July 2017

My Webster’s Third World International Dictionary weighs a whopping 13 pounds. It requires strong bookends to keep it upright. Supports too weak would allow this large volume to fall, with the potential of knocking other books off the shelf, not to mention the possibility of doing bodily harm. John’s book…

Background information lends texture to many biblical statements. Rarely does that information determine orthodoxy or even how we should apply the lessons of Scripture to our lives. Still, knowing the context in which a writer sends forth his sentences sometimes helps us appreciate the nuances of divine inspiration. Let’s consider…

“You blew it up!” So concludes the Planet of the Apes (1968). After years of space travel at near the speed of light, Astronaut George Taylor has crash-landed on an unknown planet in the distant future. He discovers a shocking truth: the earlier inhabitants had blown their civilization to oblivion.…

The visiting Christian brother did not suffer from dementia, but his 90 years had removed many inhibitions. We learned this in a somewhat humorous way. Our small congregation sometimes sang Samuel J. Stone’s hymn, The Church’s One Foundation. On the day of his visit, when we sang the verse Yet…