Less than 25 years after Muslim terrorists killed nearly 3,000 people on 9/11, New York City, home of “ground zero,” just elected a Muslim as its next mayor. Some European cities are already majority Muslim, so what does this mean for America? Speaker and author Abdu Murray (pictured above) takes a closer look at Islam […]
3056) The Challenge of Islam Read More »
Sermon by Professor John Stensvaag, Luther Seminary Chapel, St. Paul, Minnesota, January 14, 1979 Text: Hebrews 12:1-3 Â — Â Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. Â And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for
3046) A Great Cloud of Witnesses Read More »
   One of the most common criticisms of the church is that it has too many hypocrites. To someone making this objection, I would say, “Are you kidding? Of course we have hypocrites. We also have liars, cheaters, snobs, adulterers, fornicators, people who are too greedy for their own good, crabby and ungrateful people,
3018) Too Many Hypocrites? Read More »
By N. T. Wright (1948- ), Simply Christian, 2006, Harper Collins, page 123.    I use the word “church” with a somewhat heavy heart.  I know that for many of my readers that very word will carry the overtones of large, dark buildings, pompous religious pronouncements, false solemnity, and rank hypocrisy.  But there is no easy
From The Clergy of America: Anecdotes, 1869, J. B. Lippincott Publishers, Philadelphia    Dr. Mather Byles, of Boston, in a period of great political excitement, was asked why he did not preach politics.  He replied, “In the first place, I do not understand politics.  In the second place, you all do, every one of you.
2990) Pastors and Their Congregations Read More »
  (…continued) Doug and Gary were having coffee on a Monday morning.  Doug said, “I was trying to find something on the radio on my way to the golf course yesterday, and I happened to run across one of these hellfire and damnation preachers.  I kept listening just for laughs, but it turned out
2980) A Bit of Insider Information (2/2) Read More »
   With such huge swings in the stock market every day now, we could all become billionaires in no time at all– if only we were able to look into the future. That would never work, of course, because if we could all look into the future, there would be no such thing as
2979) A Bit of Insider Information (1/2) Read More »
Many people have given up on faith in Jesus Christ because of what they have seen in the lives of Christians.  In these two passages from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass (circa 1818-1895) describes the importance of distinguishing between believing in Christ, and believing in those who say they follow Christ.  The lives of Christians should be
2978) Let Your Light Shine Read More »
   (…continued) When the Peter and Paul movie was first televised several years ago, I was in the midst of a difficult and complicated time in the congregation I was serving.  These difficulties and complications had nothing to do with the basic, important things that the early church was focused on, but on far
2896) Back to the Basics (2/2) Read More »
   In 2008 there was a global financial crisis which resulted in a recession. At the center of it all was a Housing Bubble caused by years of low interest rates and easy credit. Many creative (and foolish) mortgage tools were developed and widely used. When the bubble burst, some of the largest banks
2895) Back to the Basics (1/2) Read More »
