For a myriad of reasons, New Year’s Day compels people to think of making resolutions for the new year. I’m not alone, I think, in usually deciding to begin a new exercise program. Actually, mine started the day after Christmas. December 26th is my birthday, and that is usually reason enough to try to turn back the clock. So New Year’s Day is just further incentive to make good on my resolution for better health, or lose weight, or whatever. And I think that such calendar prompts are helpful. It helps to measure time, to take note of your situation,

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As those of you who are regulars here have come to realize by now, I do not go out of my way to preach topical messages on holidays. So, as such, I do not have a “Christmas message” per se for you this morning. That being said however, I feel that today’s message does speak to the real meaning of Christmas that unfortunately is often obscured by the focus on just the birth of Christ. The real message of Christmas I feel is that Jesus came to be the Savior of the world. Not just some sentimental nostalgia about a

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The Christmas season is supposed to be a season of joy. It’s supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year. That’s what we are told, at least, in tradition and song. And yet I would suggest that for a lot of people, Christmas time is anything but joyful. For many people that are financially strapped, it is a stressful time. And for many who have lost loved ones, it is a sorrowful time. I think our expectations during this holiday are part of the problem. Perhaps because of the media’s portrayal of what we should be the Christmas

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Today’s message is entitled “Authentic Christianity.” This is a subject that I feel very strongly about, and I believe the Lord feels very strongly about it as well. The meaning of “authentic” is of undisputed origin, genuine, true, the real deal. And as we study John’s gospel I believe this theme is emphasized over and over again. I believe authentic Christianity is very important to God. And so it should be very important to us. God doesn’t want superficial Christianity. He is not interested in lip service. He is not interested in rituals and ceremonies and observing holy days which

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Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except by Me.” So Jesus is the way to God, He is he truth of God, and He provides life from God to those who believe in Him. This is the gospel in a nutshell. You either believe the truth as presented in Christ, or you don’t believe the truth, and what you are believing is a lie. That’s the choice that we have; believe the truth, or believe the lie of the devil. Now to those who have believed

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Christians have been the object of persecution by many nations and many regimes for centuries. In the years following Christ’s death, Nero the Roman Emperor declared Christians to be the enemy of Rome and began an empire wide persecution that if not for the grace of God would have eradicated Christianity. In the nineteenth century the Ottomans massacred about two-and-a-half million Christians. In the twentieth century, it’s estimated that the Soviets killed half a million Christians; and the Germans under Hitler, another quarter of a million. In the last 66 years in China, it is possible that those numbers have

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The most desired ambition of the popular culture is that of love. Love is the theme of more songs, more books, more poetry, more art and more movies than any other theme. And I believe this is so because it is the most essential need of the human condition. It is as fundamental to life as food and water, if not more so. God declared at creation that it was not good for man to be alone. It is an essential component of the human psyche. Everyone wants to know love. However, human nature is not satisfied with unrequited love.

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The other day I was listening to a Christian radio broadcast as I was driving back from seeing someone who is in prison in Princess Anne, Maryland. I won’t say the name of the pastor, but doctrinally he is considered sound and he seems to be relatively popular. And at the end of the sermon, the announcer came on and gave a commercial for the opportunity to go on a luxury cruise with the pastor to some exotic destination which I think was in the Caribbean. I found myself feeling a little jealous, I guess. I had just spent four

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The two biggest themes of the 60’s generation, aka, the hippie movement, were peace and love. When you look at images from that era, whether they be concerts or sit ins, or protests, or whatever, you often see them holding signs professing their desire for both. In fact, it was trendy in those days to espouse both of those as ideals. I remember very well as a young person holding up two fingers in a peace sign and saying “Peace, man,” in place of the usual hello and goodbyes. It was the thing to do. Young people drew peace signs

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In today’s passage we are continuing our study of what is called the Upper Room Discourse. It spans several chapters, and yet it all occurs in just one evening; Christ’s last evening with His disciples before He is crucified. In this talk that Jesus gives, He tells His disciples that He will be leaving them very soon, and that where He is going they cannot now come. Of course, they are very troubled by this revelation. And Jesus knows that they are upset over this. So He says to them not to be troubled, but that He will return for

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