“Do not say, ‘Why were the former days better than these?’ For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.” – Ecclesiastes 7:10 NKJV I was born during the Great Depression. I can remember occasionally being awakened at night with a loud boom! My dad always put the shotgun beside his bed at night in case he heard a commotion in the chicken house. If he did hear something, he would go outside, shoot the shotgun up in the air to scare away anyone who might be trying to steal chickens. You … [Read more...]
Always keep the main thing the main thing
We live in undeniably polarizing times. We often know more of what people oppose than what they support. This polarization has entered the church as Christians often divide into various ideological camps. Perhaps the most surprising division hasn’t come from convictional differences but from methodological ones. Rather than disagreeing on biblical principles, we’ve found ourselves disagreeing on pragmatic solutions. Whereas once we divided solely on biblical convictions, anymore we divide … [Read more...]
Grateful for a good night of sleep
Thanksgiving can help you sleep better. We’re not talking about the holiday, although you might think so because many take a nap on Thanksgiving afternoon. Yes, their stomachs are full from a huge feast or because they just downloaded a huge dose of L-tryptophan in the turkey. But, there may be another reason. They paused in their busy lives to stop and reflect on all the good things in their lives and were even peripherally grateful to God for their blessings. No, not only is giving … [Read more...]
God the Son as Creator
This is another in a series of excerpts from “What Every Christian Should Know About the Trinity,” published by the MBC’s High Street Press (visit highstreet.press). In the last column, we explored God the Father as creator. Now, let’s consider the first of several passages that reveal the Son as creator. John 1:3 – “All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.” After establishing that Jesus is both eternal and divine, as well … [Read more...]
Sight & Sounds’ JESUS always worth the watch – both online, in person
BRANSON – As the nation hunkered down amid the COVID-19 pandemic last Easter, the Trinity Broadcast Network (TBN) aired Sight & Sound Theater’s show, JESUS, for free. My family couldn’t help but take advantage of this opportunity, and we loved the show. So, this fall, my wife and I drove to Branson to watch JESUS in person. Whether online or in person, watching JESUS is wonderful and worthwhile. Though the two-hour show doesn’t follow the Gospel accounts verbatim, it is faithful to the … [Read more...]
MBC’s High Street Press launches Audible version of afterlife book
JEFFERSON CITY – The Missouri Baptist Convention’s publishing imprint, High Street Press, has just released an audio version of its popular printed resource, What Everyone Should Know About the Afterlife. Published in 2017 in print and ebook editions, Afterlife is now available through Audible, the premiere audio-book platform, which may be accessed at Audible.com. Written by the MBC’s Rob Phillips, the book explores key words and phrases used in Scripture to describe life beyond the … [Read more...]
The deity of the Holy Spirit
This is another in a series of excerpts from “What Every Christian Should Know About the Trinity,” published by the MBC’s High Street Press (visit highstreet.press). In the last column, we examined the biblical evidence for the personhood of the Holy Spirit; that is, the Spirit is a He, not an it. Once the Spirit’s personality is established, His deity is a logical, and biblically faithful, next step. So, what do we see the Spirit doing that only God can do? For starters, the Holy Spirit … [Read more...]
Can we love without being vulnerable?
As a pastor of a local church in Missouri, I remember the advice I first received when I entered full-time ministry. A pastor from another church approached me and said, “Well, you have to remember one thing: Don’t become friends with those you minister to. Staff are employees and you just want to keep a professional relationship.” This left me in a dilemma. Though his advice made practical sense, I couldn’t reconcile what he said with the Bible’s call to “love one another” (John … [Read more...]
Missouri Baptist pastors collaborate to release new Advent devotional
JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri Baptist pastors Martin Winslow and Daniel Carr have uncovered a Christmas story embedded in Old Testament birth narratives that prefigure the Incarnation of Christ. Their collaborative work has resulted in a remarkably engaging Advent devotional book, The Seventh Birthday, released through High Street Press, the publishing arm of the Missouri Baptist Convention. Throughout Scripture we meet six unique women who aren’t able to conceive. The Bible depicts each of … [Read more...]
The mystery of the Incarnation
This is another in a series of excerpts from “What Every Christian Should Know About the Trinity,” published by the MBC’s High Street Press. In previous columns, we explored the Incarnation – God becoming human in Jesus of Nazareth. While Jesus shares all the divine attributes of God the Father and the Holy Spirit (Col. 2:9), He is unique among the persons of the Godhead in that only He has taken on human flesh. That is so Jesus could experience the full range of humanity, including … [Read more...]
MBC’s High Street Press releases book by FBC Kearney’s Ken Parker
JEFFERSON CITY – We’ve all heard the expression, “The elephant in the room.” It’s a metaphorical idiom in English for an important or controversial topic that’s obvious to everyone, but so delicate that no one wants to address it. But what happens when elephants come to church? That is, what does the local church do with such hot-button topics as creation vs. evolution, same-sex attraction, racism and sexism, depression, and burial vs. cremation? Often, the answer is: we avoid … [Read more...]
FIRST PERSON: Darkness is powerful reminder to missionary
CENTRAL ASIA – Last night at sunset the electricity in our neighborhood flickered off. I stalled my dinner prep in hopes that the lights would return quickly, but in the end we enjoyed a candlelit meal and reminisced about our early days on the mission field, when the electricity didn’t go out for hours at a time, but more like days and weeks. In the late 1990s the newly independent Soviet Central Asian countries were still learning how to work together to share resources—kind of like … [Read more...]
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