heels of a synagogue shooting. Here are his profound observations: “On the Jewish Sabbath this week, a…
Dear Roger, My friend is a faithful church attender, but she doesn’t believe the Bible is the Word of God. She believes it’s a good book with moral teachings. How…
Dear Roger, I worry a lot. My friends and family call me a “worry wart.” I have to agree with them. My worrying makes me miserable. Yesterday, our pastor…
Can an abortion doctor really be a Christian? I don’t think so. But this physician disagrees. Willie Parker is an abortion doctor. He says he’s not ashamed of that. Willie…
Hi Roger, A New Testament author says that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, etc. …” The New Testament is good for…
Dear Roger, There seems to be much emphasis these days on the role of women in ministry. I like that because when I was young women definitely took a…
Why do committed Christians go to church less often? The statistics are in! 1. Greater affluence Money gives people options. If your church is at all engaging the middle class,…
Dear Roger, I’ve been wondering about guardian angels. Are they real? Do they really protect us? I met someone at a funeral Recently I attended a funeral service for…
Many say that Christians who maintain the historic, traditional doctrines are behind the times, are too exclusive, and are “on the wrong side of history.” Two recent books that cast…
Does the news overwhelm you? Every day mass murders leave us reeling; struggling to make sense of such tragedies. Where the Bible may not tell us the why of the tragedies, it…
Dear Roger, I have a question and it should probably go to a pastor. The Bible most commonly refers to God in the masculine. Therefore, many Christians believe he is…
Dear Roger, I am a Christian and I hate (Is “hate” too strong a word?) our governmental leadership. I don’t trust our political leaders or the news media either. I…
Worship is a subject very close to my heart. I’ve been drumming in adult worship services since I was fourteen, and received my BA in Music. I only mention this…
Andrea and I grew up in homes that had very different views on eating. Andrea’s family had a value of healthy living. My (Doug’s) family came from a carefree and…
Western society used to be basically divided between people who (1) respected the Bible as “the truth” but didn’t follow it, (2) believed and followed it devotedly, or (3) rejected…
What are good and evil? More specifically, how shall we define moral evil, functional evil, functional good, and moral good? Moral Evil is behavior, thoughts, and feelings that violate God’s law,…
While the United States remains shaped by Christianity, the faith’s influence—particularly as a force in American politics and culture—is slowly waning. An increasing number of religiously unaffiliated, a steady drop…
Much has been made of the growing post-Christian sentiment among America’s youngest generation of adults. But how has this well-documented turn away from religion affected Millennials’ views of Christianity’s most…
Some Christians, in their effort to stress holiness of life, do not put a great deal of emphasis on God’s gracious acceptance of us despite our sins. Others, in their…
If you’ve listened to fairy tales, or if you’ve watched early classic Disney cartoons, one thing becomes clear: a lot of “poor little” princes and princesses shared a common family…
Church history shows us that in key periods of time, God gives specific assignments to His followers. In times past, when God’s church has been at its most prayerful, courageous,…
“As you come to Him, the living Stone – rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him – you also, like living stones, are being built into…
What kind of person must I be to be used greatly by God? 2 Chronicles 16:9 says, “The eyes of the Lord search back and forth across the whole earth,…
When we talk about life, we are talking about a deep belief that God has created all of us to be exactly what He envisions for us to be. Our…
The simple message of the cross is a stumbling block to nonbelievers. The formula for a divine transaction is found in Romans 4: faith plus nothing equals the righteousness of…
Who shall separate us from God’s love? Not God. He already has too much invested in us. Not others. God has already sealed His decision in concrete. Not Jesus. He…
We must love people but also love the truth. (1 Corinthians 13:4). Paul teaches we need purity for the sake of unity. We must watch out for those who cause…
Dear Roger, What is the significance of the number 40? It pops up all the time in scripture. Sincerely, Wondering Dear Wondering, The term “40” is a…
Jim Rohn says that small disciplines move us toward success and lead to more disciplines. He advises that we read, journal, and turn our philosophies (e.g., “I am a spiritual…
The poetry of Genesis is drawing us in… showing us that Elohim is different from the gods of Mesapotamia and Sumer. Elohim is a present God. When I feel alone,…
The society of Moses when he penned Genesis came out of Sumerian culture and beliefs. Sumerians believed that the physical realm had always existed. There was no beginning of the…
Social scientists tell us that 70% of happiness is the byproduct of relationships, yet a lot of us look in a lot of different places for happiness. We will often…
Because of Jesus, God’s Son, we are loved deeply, accepted wholly, and forgiven completely. Cease striving and begin to rest in His love.
In our first 20 years of marriage, my wife and I seldom welcomed guests. Our parents had not modeled this in our childhoods, and we didn’t realize how wonderful it…
Science itself points to a non-physical reality. Making something from something is talent. Making something from nothing is miraculous. God Himself broke into our natural world in the person of…
Spiritual mothers and fathers do not see God as distant, inspecting or disappointed. They are intimate with God and have a right view of Him.
Dear Roger, If Adam and Eve had only boys, how did their children reproduce to create the world’s people? Incest? Sincerely, Questioner in Casas’ “What’s Next Class” Dear Q, According…
What happens to you when you read the scriptures or go through a Bible study? Many people take their time with the Word as a perfunctory ritual to assuage a…
Last week, the Dalai Lama, Buddhism’s spiritual leader made this astounding quote, “Too much attachment towards your children, towards your partner,” was “one of the obstacles or hindrances to peace…
Dear Roger, Did you always know that God wanted you in the ministry? How did you balance the feelings of what you knew to be the desires of your heart,…
Praying the powerful names of God is the way Jesus prays. He is intimately connected with His Heavenly Father, so He knows both the Father’s heart and the Father’s will.…
Many views of God exist among us today. Some see God as distant and uninvolved in our daily lives. We may think God is a harsh, inspecting taskmaster. Others feel…
Our view of God is shaped positively or painfully by life events, growing up experiences, and religious traditions and experiences. Like Job, life events can bolster our faith. Or, like…
We can re-shape our misconceptions of God three ways: by the light of His Word, by the light (inspiration) of God’s people and by the light of His Son, Jesus.…