I wanted to title this “John Lennon’s Theology Better than Pope’s,” but I thought better of it. Continue reading
In the Year 2525
Here we are at the end of our Church Year and at the beginning of a new one, and I’m thinking about the year 2525. Continue reading
Posted in Ablaze, General
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“Stupid Boy”
I must be stupid. I thought “Stupid Boy” was song by a girl when it fact it is sung by a guy. However, since that guy is Keith Urban, I can am excused for being justifiably confused, and believe it or not this confusion has something to do with what I’m writing. Continue reading
Posted in Ablaze
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A Gospel Word from the Preacher of Vanities
It is fitting that this Gospel Word should come from a preacher (Ecc. 1:1). He says, “What is lacking cannot be counted” (Ecc. 1:15). Take it from one who has spent a ministry counting what was lacking: it is fruitless, painful, and unfaithful. Continue reading
Posted in For Pastors Only
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Don’t Go Back In!
Walter Cronkite reports in his autobiography that he once went to Vietnam with former POW Senator John McCain to do a special story on his experiences there. Cronkite says that nothing he or his staff did could induce McCain to go back into the cell where he had spent years of captivity. Continue reading
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Coach or First Class?
Psalm 56: 3, 4 reads: “3. What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee. 4. In God I will praise His word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.” The Baptist preacher C.H. Spurgeon said, verse 3 was the “coach” way to heaven while verse 4 was the “first class” way. Indeed, better to have faith prevent fear than to answer fear. A better theologian than I, which is to say a more Lutheran one, said, when I shared this Spurgeon wisdom, “Isn’t it glorious that we have a Lord who says both?” Continue reading
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Is it a sin not to Vote?
On February 5, 2008 the Reverend Paul McCain of the LCMS Concordia Publishing House wrote the following in his blog. “Did you vote today? I almost did not. Then I realized that not voting is a sin. Continue reading
Posted in For Anyone who dares
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“Hopelessness”
There is a phenomenon airline pilots experience after flying all night. They fly through the blackness awake, alert, and able, but when the sun pops over their horizon they instantly become sleepy. This is counterintuitive but not contrary to experience. Continue reading
Posted in Families
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The Papacy with Lots of Beane
No real Texan believes that chili is chili if it has beans. I am no Texan, so I don’t know about chili, but I do know about the papacy and no matter how much Beane is added to it, it’s still the antichrist. Continue reading
Posted in For Anyone who dares, For Pastors Only
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“Eve of Destruction”
If you’re listening to the financiers, bankers, and politicians, we’re teetering on the brink. They’re saying what Barry McGuire sang in his inimitable voice: it’s the “Eve of Destruction.” Barry wanted everyone twisted in knots over war, racism, and nuclear holocaust. Today we’re invited to be in knots because mammon says our future is bleak. Christians, however, can be the one Barry is singing against, “And you tell me/ Over and over and over again, my friend/ Ah, you don’t believe/ We’re on the eve of destruction.” At least we don’t believe it they way the fearmongers want us to. Continue reading
Posted in Families
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