Let’s face it—it’s hard to preach Acts. It may be easy to throw together a sermon on a random text, like the one many of us have done on the marks of an authentic church from Acts 2:42-47. But where do you go from there? This book shows us a better way. I wish we had commentaries like this when I was a pastor.
Seminaries at the Crossroads.7: Tough Times in the Big Apple
Most of us are aware of the death of eminent New York City pastor and author Tim Keller on May 19. But there’s more bad news. Two evangelical colleges in NYC have recently closed. Here’s why it happened and how we should think about it. The harvest is not over in the Big Apple!
There is a cure for the summertime blues! (Colossians 2:20-3:4)
This time of year where I live in West Michigan it’s easy to get complacent about the Christian life. For people who aren’t away on vacation, it’s the doldrums, “the dog days of summer.” Whether we’re on vacation or not, by nature we’re fickle. We have short memories. It’s easy to forget that Easter is the center of human history. It’s God’s cure for the summertime blues, not to mention much more important things.
A Message to 2023 Graduates from James 3:13-18
If you want to know whether a person is wise and understanding, James says look at their lifestyle, whether it’s a lifestyle flowing from humility, because that is the acid test of wisdom. To put it another way, for James the good life is a life of good deeds, and a life of good deeds flows from humility, and that humility is the fundamental mark of wisdom. Without wisdom, there is no humility, and without humility there are no good deeds, and without good deeds there is no good life. Got it?!
Seminaries at the Crossroads.6: Colleges are closing too.
I hate to pour cold water on colleges and universities at this time of the year when joyful commencement celebrations are happening all over the world, but . . . . Where are the replacements for this year’s grad’s coming from? Who will fill their shoes? Sadly, this year’s commencement will be the last for some schools. And the implications of this downward trend for seminaries is ominous.
The Passion at Colossae (Colossians 2:6-19)
The moment of Jesus’ greatest weakness was in reality the moment of Jesus’ greatest power, as demonstrated on Easter morning. The resurrection turned the taunt table on all the evil powers. Jesus won, and by the grace of God, we share in his glorious victory. Why then would we allow ourselves to be distracted by the ruses of the very spiritual powers Jesus defeated?