During this Christmas season as you pray for what God would have you give to the Lottie Moon Christmas offering for our foreign missionaries, also pray for our Christian brothers and sisters around the world facing persecution. Every six minutes a Christian dies for their faith around the world, making Christianity the most persecuted religion on Earth. * * * * It was a blessing to be among the more than 400 who attended the American Renewal Project event in … [Read more...]
Missouri Baptists follow Leland’s lead in historic case
It may be the most important religious liberty case to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in our lifetime – and Missouri Southern Baptists are right in the middle of it. Such action is not unusual because Baptists have always been champions of religious liberty. So it is right and proper for Missouri Baptists to challenge tyranny whenever it threatens a free conscience. “God alone is Lord of the conscience,” states The Baptist Faith & Message 2000. Our rights come from God, not … [Read more...]
America dangerously downplaying sin
Given recent events in Las Vegas, New York and now Sutherland Springs, Texas, we ought to ask ourselves if we are ignoring the seriousness – and inevitable consequences – of sin. It seems the instances of sin preached from America’s pulpits are too few, particularly among mainline churches. The prosperity gospel reigns. “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” a sermon that triggered a national revival, is relegated to antiquity while human relational adjustment dynamics is all the rage. … [Read more...]
Dangerous prospects loom, Pathway points to Scripture
America seems adrift. Familiar markers that have guided our personal and social lives from birth to death have faded. We seem disoriented, groping in an ominous direction. Western civilization – especially Christianity and patriotism – is mocked. Our dead veterans are despicably politicized while our children are taught nothing virtuous and only America’s sins – past and present – are highlighted, creating dangerous prospects for the future. It was two decades ago Missouri Baptists put … [Read more...]
A conflicted culture: Calling evil by its name
It is often the arts in which worldviews are communicated in culture. I am reminded of Thomas Harris’s The Silence of the Lambs, a horror novel made into a grisly, terrifying movie. An imprisoned serial killer, Hannibal Lector, a monster who bludgeoned and cannibalized his victims, is asked by a young female FBI agent to help catch another killer. “What possible reason could I have for cooperating with you?” Lector asks. “Curiosity,” says Agent Starling. “About what?” Lector … [Read more...]
A personal testimony of God’s faithfulness
It has been 14 months since my wife, Bernadette, went home to be with the Lord. I have been reluctant to remove many of her personal items. That time will come, but not yet. God and His people have sustained me through the grieving period and I am in a much better place today than I was even six months ago. I thank God for his faithfulness even as you have prayed for me and extended so many acts of kindness. They are too many to acknowledge individually. I have learned that God’s grace … [Read more...]
Satanists invade Missouri, fighting in courts for abortion
Satanists are attacking Missouri. They are doing so in many ways and we are foolish to think they are not doing it in the halls of our government. Government is one of only three institutions ordained by God (the others being the family and the Church). It should come as no surprise when they attack God’s ordained institutions. Scripture warns us about this conflict and the impact such evil may have on God’s creation. The Apostle Paul warned us of this reality in Eph. 6:10-12: “Finally, … [Read more...]
Ruminations as a busy summer gives way to another autumn
The Missouri Baptist Foundation Trustee Board’s presidential search committee is getting closer to recommending someone for the position. The committee could have a recommendation for the full board sometime in September. The committee, which was formed Dec. 9, includes Foundation Board Chairman Larry Shoaf, a Cape Girardeau-area businessman and member of First Baptist Church, Jackson; Jay Hughes, a staff member at Second Baptist Church, Springfield and Joby Steele, pastor, Macedonia … [Read more...]
The Pathway flourishes, others face challenges
Circulation and readership is growing at a remarkable pace for The Pathway, bucking a trend that many other state convention newspapers are experiencing. While The Pathway flourishes, Missouri Baptists should be aware that is not the case for many other state convention newspapers throughout the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). It is an issue deserving of much-needed discussion by Southern Baptists. The SBC’s viability may turn on how this issue is treated. Secular printed newspapers … [Read more...]
Offering praise when government leaders do good
Put me at the head of the class when it comes to criticizing public officials when I think they have made a poor decision. I strive not to let my temper get the best of me when doing so, avoiding personal attacks at all cost. After all, I have a personal testimony on display and I want Christ lifted up. I try to focus my criticism at the consequences of their actions. For example, if they pass laws that threaten our freedom or are contrary to God’s Word, they are going to hear from me. … [Read more...]
If the GOP is pro-life, pro-moms, then prove it!
Republicans consistently run for office as pro-life candidates. The party’s opposition to abortion is in its national plank that outlines the GOP’s positions on issues. This makes the recent behavior of the Missouri Senate so puzzling, if not downright inexcusable. Here is what has happened: First, a federal judge issued a ruling that invited an expansion of abortion clinics in Missouri (currently only one – in St. Louis – exists). Then the St. Louis City Council passed an outrageous … [Read more...]
Foster care, pro-life bills reflect compassion
These are potentially good days for Missouri’s children and pregnant moms who need assistance. Gov. Eric Greitens recently signed a bill into law that will safeguard children across the state, especially those in foster care. Known as Senate Bill 160, sponsored by Reps. Diane Franklin (R-Camdenton) and Cloris Brown (R-St. Louis) along with Sen. David Sater (R-Cassville), the new law is designed to ensure the protection of children from human traffickers, making the act of sex trafficking … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- …
- 18
- Next Page »