How to be Friendly
Almost everyone agrees that friendliness is a great asset in life. Although there are rare, highly-focused exceptions, the vast majority of successful, influential people are friendly. They are likable. They…
A Good Name
Successful, enduring companies understand the value of a good name. They guard their name with patent and copyright protections, and they aggressively oppose any serious violations of their name. They…
Dressing for Respect
In his bestseller 1975 book, Dress for Success, John T. Malloy popularized the concept of “power dressing,” the idea that how we dress affects our level of power, influence and success…
Heroes of Faith
Who is your hero? It may be a parent, a grandparent, a schoolteacher or early influence in your life, maybe a gospel preacher or some public figure. Who has lived…
The “Flaw of the Excluded Middle”
In a play on words referring to a principle in logic dating from the work of Aristotle, anthropologist Paul G. Heibert in January, 1982 coined the phrase, “flaw of the…
Growing Old Together
The gospel writer, Mark, tells of an incident in the life of Jesus where he fielded an interesting question about fasting: “Why don’t your disciples fast like disciples of John…
God, Give Us Christian Homes
In 1949 Baylus Benjamin McKinney (1886-1952) published the song, God Give Us Christian Homes. The first stanza reads as follows: “God, give us Christian homes! Homes where the Bible is loved and…
Why Did You Doubt?
And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Mt. 14:31NKJV) Like most of Jesus’ questions, this one…
The Gospel Can Reach Across Cultures
All people of the world need the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. And the gospel of Jesus Christ is up to the task. When we consider the many and various…
How to Love an “Unloveable” Wife
I’ve heard it any number of times, but still I never cease to be amazed when a spouse starts talking about leaving their mate because “they never loved them in…
Except the Lord Build the House
Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain, (Ps. 127:1KJV). Qualified home builders…
Solomon
Solomon’s name comes from the Hebrew word shalom, and means “peace” or “peaceable.” The name occurs about 300 times in the Old Testament, and is associated with wisdom and wealth….
The Psalms of Ascent
Psalms 120-134 were sung as pilgrims made their way up the Judean hills to Jerusalem to celebrate the three annual feasts of Israel. A sort of hymnal for these traveling…
Some Biblical Insights on Racism
“Who art thou that judgest the servant of another? To his own lord he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be made to stand; for the Lord hath power to…
Crucified With Christ
There are several passages which speak of “dying” with Christ. Obviously, these are not teaching that we literally and physically died at the time Jesus was nailed to the cross….
Step Up to the Plate
Some years ago I helped coach the Little League baseball team on which our son, Robbie, was playing. As an assistant, my place was in the dugout with the boys…
Crossing Jordan
Last Sunday I did something I very rarely do. I preached another preacher’s sermon. The sermon, “the Jordan River” was adapted from a sermon preached by J.W. McGarvey back in…
Remember the Main Thing
As I write these lines, it is Inauguration Day in America – a very important thing. It is important on many levels, including the fact that it represents the peaceful…
