When theologians say that God is omnipresent, they mean that he is everywhere. At times that can be an encouraging thought, but it can also be unnerving. We cannot hide from him! As David said in Psalm 139:12, even the darkness is not dark to him. Eight centuries before Jesus
Continue readingOn Sunday, October 10, we will kick off a 9 week session of men’s and women’s Growth Groups focusing on John 1-12. We will meet together as a large group at 9 a.m. in our church fellowship room to pray together before splitting up. Study guides will be distributed free at the
Continue readingSeptember 5, 2021 Last Sunday I shared with our youth group a handy chart titled “How Our Bible Came to Us.” I discovered it several years ago in a book by Charles Ryrie called Basic Theology. Knowing something of this process disarms many doubts, criticisms, and false ideas, so I
Continue readingAugust 29, 2021 When I asked my wife to marry me, I gave her a diamond engagement ring. It was not too impressive compared to others that the jewelers had on display, but it was a significant investment for me, and she loved it. Even in church, she could not
Continue readingI 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,
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