I cannot even begin to count the number of sermons, books, and other teachings I’ve encountered on this topic over the last 40 years. As I was listening to my wife quote the latest iteration from a best-selling Christian author’s book, it suddenly hit me that in every instance I can remember, the authors — while excellent teachers… Read More »
One concept linked to prayer in the New Testament on multiple occasions is the giving of thanks to God. Earlier in this series, I cited a pair of Scripture verses concerning prayer which also mention thanksgiving and I want to reiterate them for this article: Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it Colossians 4:2 Rejoice always, pray… Read More »
Merry Christmas! As we navigate the hoopla inherent to the season when we celebrate Jesus’ incarnation as God-in-Sandals, the Pew Research Center took a poll of Americans concerning Christmas. One of the questions asked was, “Do you believe that Jesus Christ was born to a virgin, or don’t you believe this?” 73% of those responding responded affirmatively, 19%… Read More »
What the Heck is a “Blood Libel?” The so-called “blood libel” is a theological fiction perpetrated by both Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions — and decades later carried to its logical conclusion by the Nazis during the Holocaust — that was used to justify the persecution and murder of literally millions of Jews over a time period… Read More »
Committed Christ-followers and pew-warming pietists alike have been reciting the Lord’s Prayer for literally over 2,000 years. Anyone who has hung around any church or organization calling itself “Christian” for even a few minutes has at least heard it and many have it memorized. Tragically, over those 2 millennia, the Lord’s Prayer has become, for many church-goers, a… Read More »
When I taught on prayer awhile back and proclaimed there are models taught in the Bible on how to pray, one of those present challenged me, demanding, “You mean to say we have to pray a certain way or we won’t get our prayers answered!?” To which I replied, “No, because that would be a legalistic recipe of… Read More »
