God's Faithfulness Endures
People say they don’t like reading the genealogies of Scripture. Reading page after page of “Asa begat Josaphat” doesn’t seem to...
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Taking the Next Step
What is stopping you from taking that next step? What is it that is making you hold back from boldly moving forward? Is it the size of the task? Is it the doubting of friends and family? Is it the fear of failure?...
In Two Places at Once
They say that you cannot be in two places at once, but that is not strictly true when it comes to the Christian. A look at Paul’s introduction in his letter to the Colossians points to the fact that every church and every Christian has two homes, and two habitats....
You Are Being Followed
During the fall of 1974 President Gerald Ford’s son, Michael Ford, along with his wife Gayle attended Gordon Conwell in the Boston area. Because his father occupied the Oval Office at the time, Michael had to have two Secret Service agents with him at all times....
Leave It Alone
One of the great challenges and choices in life when faced with overwhelming trouble is to take things into our own hands or leave them in God’s hands. In life we can find ourselves in a moment of crisis, standing at a fork in the road, having to consciously decide between trusting ourselves, and resting in God’s sovereignty....
Safe and Sound
In his book "Muscular Faith", author and campus pastor, Ben Patterson, writes, "When circumstances aren't as agreeable as I want them to be, I practice a little spiritual discipline that has managed to feed my hope and keep me in joy, nevertheless....
Don't Forget to Say Thank You
One Sunday morning following the service a woman came up to the pastor and thanked him for the encouraging and edifying sermon he had just preached....
That's an Easy Decision
A young man came to the late Bible teacher J. Vernon McGee and said, "Dr. McGee I have been studying predestination, and I am so convinced of the sovereignty of God that I believe if I stood in the middle of a busy highway, and my hour was not yet come, God would and could spare my life."...
Proof of Birth (Part 2)
The story is told of the daughter who thought that it was time for her aging and widowed mother to get on with life, so she set her up on a blind date with an elderly gentleman friend....
Proof of Birth (Part 1)
The story is told of Will Rogers the humorist who on one occasion went in to get a passport, and the official said, "We need to see your birth certificate." Rogers replied, "What for?" The man behind the desk responded, "For proof of your birth." Rogers looked at the man whimsically, and said, "Well I'm here, ain't I?"...
The Hiding Place
David McCullough's book, The Great Bridge, tells an engaging and enlightening story about the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, which arches the East River and joins Manhattan to Brooklyn....
Living Letters
Towards the end of his book, "Max on Life," author Max Lucado encourages his readers to remember that the apostles were writers, and that we need to pick up the pens that Paul, John, and Luke have set down....
Don't Worry About a Thing
A lady visited the doctor and told him that she was feeling rather run down. As far as she could tell, her get up and go had got up and gone. After listening and then examining his patient, the doctor replied, "Madam it is my expert opinion that you are not all run down, but you are all wound up."...
Failure Is Not Final
The God of the Bible is the God of the second chance, a God who prefers to mend rather than discard. In Matthew 12:20, it is said of our Lord Jesus that “a bruised reed He will not break and a smoking flax He will not quench.”...
Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
When I was at the Master's Seminary training for the ministry one of our professor's, Jim Rosscup, who taught Bible Exposition, told us one day of his freshman year at Dallas Seminary when beginning his theological training. He told us of feeling intimidated by the knowledge of other students in the class who had come to DTS straight out of Bible College, and so their Bible knowledge was deep and wide....
Do Sweat the Small Stuff
The tragedy of the Titanic's demise in 1912 is the sad story of the ship's glancing blow against an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean due to carelessness. The rub up against the iceberg caused a series of fatal puncture holes or gashes beneath the water line....
In the Know
A man in New York City had a wife who had a cat. Actually, the cat had her. She loved the cat. She stroked it, combed its fur, fed and pampered it. The man detested the cat. He was allergic to cat hair; he hated the smell of the litter box; he couldn’t stand the scratching on the furniture; and he couldn’t enjoy a good night's sleep because the cat kept jumping on the bed....
Up Close and Personal
What is the best way to reach the world for Christ? The answer to that question is one home and one heart at a time! Evangelism that is up close and personal is still the best method of reaching the lost. Statistics continue to show that a majority of people come to Christ through the personal witness of a Christian pointing them to Christ....
God With Skin On
A little fellow put to bed one night couldn’t sleep. After some twisting and turning, he eventually slipped into a slumber only to awaken screaming by the horrors of a nightmare. His father rushed upstairs to assure him that everything was fine, but the shadows on the wall plus the darkness kept him in a state of fear....
Point of Reference
Once, in reply to a delegation of bank presidents who urged whether it was not time to give up all thought of the Union, President Abraham Lincoln told the following story......
The Blessing of Not Knowing It All
The mother was waiting for her little girl to get off the bus after her first day at school. When she got off the bus, the mother asked her, "What did you learn today?" The little girl replied, "Nothing, I guess. The teacher said I have to come back tomorrow." Life has a way of bringing us all back again and again to the reality of our own ignorance....
Having Enough
Many years ago Dr. Joseph Parker, a contemporary of C. H. Spurgeon and pastor of the famous City Temple Church, mounted the steps to his pulpit and announced his reading for the morning as Psalm 23. Slowly and distinctly he read, "The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want."...
It Is All Good
I have a friend in ministry who has a wonderful habit of invariably finishing a conversation especially when talking of difficult problems or people with the words, “It is all good.” His words are based on the wonderful promise of Paul in Romans 8:28 where those loved by God are reminded that God is actively working all things in their lives together for their good....
Perfect Timing
Phillips Brooks, the former New England pulpiteer, was known for his calm demeanor. So you can guess the surprise of his associates when they found him pacing up and down the floor of his study like a lion in a cage. One of the friends asked, "What is the trouble, Dr. Brooks?" He abruptly responded, "The trouble is that I am in a hurry, but God isn't."...
Targeted for Assassination
Before entering the ministry, I spent some six years as a reserve police officer in the Royal Ulster Constabulary. At the time, Northern Ireland was dealing with the insurgency of the IRA terrorist organization which was trying to force the British out of Northern Ireland against the will of the majority of its people. As a police officer, I was a target for assassination....
Finding the Right Words to Say
I once read about an Ambassador from Spain to America who did not know the English language very well. In a meeting with an American diplomat they began to engage in some small talk, and so the Ambassador was asked if he had any children....
Spoiled for Choice
Daniel Boone was one of the heroes of the American frontier. It is said that he was once returning from the uncharted forests beyond the Kentucky River, and was asked by a lady if he was ever lost. The famous scout replied, “I cannot say I was ever lost, ma’am, but I was bewildered for three days.”...
Going Forward
Some years back the Readers Digest magazine told the story that when someone suggested that rowing become part of the Clemson University’s athletic program, Athletic Director, Frank Howard, declared...
Work On The Fundamentals
A generation back there was a famous Hollywood actor named Spencer Tracy who starred in such notable flicks as Captain Courageous (1937), Father of the Bride (1950), and The Old Man and the Sea (1958). Most people in that day...
Out Of This World
When David Thoreau, the American writer, was on his deathbed, he was visited by a minister who urged his dying friend to be ready for death. The pastor queried, “Do you know where you are going in the next life?” Thoreau...
Keep On Knocking
William Temple, 98th Archbishop of Canterbury, famously said: “Prayer is not the overcoming of God’s reluctance but the laying hold of His willingness.” In these words...
The Test of First Impressions
We say that a first impression can be a lasting impression and indeed that is true. The first time we do something is often the most memorable. The first time we meet someone we...
Believe The Best
In his book Life Essentials, author Tony Evans remembers during his days at Dallas Seminary how one of his favorite professor’s, Dr. Howard Hendricks told them of how his fifth-grade teacher tied him to the chair in an attempt to...
There Is No Time Like The Present
In his book Shadows on the Wall, devotional writer F. W. Boreham told of preaching in a particular church during his college days. The preaching engagement involved an overnight stay in...
The Power of the Gospel in Jars of Clay
When I was in elementary school I began listening to the music of a Christian band called “Jars of Clay” and I had no idea what...
Leaders Are Readers - Facebook Live Interview with Pastor Philip
Charles Spurgeon once wrote “We are quite persuaded that the very best way for you to be spending your leisure time, is to be either reading or praying. You may get...
Ask The Pastors - Facebook Live Q&A
We had a wonderful time with Pastor Jason, Pastor Dave, and Pastor Dan in our "Ask The Pastors" Q&A. We covered some great topics such as our doctrine, what we believe at Kindred, church membership and more...
Pastoral Insights on Marriage
It is clear from Scripture that the bond of marriage is something that is important in the eyes of God, yet in our culture, marriages are...
Parenting with the Pastors
Charles Spurgeon once wrote related to the discipleship of children, “The first and most natural condition of things is for Christian parents to train up their own...
Good Fellowship is a Little Uncomfortable
Some time ago researchers at UC Berkeley conducted an experiment that introduced an amoeba into a stress-free environment. This lucky amoeba experienced a perfect...
Listening Well, Caring for Others
The story is told of Franklin Roosevelt, who often endured long receiving lines at the White House. He complained that no one really paid any attention to what was said. One day, during a reception, he decided to try an experiment. To each person who...
Change Is A Community Project
The story is told of a pastor who visited a member of his church. The church member had stopped attending services regularly. It was a chilly evening and the man was home sitting before a fire. The pastor took...
The Type of Hard Work That Does Not Please God
Have you ever considered the truth that there is a type of hard work that does not please God? This is the type of hard work described in Psalm 127:2 ...
The Reformation Part 16: The Fruits of the Reformation
Through the Reformation, the Lord restored the Biblical Gospel to the center of the Churches’ Message & Mission. Wherever the Gospel has been received and Biblical Protestant faith has flourished Christians have experienced...
The Reformation Part 15: How the Reformation Came to America
Who Were They? Was it the Pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620? No. Was it John Smith in Jamestown, Virginia in 1607? No. Was it the Lost Colony of Roanoke in North Carolina in 1587?...
The Reformation Part 14: The English Reformation
By the time of the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church had a long and infamous history of persecuting those who protested it’s abuses and/or sought reform of its doctrines...
Playing Favorites
In 1968, a teacher named Jane Elliott developed an exercise for her third-grade class in Riceville, Iowa as a result of Martin Luther King’s assassination. She told all of the students that brown-eyed students were...
The Reformation Part 13: The Radical Reformation
By the time of the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church relied on a forged Medieval document to claim supreme authority over all churches and all temporal powers....
The Reformation Part 12: The Institutes of the Christian Religion
By the time of the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church had, ironically, moved from being the persecuted to being the persecutor of evangelical faith...
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The Reformation Part 11: Luther vs. The Three Walls of the Romanist
By the time of the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church was attempting to insulate itself against any and all movements that called for Scriptural reform...
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You've Asked If I'm A Calvinist
You have asked me if I am a Calvinist, and this is my response: The answer to your question, “Are You A Calvinist?” depends on what you mean by the word “Calvinist”. Let me give a few examples...
The Reformation Part 10: The Bible in The Language of the People
By the time of the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church had prohibited the translation of the Bible into the vernacular (the language of the people). Ostensibly, the prohibition and condemnation of Bible translation...
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The Reformation Part 9: The Bondage of the Will
By the time of the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church had functionally embraced the error of Semi-Pelagianism. Pelagianism (man has no original sin) and Semi-Pelagianism (man is affected by sin but...
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The Reformation Part 8: Solum Evangelium
By the time of the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church had obscured the simplicity of the gospel through the invention of an elaborate merit system of salvation. As I mentioned in a previous blog...
The Reformation Part 7: Semper Reformanda
By the time of the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church claimed to be,“always the same” (semper eadem). Rome hoped to shield itself from...
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The Reformation Part 6: Coram Deo
By the time of the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Churches’ twin errors of Sacerdotalism & Sacramentalism produced a compartmentalized view...
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The Reformation Part 5: The Priesthood of All Believers
By the time of the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church had functionally replaced Christ as the mediator between God and man. Through the inventions of a priestly caste (sacerdotalism)...
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The Reformation Part 4: Post Tenebras Lux
What does the Creation narrative, the first advent of Christ and the Reformation have in common? The answer is the use of the “light from darkness” motif. In Genesis “darkness was...
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The Gospel Is Meant To Be Shared
In this day and age, we are surrounded by social media outlets, websites, and apps. Nearly everyone we know has a smartphone or tablet, or at the very least a computer in their home. We have come a long way from...
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The Reformation Part 3: Ad Fontes
By the time of the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church depended more on tradition than upon Scripture for it’s final authority. Rome was...
The Reformation Part 2: TULIP
At the time of the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church taught that sin had merely tainted man and that man through the help of the sacramental system could gain merit with God toward their own salvation. In contrast...
The Reformation Part 1: The Five Solas
The Reformation was a 16th-century movement to reform the corruption and abuses in the Roman Catholic Church ending in the establishment of the Protestant Churches that exist today...
Seeking and Setting
Last month I had the privilege of spending a weekend with our Jr. High and High School students at KSM Winter Camp. We spent our time in God’s word focused on...