“I have heard of a brother who trusts in the Lord, and does not study; but I have also heard that his people do not trust in him; in fact, I am informed that they wish him to go elsewhere with his inspired discourses, for they say that, when he did study, his talk was …
Thump Thump Music
“A guilty conscience, such as our generation has, often tries to drown out consciousness in order not to be aware of the pain of guilt. Drugs, booze, and the pursuit of deadening pleasures of all sorts, the constant thump-thump music or the ubiquitous narcotic of television—all are ways to drown out the guilt of consciousness, …
Surrendering Slowly Is Not Fighting
“This is the same phenomenon which caused one wit to observe that if the liberals in our Congress were to introduce a bill to burn down the Capitol, the conservatives would counter with a bill to phase the project in over the course of three years. When one group wants to drive us over a …
The Fallen Booth of David/Amos 9
INTRODUCTION: We come now to the conclusion of Amos, at least in the form of going through it passage by passage. Next week we will look at the book as a whole, and then some applications—Amos for Americans. THE TEXT: “Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of …
Getting Back to “A and not A”
As I continue to reflect on the state of things in the UK, I wanted to post something that might be a tad provocative, and by this, I don’t mean provocative to those who are currently agitating for the ordination of sea urchins, or whatever it is they are doing these days. Those folks have …
Pikestaff Texts
The global Anglican communion is blowing apart, as we speak. N.T. Wright is unhappy about it, as he ought to be, but unfortunately he analyzes the situation wrongly, almost from top to bottom. I wrote about this some years ago, as one who appreciates much of Wright’s scholarship. But I noted then that his anti-gnostic …
Think Globally, Sit On Your Butt Locally
I am preaching through the book of Amos, and so issues of economics, finances, generosity, and so on keep coming up. This last Sunday, someone after the service asked about something they had heard, which was that Catholic charities outgive evangelical charities, and do so by a long shot. This had application to Amos, but …
Put Me In, Coach
Some of the men in our church have been running the Bon Hom Lacrosse League for a few years, a summer program that helps get boys started early in this (fantastic) game. This last Saturday was grandson Rory’s first game ever. He is the one on the right, with gold striping on his shorts. As …
For He Is Small
Throughout the book of Amos, Israel has been preening herself over her wealth, her privilege, her status, her security. But Amos sees how vulnerable she is and pleads that way — Lord God, show mercy for Jacob is small. “Lord God of hosts, have mercy on the United States for we are tiny.” The fact …
Health is Not Mechanical
“The key to health is obedience and faith, not mechanical observance of health techniques. Valuable as exercise, good diet, and the like may be, they are not delineated in God’s revealed law” (James Jordan, Pig Out? p. 58).