Pastor's Blog

Q: We pray in the Lord’s prayer “Thy kingdom come.” Is the Kingdom a future “event,” or does the Kingdom exist in reality now? In the Scriptures the kingdom of God is conceived of in different ways. On the one hand, God rules over all things, and always has. “The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all” (Ps. 103:19). “His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation” (Dan. 4:34). On the other hand, the kingdom of God is conceived of as having a beginning in history, at the time of Christ. God’s kingdom and rule are eternal; but with the fall, the human race entered into a state of rebellion against his authority. Thus God seeks to reassert his crown rights and reduce the rebels to a willing and whole-hearted obedience…or else destroy them if they remain impenitent. This is the cosmic battle, of which we are all a part. We are all enlisted on one side or the other. It is a battle of two kingdom...

Please explain the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is the third member of the Holy Trinity, and as such, he is a Divine Person. Some people don’t think of the Holy Spirit as a person. They think of him as an impersonal power or force, like electricity. This is reflected in how they speak of him. They don’t use personal pronouns when speaking of him, which is to say, they don’t say, “he” or “him.” They say “it,” when referring to the Spirit. But it is quite clear from Scripture that the Holy Spirit is a person. Personal acts are frequently attributed to him. He knows (1 Cor. 2:10-11); he wills (1 Cor. 12:11); he speaks (Jn. 16:13; Acts 10:19; cf. 11:12; 21:11; 1 Tim. 4:1; Rev. 14:13); he can be lied to (Acts 5:3); he can be tested (Acts 5:9); he can be grieved (Eph. 4:30); fellowship can be had with him (2 Cor. 13:14; Phil. 2:1); he teaches (Jn. 14:26); he intercedes (Rom. 8:26-27); he can be pleased (Acts 15:28); he makes men overseers of the church (Acts 20:28). It is for this reason tha...

Rifqa Bary of the previous post has had her extradition to Ohio (with her feared honor killing) postponed. At least for now. There will be another hearing September 3rd.

I don't know whether or not you have been following the story about Rifqa Bary, the 17 year old ethnic Sri Lankan who converted from Islam. But if you haven't, you should. And you should also watch this interview with her. She escaped from her family in Ohio, fearing that she would be a victim of an "honor" killing by her father for converting to Christianity. She has found refuge by living with a Christian family in Florida, but the powers that be are forcing her to move back to Ohio with her family. O Lord, "Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked" (Ps. 82:4).

Check out the always humorous and insightful Ann Coulter on the free market's answer to the problems with U.S. health care.

Why were the Ten Commandments given, and were they meant for all peoples, or just for the Israelites? And should they be posted in court rooms? The Ten Commandments form a summary of man’s moral obligation before God. They were given to the people of Israel at Mount Sinai some 3,500 years ago, but they spell out man’s duty to God for all peoples in all times . It’s unfortunate, but many Christians have a very negative view of God’s law. There are a couple of reasons for this. The first has to do with our fallen human nature. We simply don’t like to be told what to do. And we don’t like to have it pointed out to us that our behavior is at certain points sinful. We want to do whatever we want, with no limitations to our freedom. But God’s law says that some things are out of bounds; some things are off limits for us, and if we do them it angers God. The second reason why many Christians have a negative view of the law is because of a misunderstanding of some things that Paul says in the ...

If you have followed my blog for any length of time, you might have come to learn that I have a fascination with what people have been able to train themselves to do. Speed, strength, balance, agility, you know...all the things I don't have. The guy's name is Danny MacAskill

What do you get when you combine basketball and juggling skills? Take a look.

One of the worst things that the Congress of the United States ever did was to create the Federal Reserve System in 1913. If I am not mistaken, the U.S. was the last world-power to create a central bank, largely because our Christian consensus made us deeply suspicious of placing so much power into the hands of so few individuals. A handful of non-elected officials (and therefore not accountable to the taxpayers) make monetary policy decisions that can wreak not only national but international havoc. Check out Fed Chairman Ben Bernake being very closely questioned by Rep. Alan Grayson (D) of Florida. Bernake's responses are not at all encouraging.

John Lott has written a good piece on the administration's "Cash for Clunkers" plan.