In 2000, John Piper was serving as the senior pastor for preaching and vision of the Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis.  He penned a prayer for his church as he viewed some of the needs of the congregation in that particular day.  His prayer is one that many other churches should consider praying in our present day. “A Prayer for Our Church” by:  John Piper O Lord, by the truth of your Word, and the power of your...

One week each year a large population of Christian women sit at home while their church is worshipping on the Lord’s Day.  They purposefully miss because it’s Mother’s Day – a day set aside to recognize and celebrate motherhood.  The day that’s often focused on motherhood and the joys, responsibilities, challenges, and calling of all mothers is often too difficult for infertile women to grapple with –...

The church today has reduced the gospel and biblical conversion down into a “raise your hand” and “pray this prayer” formula.  We have created a trap called “religion” for many youth and children who live in bondage for years.  That was my story. This past Sunday was a rare week for me as a pastor.  I was able to sit on the front row as a member of the congregation while Dr. Robert Smith Jr. from...

This past week at bedtime, I read the story of the Good Samaritan to my children.  They did just as Jesus intended, they started analyzing the story by asking why the first two men went in the opposite direction of the injured man on the side of the road.  The story is found in Luke’s gospel (Luke 10:25-37), and it illustrates our responsibility as a Christian.  As we consider the story, we must bridge the gap into our present day...

Shai Linne has received quite a bit of critique regarding his song, “Fal$e Teacher$” since it was released.  The critique for the song is often based on his decision to name names in the song.  One such name spotlighted in his song is Paula White of Paula White Ministries.  A recent critique came in form of an open letter to Shai Linne from a man named, Brad, the son of Paula White.  The letter said the following: Dear...

What does James 4:14 have to do with our American “Tax Day” of April 15th?  On April 15th 2003, God taught me a massive lesson about the “mist” of life.  Life is here today, and we are not promised that it will be here tomorrow.  Scripture has plainly spoken of this reality, but unfortunately many times we are caught off guard when death visits our friends or family. It was 10 years ago today that my friend...