Whole Reason

Robert R. Reilly, who has more accomplishments than I can list, has written a fascinating historical account of 9th century Islam, and how the more Hellenic (Greek) version of Islam, which viewed reason and faith as complementary, was ousted by the anti-reason school of thought...

In chapters 4-6 of Hosea, a passage occurs that Jesus quotes at least twice in the New Testament: For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. ~ This has a lot to say to us religious people...

A few weeks ago, the excellent British radio show and podcast Unbelievable aired a 30 minute debate (way too short) on the topic of Conditional Immortality – the doctrine that claims the Bible does not teach eternal conscious torment for the unrepentant, but rather, annihilation....

Some suffering can be avoided if we change how we think and act, especially when we are at fault. But some suffering comes from doing good, or from just the difficulty of life. That suffering must be endured, and with a perspective that gives hope...

Second in a mini-series on the book of Hebrews (Part 1 here), this podcast addresses the question “Does God expect all of us to eventually mentor and teach others?” Yes, but we often linger in spiritual infanthood, and God through the passage below, will have...

If your faith does not give you rest and peace, you may be missing the central message of the Gospel. The gospel provides rest for us in three phases: The Past – God resolves our guilt, our sins, and our bitterness by forgiving us The...

What does the Bible say about our relationship to work, and do those same scriptures also clearly approve or condemn slavery? My main thesis is that the household codes that discuss the obedience of servants to masters, in the Roman context, is primarily addressed to the majority...

Based on the beginning of the famous love passage in 1 Corinthians 13, this sermon covers the four actions we ought to take if we are to obey the instruction to suffer long and be kind. BTW, if you want to track my progress,  you...

I wish that experienced believers would not skip over this, but know it well enough to explain it to new believers. So here’s your chance, genius! I apologize for the first 2 minutes, in which my mic was on backwards, and there is a little...

This Sunday sermon contains the following points: Why we avoid silence Scriptures on silence The Benefits of Silence To download The Practice of Christian Silence, please subscribe to our podcast feed. Listen Now:

How Hard Work Leads to Satisfaction This sermon starts off the new year by fanning our passions, helping us overcome obstacles, and instructing us on setting priorities so that we persevere with renewed focus and vigor. Sermon notes below. He who tills his land will...

For many, the life of faith is a life of burdensome works to earn or keep salvation. That is totally backwards. Listen and understand why. Outline below. To download Stop Working for God, please subscribe to our podcast feed. —————————————- 0. Review of Romans a. Greeting (1:1-15)...

This sermon, first delivered in 2012, is a good boost around the holidays, which can often be stressful and depressing for many of us. Enjoy. To download Hope for the Holidays, please subscribe to our podcast feed.

In this examination of Nicodemus’ nighttime visit with Jesus (John 3:1-9), we discuss the main steps to True Spiritual Awakening, from a Christian perspective. Feel free to fill in the outline below as you listen, and encounter terms like “spiritual rape” and “self-authenticating witness,” and...

Life is tough, and when it gets overwhelming, we lose hope that the future will ever get better. How do we restore a positive expectation of the future that’s based on reality? And is Christian hope anything more than secular hope, and in the end,...

This sermon is on returning to the basic disciplines of faith, as described in Romans 12:1-2, including: Bring yourselves to God Stop being conformed by this world Be Transformed Also discussed are Time Alone with God (TAG), and the possibility and pitfalls of exploring a...

This sermon got some strong positive and negative feedback, including the criticism that it contained ‘profanity.’ You be the judge. Contains the following points: Failures of the Left and Right Emergence of the Christian Center Organizations moving from LEFT to Center Organizations moving from RIGHT...

One of the more informative podcasts I listen to regularly is Issues Etc.  Recently, they interviewed Joel Heck, who’s written a very inexpensive book entitled In the Beginning, God: Creation from God’s Perspective, which examines the questions surrounding the historicity and interpretation of Genesis. I...

With the upcoming Sesquicentennial (150 years) of the Civil War, a lot of discussion is occurring around racism in America, as well as the role of religion and politics in the making and unmaking of slavery and racism in America. Here’s two really good resources,...

Here's my first sermon as an ordained pastor, and here's what was in it: Get there Quiet your soul Pour out your soul Read and wait for Illumination Journal Express thanks Listen to Draw near to God

You can listen to the sermon below: How to Misunderstand Scripture Sermon outline after the jump. This sermon contains the following points: A. Good Teacher The Mistake: Jesus is denying his deity The Truth: Jesus is challenging the man's idea...

Atheists are full of good questions, one of which was recently broached at Common Sense Atheism in the post A question online theists refuse to answer? - that question is 'Can you prove to me that God exists in a...

Here is my sermon from 12/06/09 entitled At the Bottom. Based on Mark 12:41-44, it covers these main points. Turn towards God, not away Do not worry God is doing something new Put God first Give what you have At...

One of the most annoying voices on conservative talk radio is Mark Levin, author of the bestselling Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto. However, it's all I've got some days, and once in a while, he has an interesting guest...

In Part I, I linked to August Berkshire's Six C's of Atheism interview, and discussed points 1-3. Here's the audio again, with my commentary on parts 4-6. Listen to: The 6 Cs of Atheism4. Contradiction-free Another benefit of atheism is...

Many of us Christians may be familiar with the "Seven C's" overview of the Christian World View, but it seems that there is a Six C's of Atheism, as August Berkshire, . Berkshire also calls his list the 'virtues' of...

To Paine and the boys at Shire Network News have prepared another superior podcast, continuing their mission to 'protect the Anglosphere through satire.' I excerpted this short bit on the introduction of government-run grocery stores. Awesome. Download Grocial Security (mp3)...

In this sermon, I examined Pilate’s exasperated exclamation, “What is truth?”  I discussed three serious objections to the existence of God from this passage, including: Religious hypocrisy Injustice and suffering Personal limitations and failure I apologize for the background noise, and the places where I...

This sermon, based on the example of God the Father in the Baptism of Jesus (), includes the following points: Acceptance: I know you Affection: I love you Approval: believe in you For you hardliners, don’t worry, I cover DISCIPLINE in the second part. To...

This sermon, delivered over the July 4th weekend, covers a portion of John 10, explaining the different characters in Jesus’ allegory of himself as ‘the Good Shepherd.’  It explores what a good pastor looks like, as well as describing the characteristics of a hireling, wolf,...

Jesus had a major smackdown with the Pharisees, in which they exchange insults.  It escalates to a point where Jesus finally just replies “I AM that I AM” – meaning that He is claiming to be the God who spoke to Moses (Exodus 3:14). In...

I have been listening to more and more debates between William Lane Craig, probably one of the best living Christian apologists, and a variety of atheists (links to debate audio below).  With the exception of Jonathan Shook, even their best efforts are easily destroyed by...

What good is another sermon on HOW to pray if no one is praying in the first place?  How do we, then, motivate ourselves to pray, which is a central Christian discipline?  The key to maintaining discipline is to maintain desire, and the key to...

In this fun message, I cover some surprising myths and truths, including: Jesus probably didn’t have blond hair Jesus was probably NOT born in December The Magi were NOT Kings God led the Magi to Christ using PAGAN ASTROLOGY How should Christians view astrology? Why...

This is the first sermon in a series on love, of which I will preach a few parts.  This is one of my favorite sermons so far, and was and is personally challenging to me. To download Love Suffers Long and is Kind, please subscribe to our podcast...

This sermon is broken up a little with humor while having technical problems, but the content is some of my best so far. To download Time with God, please subscribe to our podcast feed.  

Fifth in the series, this is the last sermon in the series.  It covers The Revealing of God’s Call The Re-education of God’s Call The Renewal of God’s Call It helps us see why God’s process involves development of character through failure, difficulty, and outward...

Fourth in the series, this sermon was the most positively received in the series, and covers the following points: The Power of Desire The Priority of Desire The Problem of Desire The Transformation of Desire The Pursuit of Desire To download Finding God’s Call IV...

In this third part in the Finding God’s Call series, I am endeavoring to remove one of the most significant misunderstandings in the Christian church regarding how we find our way – the role of the created self, and how we are, as good stewards,...

In Part I of this series, we learned some general things about the call of God based on the call of Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1.  In this second part, we look at how God wants us to build a proper foundation of character before focusing...

This series is made up of audio sermons on the subject of Finding God’s Call, including: Finding God’s Call I – If you are SAVED, you are CALLED  Finding God’s Call II – Character before gifts  Finding God’s Call III – A Biblical view of...

American Vision, one of my favorite book publishers and Biblical world view sources, has just created a new site dedicated to confronting and debating the falsehoods of the militant atheist movement (Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris), also known as the New Atheism.  The site?  FoolsHeart.com, taken from...

Ever been in a church where they are heavy handed, hellfire and brimstone, and only negative?  Where they emphasize obedience to outward rules like what clothing to wear?  Where they treat you like a rebellious sinner if you question authority?  Odds are, you’ve probably been...

Humor:  Where You WON’T See Stephen Colbert Speaking Truthiness To Power Humor:  When jihadists use the wrong car. Humor:  Islamic Extremist rage meter at Wuzzadem – no change. Muslims Should Apologize:  At a recent Hudston Institute seminar, a Former Prime Minister of Spain said that...

Bestiality:  Obviously, Islam has no problem with bestiality. McArthur Podcasts:  Even though John McCarthur is a little too neo-fundy for me, he is a great preacher.  Check out his and other professors’ sermons at his Master’s Seminary.  Nice. Christian Left Preaching:  Tony Campolo is part...