You Don't Get to Write the Rules
I once read that Willie Nelson, the acclaimed country star, bought his own golf course. Somebody asked what "par" was for the course. "Anything I want it to be," he replied....
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I Know You
Amy Carmichael was a young girl from Belfast, my home city, who gave her life to God in missions and her heart to India for fifty years establishing the now famous Dohnavur Fellowship. Her focus centered on ...
Waste Not Want Not
I heard it first in my mother's kitchen where many a good lesson was learned, but I believe it was first said by Benjamin Franklin, "Waste not want not." It is a maxim that serves to remind us that what we ...
Yours Sincerely
The story is told that during a political debate an opponent of President Lincoln accused him of being two-faced and duplicitous. The crowd waited for a response. Lincoln in forming an answer was...
Three Cheers
While I was a teenager in Britain during the 1970s Ian Dury and the Blockheads conquered the pop music world with their number one single, "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick." That was...
Give it Your All
In 1968, the Ohio State Buckeyes made it to the college football national championship. Along the way they soundly and roundly defeated their arch rivals Michigan 50-14. The game against the Wolverines...
The Supporting Cast
Each year at the Oscars, the film industry does a good thing by not only recognizing the star power of the "best actor" or "best director," but they also recognize the value of the supporting cast. Alongside the "best actor" and...
You Don't Get to Write the Rules
I once read that Willie Nelson, the acclaimed country star, bought his own golf course. Somebody asked what "par" was for the course. "Anything I want it to be," he replied....
Remind Me Again
I recently read about man who lost the function of his memory due to a horrendous mix up in the operating theatre during which the wrong part of his brain was removed. In all other areas he functioned well, but...
It Takes Two
Sports writer, and columnist Rick Reilly gave this advice to rookie professional football players: "Stop thumping your chest. The line blocked, the quarterback threw you a perfect spiral while...
Keep the Door Open
T. W. Wilson was Billy Graham's lifelong friend, and trusted companion. Wherever Billy went he went, and whatever Billy needed, he sought to supply. Like Jonathan toward King David, T. W. Wilson was happy...
Under the Influence
Billy Graham's brother-in-law, Leighton Ford, tells of a time when Billy visited a large, and influential church. The host informed Dr. Graham of a rather sad, and sordid situation the church had recently addressed. ...
Pardon the Interruption
In his book How to Talk so that People Listen, Steve Brown tells the story of Rabbi Stephen Samuel Wise who was asked to speak at an anti-Nazi meeting in Brooklyn. As a result of his acceptance, he received...
An Audience of One
Some years back Jack Kemp closed a Memorial Day address with this memorable story. It centered on the outstanding football coach of Columbia University, Lou Little. A man whom General Eisenhower, president...
Heads Up
On the 4th of July, 2011, a motorcyclist taking part in a protest ride against helmet laws in upstate New York died after he tragically flipped over his bike's handlebars, and smacked his head against the ground....
Second Fiddle
A reporter once asked the celebrated orchestra conductor Leonard Bernstein what was the most difficult instrument to play. Given Bernstein's experience, and expertise, the reporter was eager to hear the great...
Divine Appointments
Pat and Tina O'Neal are friends of mine who have faithfully and fruitfully served God for many years through CBMC, Christian Business Men's Committee. Over dinner one night they told me of a...
Going Public
A few years back I found myself struggling in the pulpit to project my voice with any volume. After several visits to doctors and vocal specialists, it was determined I had a nodule on my vocak...
Friends in High Places
In April 2001, in the midst of renewed fighting between Israel and the Palestinians, a motorcade carrying the Security Service Chief of Gaza came under a hail of bullets from IDF troops....
Speak of the Devil
During the Second World War, C. J. Auchinleck, the commander-in-chief of the Middle East Force on the Allied side, put out the following order: "There exists a real danger that our friend Rommel...
No Time to Waste
Thomas Chalmers was a minister in the Church of Scotland who in the early days of his pastorate did not know God, and was not known for his godliness. Not known to God, not known for his godliness, but he...
The Future of History
Some years ago I spent a weekend in London visiting a friend from N. Ireland. While there, friends of my friend from Welwyn Garden City Baptist Church, just outside the city, kindly offered to show...
I Have a Dream
In one of his last books on the subject of hope, Lewis Smedes tells how the great civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, kept hope alive for millions amidst the degradation, and abuse of individual,...
Identity Theft
Do you know what the fastest growing crime in America is? It is identity theft with over 9.9 million incidents per year. According to the Wall Street Journal, in 2012 alone, seven percent of people sixteen or older were identity theft...
All Present and Accounted For
Leroy "Satchel" Paige was one of the greats in the world of baseball. History remembers him as the first black player to pitch in the World Series. He was also the first player from the old...
The Past Is the Past
Following his teams crushing defeat of Notre Dame 42-14 in the 2013 BCS National Championship game Nick Saban coach of Alabama was asked by ESPN's Tom Rinaldi during the postgame interview how long he planned to enjoy yet...
Good Grief
Working through the grief that comes with the loss of a friend or loved one is no easy thing. In terms of stress tests the death of a child or spouse tops the list. It is hard to go back to living after the death of someone we love. The regrets of yesterday and the fears...
Finish the Sentence
A generation ago the George Arliss film, House of Rothschild, made major use of an incident that is said to have occurred at the end of the Napoleonic wars. In the dots and dashes of powerful light beams, a message was flashed across...
An Audience of One
It had been a great worship service. The choir and orchestra had raised the roof, the sense of love among the people was palpable, and the pastor had knocked it out of the park in his sermon. The pastor had sensed it himself,...
Watch Your Manners
Cecil Rhodes, the South African statesman and financier, was known to be a stickler for correct dress. He was a man who minded his P's and Q's. Yet one evening during a formal dinner while welcoming his honored guests, who were all wearing full...
Soul Food
Modern Ethiopia owes much to the great African leader Menelik II. Thought to be a descendant of the legendary Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, Menelik II of Ethiopia maintained his country's independence against Italian aggression....
That's Not All
Roland Hill was an English preacher of yesteryear who loved to bring the love of God to the poor, and the struggling of London. On one occasion he was given a rather large sum of money to help support the pastor of a church in a...
United We Stand
In biblical times the Roman Army was a fierce and formidable force to be reckoned with. Julius Caesar had invaded Britain in 55 BC with only 10,000 men. He had beaten the Gallic tribes of France at the battle of Alesia three years earlier despite...
Learn to Say No
A man unpacked his lunch in the factory cafeteria, and complained to his fellow worker, "I don't believe it, bologna again! This is the fourth straight day I have had this!" His fellow worker responded, "Well, why don't you tell your wife you're tired of bologna?"...
Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow
There is a sense in which the study of prophecy does for us what travelling into space has done for the scientific world. Scientists have learned much about our world by going outside it through space travel, and looking back. They have learned things...
What Just Happened
I once read about a man whose name was mistakenly printed in the obituary column of the local newspaper. As you can imagine no one likes to wake up in the morning, and find out that they are already dead. Livid the man called up the newspaper, and demanded to talk to the editor. ...
Attitude of Gratitude
G. K. Chesterton was a remarkable individual who belonged to the early twentieth century. His genius combined the abilities of a novelist, critic, poet, popular theologian, and writer of detective stories. Toward the end of his life in 1936 he turned his attention,...
Not Half Bad
Not long ago I found myself sitting outside my local carwash waiting for my car to get dried, and polished off. The carwash attendants were hard at work returning our vehicles to their pristine look. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, the sky was blue, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky....
Stay in Touch
The man was on his way to the county fair. He had a chicken in one hand, a pig under his other arm, and a basket on his head. Along the way, he became lost. As he tried to decide which direction to take, a lady passed by who happened to be going to the county fair...
Shutting Down the Rumor Mill
A judge was campaigning for reelection. He had a reputation for integrity, and his life was marked by charity within the community. Yet his opponent sought to drag his reputation through the mud in a vicious campaign against him. His adversary...
Risking It All
Before there was Federal Express there was the Pony Express. The Pony Express was a private express company that carried mail, $2.50 an ounce, by an organized relay of horseback riders. The eastern end was in St. Joseph, Missouri, and the western terminal...
Setting Priorities
Filmmaker Walt Disney was known for chopping anything from his movies that got in the way of the story's progress and pace. Ward Kimball can attest to that fact! Ward Kimball, one of the animators for Snow White, recalls working 240 days on a 4-1/2 minute sequence...
Another Attack Is Coming
In 1984, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher narrowly escaped with her life after two bombs exploded in the Grand Hotel in Brighton, England, where she was staying along with many other government figures. They were there for the national...
Having a Fit
Henry Martyn was a 19th century British missionary who left behind a glittering academic career at Cambridge to go to India and Persia for Christ. He was only twenty-four years of age when he left the British Isles. It took him almost a year to get there and he was...
Precious Memories
Any visit to Washington D.C. would be incomplete without a stroll along Massachusetts Avenue where you pass roughly 50 foreign embassies housed in mansions that range from the elegant, to the imposing, to the out there. Many consider the 4-acre British Embassy the crown jewel of the row....
Wicked Good
When June and I lived in the United Kingdom, one of our favorite confectionary shops was a store called Thornton's. They were known for their chocolates and toffee. Our friends and family knew this, and so when Christmas, and other special occasions rolled round,...
You Are Richer Than You Think
The guy was obviously down in the mouth as he sat on the park bench. He was so depressed looking that a policeman who was patrolling the area sat down, and sought to console him. "Something the...
Taking Care of Business
In the movie The Taking of Pelham 123, a New York City subway dispatcher, Walter Barger (Denzel Washington), is called upon by the police and FBI to draw from his extensive knowledge of the subway system in order to help outsmart a dangerous criminal mastermind...
Go Easy
John Wesley, the great Methodist evangelist, was once crossing the Atlantic on his way to America with Mr. Olgethorpe, who was to be the governor of Savannah, Georgia. On one particular day during the voyage, Wesley heard a great commotion down in the governor's cabin....
Show Some Gratitude
The guy was obviously down in the mouth as he sat on the park bench. He was so depressed looking that a policeman who was patrolling the area sat down and sought to console him. "Something the matter?" asked the policeman of the young man who was staring into space....
You Have the Right to Remain Silent
In 1758, Princeton College called Jonathan Edwards to be their next President. The New England theologian went ahead of his wife, Sarah, to begin the new job while she stayed back to wrap things up on the home front. In the in-between,...
Look Who's Talking
During my time as a police officer in N. Ireland we were shown a training video that advocated the importance of speaking positively to oneself should you be shot or seriously injured in the line of duty. Speaking calmly, consistently, and confidently to oneself about a positive...
Free Speech
In "Lectures to My Students" the great English preacher C. H. Spurgeon, recounts the memory of a friend of Martin Luther regarding the great Protestant Reformer's praying. Theodorus said of Luther, "I overheard him in prayer, but good God, with what life and spirit did he pray!...
Don't Be Afraid to Ask
The great Baptist preacher Adrian Rogers told of a time when he was a student pastor in the Indian River County area of Florida, a region known for its citrus growers. On one occasion a deacon in the church gave him a rather generous helping of delicious oranges....
Our Own Worst Enemy
In January of 1967, three American heroes, Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee, perished in the first great tragedy to hit the infant American space program. The crew of Apollo 1 was busy conducting preflight tests when an electrical spark triggered a flash fire in the oxygen rich...
First Base First
Coach Bobby Bowden of Florida State liked to inspire his teams with parables. According to Tennessee Titans center Kevin Long, who played under Bowden, one of Bowden's favorite stories centered on his playing days in college baseball. Bowden had never hit a home run...
All's Well That Ends Well
A janitor would wait patiently each week for a group of seminarians to finish their basketball game before cleaning the gym. While he waited, he would sit in the stands and study his Bible. One particular day, as the seminarians were exiting the gym, they noticed the janitor engrossed in bible...
Double Vision
Leonard Bernstein, the great American composer, says that when he was young his father adamantly opposed his going into music. There was no strike up the band and let's celebrate around the Bernstein home the day that Leonard entered music school....
It Could Be Worse
John Hooper, Bishop of Gloucester, one of the lesser lights among the English reformers, was burned at the stake on February 9, 1555, under the ruthless reign of bloody Mary. He had a reputation for personal holiness and Spirit-filled preaching. Thousands...
Temptation Within Temptation
The story is told of man with a bulging waistline who decided to do something about his weight. Engaging the fight with the flab, he decided to change his route to work so that he would not pass his...
Green With Envy
The story is told of a time when President Lincoln was carrying his two crying sons who were behaving badly. When someone asked him what was wrong with the boys, Abraham Lincoln replied, “Exactly, what is wrong with the whole world. I have three...
Pick Your Fights
President Theodore Roosevelt used to have a pet dog that was always getting into fights and being beaten by other dogs. A reporter once asked the president about that. The reporter stated, “Your dog is not much of a fighter is he, Mr. President?”...
A Rare Find
Jeb Stuart was the Civil War's version of a B-2 Stealth Bomber. This gallant, and gusty West Point graduate had an uncanny ability to infiltrate the federal lines without being detected. On the Confederate side he was nicknamed "the eyes of the army," and...
Message in a Bottle
Someone has said that life is a bridge of groans over a river of tears. While that statement may be overly pessimistic, there is nevertheless more than a tinge of realism in it. Life has a way of reducing each of us to a puddle of tears....
Give Your Best
When Henry Kissinger was Secretary of State of the United States, an aide in the White House approached him with a report. Kissinger asked, "Is this the best you can do?" The aide sheepishly replied that he could do better. A few days later,...
A Lockdown? Or a Blessed Providence
It has been called the largest lockdown in the United States. On Thursday, March 19, 2020, California ordered its forty million residents to stay at home except for essential activities such as obtaining food, supplies and medical care. Californians are not...
The Power of Perspective
Having the right perspective is essential to enduring through any difficulty in life. One of the encouragements that someone told me a long time ago was: "If you could look back five years from now, how much will this really matter?" Over the years of my life...
Kindred Worship Services + Gathering Update (COVID-19)
On behalf of our elder team, we wanted to share another update on our developing response to COVID-19 (coronavirus). Please see Pastor Philip’s video....
No Fishing Allowed
In her book Tramp for the Lord, Holocaust survivor, Corrie ten Boon, tells of revisiting Germany in 1947 to share the gospel of God's forgiveness through faith in Christ. She recounts: "I had come from Holland to defeated Germany with the message that God...
Little by Little
Andrew Carnegie, the great industrialist and philanthropist, once stated in a speech before a graduating class that he thought that all young men fell into three categories: those who did not do all their duty, those who only professed to do their duty,...
Hear No Evil
In his famous lectures to the ministerial students of Spurgeon's College, the great English Baptist, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, was fond of saying, "that a minister ought to have one blind eye, and one deaf ear." According to Spurgeon, survival in the ministry...
Seeing Straight
The famed astronomer Percival Lowell spent many years studying and surveying the surface of Mars. Through this scientific pursuit he believed he saw canals of water on Mars and set about mapping them carefully. By the time Lowell published his findings, he...
The Domino Effect
In Ecclesiastes 9:18 we read that, "one sinner destroys much good." In the wisdom and warning of this verse, Solomon reminds us about the domino effect of sin. There is a contagious power to sin that we often overlook. One sinner and one sin can inflict...
Forget About It
Three sisters, ages ninety-two, ninety-four, and ninety-six, lived together. One night the ninety-six-year-old filled the bath. She put one foot in and then paused. "Was I getting in the tub or out of the tub?" she shouted to her sisters. The ninety-four-year-old yelled back...
This Isn't Going to End Well
On October 31, 1983, Korean Airlines flight 007 departed from Anchorage, Alaska, for a direct flight to Seoul, Korea. Unknown to the flight crew, the computer engaging the flight navigation system contained a one-and-a-half-degree routing error....
Small Is a Big Deal
After the Civil War in the fall of 1865, John Broadus and the faculty of the fledgling Southern Baptist Seminary in Greenville, South Carolina, became burdened for more preachers of the gospel to help heal the nation's gaping wounds. To help remedy that...
Making Plans
John Chancellor, at the age of 67, was just easing his way into retirement after 43 years in the broadcasting business as a journalist. He was seen often on the NBC Nightly News. At this point in his life, there was not a cloud in the sky. All was well, and life was good....
Best of All
John Wesley was a tireless servant of God, and a man who had little use for leisure time. Across his lifetime, this eighteenth-century English evangelist planted churches, established orphanages, opposed slavery, wrote books, trained and ordained...
Ask and You Will Receive
The story is told of a time when a great Scottish preacher prayed in the morning service for rain. As he went to church in the afternoon his little daughter said, "Here is the umbrella, Papa." The seasoned church leader looked quizzically and asked, "What...
Calling a Spade a Spade
Abraham Lincoln was a man known for his wit and wisdom. On one occasion he asked a critic, "How many legs would a dog have if you counted its tail as a leg?" The man thought for a minute and then said, "Five." "No," retorted Lincoln! "The answer is four....
Amazing Grace
In the book Holy, Holy, Holy, R. C. Sproul tells the story of his second year in teaching. He had been assigned to teach a class on Old Testament Introduction to 250 college freshmen. As part of the coursework, Dr. Sproul required three small papers due on...
New Horizons
Traveling by train within the United States, Bishop William Quayle fell into conversation with some of his fellow passengers. The bishop was not wearing his religious garb at the time, and so one of the passengers was curious to know what he did for a living....
Let's Get Physical
Robert Murray McCheyne was a gifted and grace-filled preacher of the gospel in Scotland. He entered Edinburgh University at the age of fourteen in 1827, after which he went on to lead a Presbyterian congregation to over a thousand by the age of twenty-three....
Complacency Is a Killer
While I was ministering at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Toledo, Ohio, there was a man in our congregation who was a senior pilot with Northwest Airlines. He was among their top ten senior pilots and had some thirty years of flying the Boeing 747 around the...
It Comes With a Guarantee
When a young couple gets married, they immediately dream of getting their own house. They work hard and set about saving their money for a down payment on their dream house. Finally, the day arrives when they draw up the papers to buy the house. They meet with...
The First Place
Gandhi was a great admirer of Christ. He considered the life of Christ a beautiful example of the perfect man. He was deeply impressed by Christ's teaching on the Sermon on the Mount and sought to follow its message. He viewed Christ as the embodiment...
Stand and Be Counted
In The Trouble with Jesus, Dr. Stowell's Gold medallion winning book, he wrote about an incident while serving as president of Moody Bible Institute in the days following the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America. Joe Stowell was among a large...
Make Your Mind Up And Get On With It
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went on a camping trip and during the night Holmes said, "Watson, look up into the sky and tell me what you see." Watson said, "I see millions and millions of stars." Holmes...
You Will Get It When You Need It
Corrie Ten Boom was a Dutch Christian, who along with her father and sister courageously hid Jews in their home during the Second World War. Her family was betrayed and handed over to the...
The First Thing To Do Is Nothing
One of the hardest lessons for us to learn in our walk with God is that sometimes the best thing to do is nothing, nothing in the sense that we actively wait for God to do that which allows us to do more for His...
Pay Attention
Some years ago I attended a Pastor's Conference at Cedarville University in Ohio and heard Mark Bailey, President of Dallas Seminary, tell the following story. On a particular day, a successful executive was speeding down a street in his fancy new...
It's Off to Work We Go
Like all good Israelites, the writer of Proverbs 14:23 assumes the place, dignity and validly of all types of work. "In all (kinds of) labor there is profit." The place and necessity of work are assumed throughout the Old Testament. This appreciation for...
I Stand Corrected
A man was on the practice golf course when the club pro brought another man out for a lesson. The pro watched the man swing several times, and then began making some suggestions as to how the fellow could improve his game. But each...
One Day at a Time
As with baseball, so with life, success is achieved not by hitting a few grand-slam home runs once in a while, but by the consistent hitting of singles and doubles each and every day. A meaningful and memorable life is nothing more than the sum total of...
This Is God's Work
One of the great dangers in life is trying to do too much for God. I know it sounds heretical, but there can be a serving of God that is sinful; service that makes us look big and God small. We can unwittingly rob God of his glory. We do this when we believe or give...
Be Yourself
One of the keys to success in life is to live the life God has planned for us, and to be ourselves, and not someone else! Yet, people often spent their lives wishing they had someone else's looks, family, job or abilities instead of their own. An example...
The Best Day of Your Life
Some time ago I had the pleasure and the privilege of enjoying a lunch with famed Anaheim Angels player Garret Anderson in the company of a few friends. Garret's storied career in MLB had included a World Series win, numerous...
Caught in the Middle
On New Year's Day, 1929, Georgia Tech and California played each other in the Rose Bowl. Late in the second quarter, Roy Riegels recovered a fumble for California, and in his excitement became confused, and started running...
Running Gets You Nowhere
There are times in life when things can get so bad that running away seems like the best and only solution. That is why each and every day people quit their jobs, file for divorce, leave the ministry, or drop out of...
Living With Dying
Just recently I came across a rather strange website called DeathClock.com. On this site, I was asked to answer a few questions regarding my date of birth, mood, and body mass index. After entering the data and clicking a button, a calculation was made...
Be Good
Two Christian friends stood talking. One said to the other, "This has been a good day for I have done nothing today of which I am ashamed." The other replied, "This has been a bad day for I have done nothing today of which I am proud." In this conversation,...
A Sure Thing
I heard the story of a polar bear and her young cub living in the frigid extremes of Alaska. One morning the cub came to her mother and said, "Mom, are you sure I am a polar bear?" "Of course you are," the mother calmly replied. The cub went away...
Keeping Score
Recently I read a beautiful story about a grandmother celebrating her fiftieth wedding anniversary. Surrounded by friends and family, she was asked, "What is the secret of your long marriage?" "Oh, it is very simple," she said. "Before Henry and I got married, I was...
Good and Angry
In the book of Proverbs unguarded and ungodly anger is likened to a destructive flood that swallows everything in its path (Prov. 27:4). Yet, while anger over the wrong thing, at the wrong time, and in the wrong manner is a destructive force not unlike a flood,...
Children at Risk
It is the duty of every parent to protect their children from harm and danger. Our children young or old are always at risk from things seen and unseen. They are at risk from germs, passing traffic, sexual predators, bad company, car accidents, unwanted pregnancy,...
Don't Forget to Take the Trash Out
When a man was hanging on a cross, suspended on iron spikes, he wanted one thing and one thing only, death. He thought of one person and one person only, himself. Given that reality, that is what makes the seven cries of Jesus from...
The Poverty of Money
While the Bible sees no wrong in wealth righteously obtained and properly managed, it is nevertheless at pains to point out the relative value, and fleeting nature of all things material and monetary (Prov. 23:4-5). We must never trust money to yield what God alone can provide, for unlike our unfailing...
Sing Along
The book of Revelation is a very noisy book. It resounds to the clatter of the thunderbolts of God's wrath poured out upon an unbelieving world. From start to finish it echoes to the sound of war, earthquakes, and demonic beasts. Yet for all its blood and thunder...
Lost for Words
As a man was leaving church, he stopped to talk to his pastor and told him, "Pastor, you are smarter than Albert Einstein." The pastor blushed and replied, "Smarter than Einstein? Einstein was one of the smartest men who ever lived. What makes you think that I am...
There Is More Where That Came From
A lady went to her local bank to withdraw some money from her account. Having received it from the teller she proceeded to count it and then recount it. Wondering if he had made a mistake the teller asked, "What is it lady, isn’t it all there?"...
Good Morning
A PGA golfer will tell you that Thursday is a very important day in any professional golf tournament. It is the day the player needs to get off to a good start. While the tournament cannot be won on a Thursday, it can be lost. They can get so far behind that...
Everybody Said Amen
Uncle Irv was not noted for his religious devotion but he needed one million dollars to clinch a real estate deal. So he went down to his local synagogue to pray for the money. By chance, he knelt down next to a man who was praying for one hundred dollars...
Sleep Well
The news of Japan's surprise and savage attack upon the American fleet at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, was a bittersweet affair to the British wartime leader Sir Winston Churchill. Bitter in the sense that he mourned the great loss of ships and sailors...
Updating Our Worship
The worship offered to God in most churches on Sunday needs updating. It needs to become more contemporary, but not in the way most people think. When I talk about the need for more contemporary worship in our churches, I am not thinking in terms of a band...
Taking the Next Step
What is stopping you from taking that next step? What is it that is making you hold back from boldly moving forward? Is it the size of the task? Is it the doubting of friends and family? Is it the fear of failure? There you stand on the doorstep of a great opportunity...
In Two Places at Once
They say that you cannot be in two places at once, but that is not strictly true when it comes to the Christian. A look at Paul's introduction in his letter to the Colossians points to the fact that every church and every Christian has two homes, and two habitats....
You Are Being Followed
During the fall of 1974 President Gerald Ford's son, Michael Ford, along with his wife Gayle attended Gordon Conwell in the Boston area. Because his father occupied the Oval Office at the time, Michael had to have two Secret Service agents with him at all times. ...
Leave It Alone
One of the great challenges and choices in life when faced with overwhelming trouble is to take things into our own hands or leave them in God's hands. In life we can find ourselves in a moment of crisis, standing at a fork in the road, having to consciously...
Safe and Sound
In his book "Muscular Faith", author and campus pastor, Ben Patterson, writes, "When circumstances aren't as agreeable as I want them to be, I practice a little spiritual discipline that has managed to feed my hope and keep me in joy, nevertheless....
Don't Forget to Say Thank You
One Sunday morning following the service a woman came up to the pastor and thanked him for the encouraging and edifying sermon he had just preached. In his response he said: "Thank you, but don't thank me, thank the Lord." She said, "Well, I thought of that, but it wasn't quite that good."...
That's an Easy Decision
A young man came to the late Bible teacher J. Vernon McGee and said, "Dr. McGee I have been studying predestination, and I am so convinced of the sovereignty of God that I believe if I stood in the middle of a busy highway, and my hour was not yet come, God would and could spare my life."...
Proof of Birth (Part 2)
The story is told of the daughter who thought that it was time for her aging and widowed mother to get on with life, so she set her up on a blind date with an elderly gentleman friend. When her mother...
Proof of Birth (Part 1)
The story is told of Will Rogers the humorist who on one occasion went in to get a passport, and the official said, "We need to see your birth certificate." Rogers replied, "What for?"...
The Hiding Place
David McCullough's book, The Great Bridge, tells an engaging and enlightening story about the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, which arches the East River and joins Manhattan to Brooklyn....
Living Letters
Towards the end of his book, "Max on Life," author Max Lucado encourages his readers to remember that the apostles were writers, and that we need to pick up the pens that Paul, John, and Luke have set down....
Don't Worry About a Thing
A lady visited the doctor and told him that she was feeling rather run down. As far as she could tell, her get up and go had got up and gone. After listening and then examining his patient, the doctor replied, "Madam it is my expert opinion that you are not all run down, but you are all wound up."...
Failure Is Not Final
The God of the Bible is the God of the second chance, a God who prefers to mend rather than discard. In Matthew 12:20, it is said of our Lord Jesus that “a bruised reed He will not break and a smoking flax He will not quench.”...
Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
When I was at the Master's Seminary training for the ministry one of our professor's, Jim Rosscup, who taught Bible Exposition, told us one day of his freshman year at Dallas Seminary when beginning his theological training. He told us of feeling intimidated by the knowledge of other students in the class who had come to DTS straight out of Bible College, and so their Bible knowledge was deep and wide....
Do Sweat the Small Stuff
The tragedy of the Titanic's demise in 1912 is the sad story of the ship's glancing blow against an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean due to carelessness. The rub up against the iceberg caused a series of fatal puncture holes or gashes beneath the water line....
In the Know
A man in New York City had a wife who had a cat. Actually, the cat had her. She loved the cat. She stroked it, combed its fur, fed and pampered it. The man detested the cat. He was allergic to cat hair; he hated the smell of the litter box; he couldn’t stand the scratching on the furniture; and he couldn’t enjoy a good night's sleep because the cat kept jumping on the bed....
Up Close and Personal
What is the best way to reach the world for Christ? The answer to that question is one home and one heart at a time! Evangelism that is up close and personal is still the best method of reaching the lost. Statistics continue to show that a majority of people come to Christ through the personal witness of a Christian pointing them to Christ....
God With Skin On
A little fellow put to bed one night couldn’t sleep. After some twisting and turning, he eventually slipped into a slumber only to awaken screaming by the horrors of a nightmare. His father rushed upstairs to assure him that everything was fine, but the shadows on the wall plus the darkness kept him in a state of fear....
Point of Reference
Once, in reply to a delegation of bank presidents who urged whether it was not time to give up all thought of the Union, President Abraham Lincoln told the following story......
The Blessing of Not Knowing It All
The mother was waiting for her little girl to get off the bus after her first day at school. When she got off the bus, the mother asked her, "What did you learn today?" The little girl replied, "Nothing, I guess. The teacher said I have to come back tomorrow." Life has a way of bringing us all back again and again to the reality of our own ignorance....
Having Enough
Many years ago Dr. Joseph Parker, a contemporary of C. H. Spurgeon and pastor of the famous City Temple Church, mounted the steps to his pulpit and announced his reading for the morning as Psalm 23. Slowly and distinctly he read, "The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want."...
It Is All Good
I have a friend in ministry who has a wonderful habit of invariably finishing a conversation especially when talking of difficult problems or people with the words, “It is all good.” His words are based on the wonderful promise of Paul in Romans 8:28 where those loved by God are reminded that God is actively working all things in their lives together for their good....
Perfect Timing
Phillips Brooks, the former New England pulpiteer, was known for his calm demeanor. So you can guess the surprise of his associates when they found him pacing up and down the floor of his study like a lion in a cage. One of the friends asked, "What is the trouble, Dr. Brooks?" He abruptly responded, "The trouble is that I am in a hurry, but God isn't."...
Targeted for Assassination
Before entering the ministry, I spent some six years as a reserve police officer in the Royal Ulster Constabulary. At the time, Northern Ireland was dealing with the insurgency of the IRA terrorist organization which was trying to force the British out of Northern Ireland against the will of the majority of its people. As a police officer, I was a target for assassination....
Finding the Right Words to Say
I once read about an Ambassador from Spain to America who did not know the English language very well. In a meeting with an American diplomat they began to engage in some small talk, and so the Ambassador was asked if he had any children....
Spoiled for Choice
Daniel Boone was one of the heroes of the American frontier. It is said that he was once returning from the uncharted forests beyond the Kentucky River, and was asked by a lady if he was ever lost. The famous scout replied, “I cannot say I was ever lost, ma’am, but I was bewildered for three days.”...
Going Forward
Some years back the Readers Digest magazine told the story that when someone suggested that rowing become part of the Clemson University’s athletic program, Athletic Director, Frank Howard, declared...
Work On The Fundamentals
A generation back there was a famous Hollywood actor named Spencer Tracy who starred in such notable flicks as Captain Courageous (1937), Father of the Bride (1950), and The Old Man and the Sea (1958). Most people in that day...
Out Of This World
When David Thoreau, the American writer, was on his deathbed, he was visited by a minister who urged his dying friend to be ready for death. The pastor queried, “Do you know where you are going in the next life?” Thoreau...
Keep On Knocking
William Temple, 98th Archbishop of Canterbury, famously said: “Prayer is not the overcoming of God’s reluctance but the laying hold of His willingness.” In these words...
The Test of First Impressions
We say that a first impression can be a lasting impression and indeed that is true. The first time we do something is often the most memorable. The first time we meet someone we...
Believe The Best
In his book Life Essentials, author Tony Evans remembers during his days at Dallas Seminary how one of his favorite professor’s, Dr. Howard Hendricks told them of how his fifth-grade teacher tied him to the chair in an attempt to...
There Is No Time Like The Present
In his book Shadows on the Wall, devotional writer F. W. Boreham told of preaching in a particular church during his college days. The preaching engagement involved an overnight stay in...
The Power of the Gospel in Jars of Clay
When I was in elementary school I began listening to the music of a Christian band called “Jars of Clay” and I had no idea what...
Leaders Are Readers - Facebook Live Interview with Pastor Philip
Charles Spurgeon once wrote “We are quite persuaded that the very best way for you to be spending your leisure time, is to be either reading or praying. You may get...
Ask The Pastors - Facebook Live Q&A
We had a wonderful time with Pastor Jason, Pastor Dave, and Pastor Dan in our "Ask The Pastors" Q&A. We covered some great topics such as our doctrine, what we believe at Kindred, church membership and more...
Pastoral Insights on Marriage
It is clear from Scripture that the bond of marriage is something that is important in the eyes of God, yet in our culture, marriages are...
Parenting with the Pastors
Charles Spurgeon once wrote related to the discipleship of children, “The first and most natural condition of things is for Christian parents to train up their own...
Good Fellowship is a Little Uncomfortable
Some time ago researchers at UC Berkeley conducted an experiment that introduced an amoeba into a stress-free environment. This lucky amoeba experienced a perfect...
Listening Well, Caring for Others
The story is told of Franklin Roosevelt, who often endured long receiving lines at the White House. He complained that no one really paid any attention to what was said. One day, during a reception, he decided to try an experiment. To each person who...
Change Is A Community Project
The story is told of a pastor who visited a member of his church. The church member had stopped attending services regularly. It was a chilly evening and the man was home sitting before a fire. The pastor took...
The Type of Hard Work That Does Not Please God
Have you ever considered the truth that there is a type of hard work that does not please God? This is the type of hard work described in Psalm 127:2 ...
The Reformation Part 16: The Fruits of the Reformation
Through the Reformation, the Lord restored the Biblical Gospel to the center of the Churches’ Message & Mission. Wherever the Gospel has been received and Biblical Protestant faith has flourished Christians have experienced...
The Reformation Part 15: How the Reformation Came to America
Who Were They? Was it the Pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620? No. Was it John Smith in Jamestown, Virginia in 1607? No. Was it the Lost Colony of Roanoke in North Carolina in 1587?...
The Reformation Part 14: The English Reformation
By the time of the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church had a long and infamous history of persecuting those who protested it’s abuses and/or sought reform of its doctrines...
Playing Favorites
In 1968, a teacher named Jane Elliott developed an exercise for her third-grade class in Riceville, Iowa as a result of Martin Luther King’s assassination. She told all of the students that brown-eyed students were...
The Reformation Part 13: The Radical Reformation
By the time of the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church relied on a forged Medieval document to claim supreme authority over all churches and all temporal powers....
The Reformation Part 12: The Institutes of the Christian Religion
By the time of the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church had, ironically, moved from being the persecuted to being the persecutor of evangelical faith...
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The Reformation Part 11: Luther vs. The Three Walls of the Romanist
By the time of the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church was attempting to insulate itself against any and all movements that called for Scriptural reform...
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You've Asked If I'm A Calvinist
You have asked me if I am a Calvinist, and this is my response: The answer to your question, “Are You A Calvinist?” depends on what you mean by the word “Calvinist”. Let me give a few examples...
The Reformation Part 10: The Bible in The Language of the People
By the time of the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church had prohibited the translation of the Bible into the vernacular (the language of the people). Ostensibly, the prohibition and condemnation of Bible translation...
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The Reformation Part 9: The Bondage of the Will
By the time of the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church had functionally embraced the error of Semi-Pelagianism. Pelagianism (man has no original sin) and Semi-Pelagianism (man is affected by sin but...
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The Reformation Part 8: Solum Evangelium
By the time of the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church had obscured the simplicity of the gospel through the invention of an elaborate merit system of salvation. As I mentioned in a previous blog...
The Reformation Part 7: Semper Reformanda
By the time of the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church claimed to be,“always the same” (semper eadem). Rome hoped to shield itself from...
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The Reformation Part 6: Coram Deo
By the time of the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Churches’ twin errors of Sacerdotalism & Sacramentalism produced a compartmentalized view...
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The Reformation Part 5: The Priesthood of All Believers
By the time of the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church had functionally replaced Christ as the mediator between God and man. Through the inventions of a priestly caste (sacerdotalism)...
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The Reformation Part 4: Post Tenebras Lux
What does the Creation narrative, the first advent of Christ and the Reformation have in common? The answer is the use of the “light from darkness” motif. In Genesis “darkness was...
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The Gospel Is Meant To Be Shared
In this day and age, we are surrounded by social media outlets, websites, and apps. Nearly everyone we know has a smartphone or tablet, or at the very least a computer in their home. We have come a long way from...
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The Reformation Part 3: Ad Fontes
By the time of the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church depended more on tradition than upon Scripture for it’s final authority. Rome was...
The Reformation Part 2: TULIP
At the time of the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church taught that sin had merely tainted man and that man through the help of the sacramental system could gain merit with God toward their own salvation. In contrast...
The Reformation Part 1: The Five Solas
The Reformation was a 16th-century movement to reform the corruption and abuses in the Roman Catholic Church ending in the establishment of the Protestant Churches that exist today...
Seeking and Setting
Last month I had the privilege of spending a weekend with our Jr. High and High School students at KSM Winter Camp. We spent our time in God’s word focused on...