Two Scripture-Related Thoughts

I had two Scripture-related thoughts recently — one during Sunday worship, the other at our small group meeting the following day — that turn out to be rather complementary, I think. The first was that, even if you don’t agree with what the preacher is saying about a particular Bible passage, it is good to … [Read more…]

Five Baskets

At this point in my life, I think just about all my activities fall into one of these five baskets:  God, family, country, friends, and health. A few observations about my choice of those five.  First, I do think that four of them probably ought to be on nearly everyone’s short list: God, of course; … [Read more…]

Language Matters: An Interesting Take on Luke 2:48-49

Let me share with you, dear reader, what I thought was an interesting passage in “Male Pattern Boldness,” an article by Mark Perkins in the latest (January/February 2026) issue of Touchstone magazine: After Jesus goes missing for three days, his parents find him in the temple, among the teachers of Scripture. When his mother addresses … [Read more…]

Pascal’s Wager, Scott Adams, and This Week’s Sermon

At the end of his sermon this week, our pastor noted Dilbert-creator Scott Adams’s recent conversion to Christianity, in which the cartoonist cited his own imminent death as the motivation.  And our pastor noted the irony that death, Satan’s malign doing, and human trepidation of it and what comes after have resulted in driving so … [Read more…]

Nobody Like Them, Nothing Like It

A couple of thoughts to keep everything else in perspective:  When you think about it, there is really no other group in world history like the Jews.  Consider, for starters, their longevity and successes despite repeated calamity and persecution.  They are, by the way, less than 0.2 percent of the world’s population. And there also … [Read more…]

A Great Start

I’ve suggested here that people might begin the New Year by reading Mark’s gospel in January.  That is not a heavy lift since it works out to a half chapter a day (until the last day of the month, when you have to read the entire last chapter of Mark — which, don’t worry, is … [Read more…]

Jesus’ Wisdom and Apologetics

The reasonableness — indeed, the profound wisdom exhibited over and over again — of what Jesus said should be a powerful apologetic tool, should it not?  That is, if Jesus’ teachings are godlike then it is evidence that He is indeed God.  Conversely, if He consistently talked rot that would undercut claims of His divinity. … [Read more…]