Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here…
Month: March 2013
What Americans Really Think About the Bible
The first airing of The Bible on The History Channel reaped the highest non sports viewer response of 2013. Barna research has released new findings on American’s view of the Bible. Check it out HERE.
Do Those Who Have the Most Give the Least?
According to Ken Stearn, the answer to the question is yes. According to his article published in The Atlantic, the top 20% wage earners in America give only 1.3% of their income to charity while the bottom 20% give 3.2%. Not only do America’s wealthiest give the lowest percentage of income to charity, they seldom…
Gethsemene: The Garden of Death (1)
The warm light and brilliant colors of the Garden of Eden and the Garden of En Gedi give way to the darkness of the third biblical garden in my series, the Garden of Gethsemene. Gethsemene is an important garden because we immediately associate it with agony and suffering. It is not physical bodily suffering. That…
Pixar’s 22 Rules for Storytelling
I stumbled upon this great post via Scot McKnight’s Jesus Creed blog this afternoon and thought it was pretty good. While it is primarily focused on how educators can teach writing, I thought it had some great insight for pastors and teachers in the church. You can find the article HERE. Enjoy!
New Study from UC Berkeley on the Decline of Religion in America
A new study on religious trends has been published from the University of California–Berkeley, revealing that since 1972, the number of people who claim to be irreligious has increased from 5% to 20%. The specifics are probably no surprise to you, however the report is another voice in the choir of data sounding the alarm…
Eden: The Garden of Beginnings & Birth
Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made. The LORD God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and…
Paul David Tripp on the Subject of Fear
I’ve previously shared a couple of posts related to Dangerous Calling by Paul David Tripp. One of the helpful sections of the book relates to the subject of fear. Tripp contends that, “The dirty secret of ministry is that much is done out of fear, not faith.” Point well taken. Common debilitating fears include fear…
Creating a Gospel Culture
Over the past five weeks I’ve shared a sermon series designed to answer the question, “What is the Gospel?” During these weeks I’ve expressed some thoughts on how we need a Jesus shaped gospel that speaks to our needs beyond getting our sins forgiven so we can go to heaven when we die and having…
The Gardens of God
On Sunday I will begin a new sermon series on the five major gardens found in Scripture. The series is based on a book by Murray Andrew Pura titled, Rooted: Reflections on the Gardens in Scripture. Here’s my speaking schedule: March 10: Eden: The Garden of Birth March 17: En Gedi: The Garden of Love…