Saturday is the church trip to the ark replica, and I can't wait to see it. Ken Ham, builder and founder of Answers in Genesis, has made it his life's work to advocate for a literal reading of Genesis, so I know his dedication will be present in the information he presents at the ark. I don't expect him to have every single detail worked out, and I think there will be large amounts of pure speculation since the only record we have is the Genesis narrative, but I know it will

Everybody has that one song that really gets them pumped up, that gets the blood flowing and steels their resolve. It's the song people listen to in the gym while they're working out. It's what they play in the background of the movie when the hero is defeating the villain in the battle royal. It's what every pep band plays at every ball game to get the crowd, well, pepped up. It's the fight song. Asbury Theological Seminary, my alma mater, has no sports teams, no mascot, and

No, the title of today's post isn't a typo. This Sunday will be our last Sunday in testimony month, and we've had some very brave people share their stories with us. All of them have my deep gratitude for telling us what God has done in their lives, for we're all better for having heard about God's love for them. They've shared individual stories, but no person is an island. Their stories are a voice in the symphony, a verse of the song that is Russell Springs Christian Churc

Since March 23 of last year, our adult Bible study class has been poring over the pages of the Book of Revelation. That's right: for one day short of a calendar year, we've covered a whopping twenty-two chapters verse by verse. We've studied history, prophecy, symbolism, millennialism, the odd language question or two, and everything in-between. Today I counted and learned we've spent a total of forty-three weeks on it (counting tonight). That's the rough equivalent of a four

I didn't wear glasses until I was a day away from turning twenty-eight. I had occasionally been given reading glasses that never really helped, but just before graduating from seminary, I got "real" glasses full-time. Why? Because you really can read so much your eyes can no longer naturally focus on things farther away than a book. My theological education had left me woefully nearsighted. Ironically, being nearsighted where the faith is concerned is something rather strongl

Every Saint Patrick's Day, I try to say something about the Godhead, the Holy Trinity. This isn't because I just know so much about it -- I don't -- but because St. Patrick, according to legend, taught the Irish about the Trinity using a shamrock. Which, as others have noted, is a fairly bad analogy. The problem is that there simply are no good analogies for the Trinity. Practically all of them cause you to profess some heresy or another (partialism, modalism, Arianism, Sabel

I've really been hung up lately on Paul's preaching in Athens. I'm not sure why, but I've really dug in here for a while, and I keep finding new things. On the whole, the passage teaches us a very valuable insight: whether or not we know it in so many words, we all worship something. Each of us chases a god or God (even the ones who say they don't worship anything at all). Some, if not most, don't know this particular god by name, and so their personal shrine may read "TO AN

Yesterday during the Children's Worship Time, I asked the kids about the key events in Jesus' life. They knew he was born on Christmas, and they could tell me he rose on Easter, but when I asked, "When did Jesus die?" the unanimous answer was, "Black Friday!" I suppose they should get half-credit for knowing it was on a Friday, at least. And I really have to admit that calling it "Black Friday" makes more sense at first blush than "Good Friday." We call it "Good Friday" becau

For being one of the most beloved people in the Bible, King Solomon is depicted as a rather controversial figure. Back when Israel had no king, God told them exactly how a king would sin, giving them a list of things a king must never do (Deuteronomy 17:14-20). In an almost parallel passage, Solomon is shown to have used the list of don'ts as a checklist for do's (1 Kings 10:14-11:8). And yet God still promised to give him whatever he asked -- and Solomon asked for wisdom (1

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the tale of the woman caught in adultery in John 8. The story doesn't appear in the majority of the manuscripts, but it so fits with the character of Jesus it's never been seriously recommended for removal. We can all quote from the story: "Go and sin no more"; "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." It's a beautiful teaching on sin, judgment, and forgiveness. But it's also the source of one of the greater mysteries to go u