I became a Christian and began to attend a church right before my sixteenth birthday. A few months later, my pastor began to preach through the New Testament letters to the Thessalonians. He told us that those letters would teach us much about “eschatology.” But at the time, I
Continue readingThe first time I came to 5495 East Main Street was fifteen years ago this July. I was an associate pastor at Calvary Bible Church, but the interim pastor of Kalamazoo Bible Church wanted to show me the property to see if Calvary would be willing to take it over
Continue readingOur attention span is short. We want simple answers to complex problems. We want solutions in a bold headline. Don’t bore me with the fine print! But ignoring the fine print can get you into trouble, can’t it? Some of our simple answers are based upon false dichotomies. We approach
Continue readingChange. It’s something that’s easy to love when we enjoy it, and easy to hate when it’s difficult. The last year has been a time of change for all of us, in different ways. For some of us, the COVID pandemic has simply made life less comfortable and convenient.
Continue readingMy earliest sermons had very few illustrations. I knew that it would be helpful to people, but it just wasn’t how my mind worked. One year at Easter, however, I decided to work at keeping younger children engaged in the worship service by using note sheets and slides with a
Continue readingActs 20:27 tells us that as Paul said farewell to the elders of the church in Ephesus, he told them, “for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.” I believe that everyone who teaches the Bible should aspire to this goal. In fact,
Continue readingIn my interview with Pastor R.J. Morelli for “Finding Your Way in the Religious Maze”, we discussed his belief that the King James Bible (KJV) of 1611 is “infallible.” He is not alone in this assertion. Though this view is not common, there are some other independent, fundamental Baptists who
Continue readingOctober 4, 2020 I had very few encounters with religion during my childhood and early teens. Sadly, they were all pretty awkward. When I was four, my family had dinner with another family. I started eating as soon as the plate was set in front of me but was sternly
Continue readingSeptember 27, 2020 With so many firsts, I was not sure what to expect last Sunday. It was our first time to use our sanctuary in six months, so we were reconnecting a lot of equipment. To further complicate matters, it was also the first time to integrate video clips
Continue readingSeptember 20, 2020 I preach sermons. Every Sunday morning, I work my way verse-by-verse through passages of Scripture and even entire books of the Bible. It took me two and a half years to complete the Gospel of Luke. For the past seven years, each of sermon was recorded and
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