Blog | Zion Lutheran Church

Aug23

Save Your Kids – and Yourselves! (Part 1)

August 23, 2024 General

Social media is a cesspool, a dumpster fire, a manure pit,[1] and if your kids are average U.S. kids, they’re wallowing in it for nearly five hours per day. And if statistics hold true, you are wallowing in it for longer than you’re willing to admit. It should go without saying, but all this wallowing in the manure pit of social media[...] Read more.

Aug23

Save Your Kids – and Yourselves! (Part 2)

August 23, 2024 General

In part one of this article I was brutally honest about the adverse effects of high social media usage,[1] comparing it to the negative effects of wallowing in manure. Manure, like social media, has its place and its benefits, but neither does good things for those who wallow in them. If you didn’t read part one, it’s available[...] Read more.

Apr13

Bringing Christian Discernment to IVF: What You Haven’t Been Told and What You Need to Understand

April 13, 2024 General

In vitro Fertilization. In February, in a legal response to the the acidental thawing, and therefore death, of frozen human embryos in an Alabama IVF strorage facility, Alabama’s Supreme Court ruled that human embryos could be considered unborn children under Alabama’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act. This sent media pundits and[...] Read more.

Jan31

When Eternity Breaks into Identity: Reverent Wonderment before the Weight of Mankind's Glory

January 31, 2024 General

I’m struggling to give words to the idea that has taken up residence in my mind. It’s one of these ideas that has the power to remake us, to dramatically change the way we move through life, the way we see and treat each other, the way we govern, the way we argue, the way we neighbor. It’s related to identity, but it’s[...] Read more.

Dec23

A Cascade of Design: Appreciating Your Designed Body

December 23, 2023 General

My children have been building a go-cart (of sorts). It started when one of them happened upon two large, plastic reels. Reels roll. Children like things that roll. After rummaging through the garage for lumber scraps, they had found enough to construct a rudimentary frame. Before long they had it rolling across the parking lot. It was[...] Read more.

Dec23

America's Godless Political Religion

December 23, 2023 General

Demographers tell us that an increasing number of Americans, when asked to check their religion, are selecting “none,” thus the rise of the so-called “nones.” But this terminology is misleading. Americans may increasingly be checking the “none” box, but Americans are not becoming less religious.[1] What[...] Read more.

Nov18

The Dash between the Dates and the Astonishing Promise of Jesus

November 18, 2023 General

Headstones are sobering. Living next to a cemetery, Rebecca and I often find ourselves considering the names engraved on the stones. After being in Manning for 13 years, I know many of the names and the stories represented by the dash between the dates, but there are many more I do not. The same goes for you. You know certain names and the lives[...] Read more.

Sep20

It's Not the Stress; It's What You're Telling Yourself about the Stress

September 20, 2023 General

How do you handle stress? You open your credit card bill and it’s much higher than you thought. What happens inside you? Your daughter isn’t happy in her marriage. What happens in your spirit? Your husband’s health is slowly but steadily deteriorating and you’re not sure how much longer you can care for him in your home.[...] Read more.

Sep15

To Respond Well, Use the Scale

September 15, 2023 General

Unless you’re a hermit, life will require you to interact with people. These interactions will involve friction. Your husband will leave his socks on the living room floor (for the tenth time in the week). Your wife will disapprovingly mumble something under her breath (for the tenth time in the day) about something you did. Your[...] Read more.

Jun21

God is a Biological Engineer: and He's Brilliant!

June 21, 2023 General

As science progresses it uncovers layers upon layers of exquisite design, revealing God’s genius even as it prods anti-God, anti-design proponents to increasingly desperate attempts to claim otherwise. With near frantic shrills they insist, “Biology is the study of complicated things that give the appearance of having been designed for[...] Read more.

Apr28

Finishing Well

April 28, 2023 General

I’ve been thinking about death lately. The better word is probably meditating. I’ve been meditating on death. Maybe you think that’s weird. Perhaps it is, but for something that happens to everyone, you’d think we’d meditate on it more. You’d think we’d meaningfully prepare for it. Maybe the weird thing is[...] Read more.

Apr28

When the Whatifs Strike, Strike Back with Truth

April 28, 2023 General

Shel Silverstein, the children’s poet (author of the well-loved Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic, Runny Babbit, and more), in the playful poem below, raises a question that plagues us all: What if…? In this article we will dare to answer the question. But first, the poem: Whatif by Shel Silverstein Last night,[...] Read more.

Apr28

Rescuing Identity from Sexuality

April 28, 2023 General

From his prison cell, Christopher Yuan had time to think. He was in prison for buying and selling drugs, but he wasn’t thinking about drugs; he was thinking about identity. Christopher had spent his youth and young adulthood identifying as a homosexual: For the longest time, I really believed that God had created me this way –[...] Read more.

Jan06

Epiphany Joy

January 6, 2023 General

The season of Epiphany is perhaps one of the most overlooked seasons in the Church Year. Its significance, however, is one the Church needs to regain. “Epiphany” comes from a Greek word meaning “manifest.” Following on the heels of the twelve days of Christmas (December 25 – January 5), in which the Church celebrates[...] Read more.

Jan06

Your Habit Culture: Choose Wisely

January 6, 2023 General

Most of us like to imagine ourselves independent minded, unfettered by people’s expectations and evaluations. Of course, most of us like to imagine ourselves independently wealthy and unbound by the realities of limited income, too. In reality, both live only in our imaginations. We are not independently wealthy and we are not independent[...] Read more.

Oct23

God is No Rube: How Cutting Edge Discoveries in Science are Revealing Life's Exquisite Design and Built-in Adaptive Programming

October 23, 2022 General

Rube Goldberg, the 20th century American inventor, engineer, and cartoonist, is perhaps best known for his whimsical and imaginative contraptions composed of cobbled-together elements that together perform a simple function. In the illustration above, the lifted spoon propels the cracker to the parrot, who in the process of lunging to catch it,[...] Read more.

Oct23

The Pavlovian Pleasure Box in Your Pocket: Your Smartphone is Ringing Your Bell

October 23, 2022 General

In the 1890s, Russian researcher Ivan Pavlov observed dogs’ tendency to salivate in anticipation of food. He wondered if he could condition that response in the absence of food. So, every time he served supper to the dogs he rang a bell until, sure enough, the dogs began to salivate at the sound of the bell without the food present. They[...] Read more.

Oct23

Social Media & Gaming's Intentional Elimination of Stopping Cues and Our Call to Be the Stop

October 23, 2022 General

The average child, according to data shared by ScreenStrong,[1] spends over 52 hours a week in front of electronic media. Some of it is required for school,[2] but a disturbingly large percentage of this screen time is spent in front of social media and/or digital games. Should this concern us? Yes! Take a few moments and read[...] Read more.

Oct23

Glorified Dirt Creatures

October 23, 2022 General

You have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. – Psalm 8:5 In the above passage David reflects on the esteemed status of man in God’s creation. And, to put it bluntly, it’s startling, especially given our humble origin out of the dirt! In the verses immediately[...] Read more.

Jul02

Say it Out Loud: A Key Piece in Lives Built on Right Thinking and Ordered Passions

July 2, 2022 General

In various and sundry ways we have addressed the question of mental health in the pages of this newsletter.[1] In this article we are returning to a key piece in the battle for lives built on right thinking and ordered passions (i.e. a mentally health life). Before we go any further, though, please understand that the words in the preceding[...] Read more.

Jul02

Wisdom for our (Digital) World

July 2, 2022 General

Imagine a community built around certain zones. Let’s call one zone “The Tutorial Zone.” In this zone you could find skilled instructors on hand ready to help with home improvement projects, to give auto repair tips, to provide trouble shooting advice for tech problems, reviews on nearly every product under the sun, relationship[...] Read more.

Jul02

A Way to Think; A Work to Do: Processing and Responding to Bad News

July 2, 2022 General

Tulsa, Oklahoma; Centerville, Texas; Buffalo, New York; Uvalde, Texas. The news hasn’t been good lately. On the one hand, the news hasn’t been good for a long time (really, since Adam sinned!); on the other hand, the kind of news assaulting our ears has been particularly shocking recently (the above cities are all cites of horrific[...] Read more.

May25

The Insidious Insinuation of Income Distribution: Satan's Tool to Fuel Envy and Covetousness

May 25, 2022 General

The Insidious Insinuation of Income Distribution: Satan’s Tool to Fuel Envy and Covetousness Lies rarely stride openly in the light.[1] Lies prefer to hide in suggestions and to lurk in insinuation. Satan, when deceiving Eve, didn’t announce he was lying; he suggested God was. He insidiously insinuated that God was[...] Read more.

Apr14

Standing against the Spirit of this Age

April 14, 2022 General

Every age has prevailing ideas, ideas so pervasive that they are nearly accepted without question. Our age is no different. I’ve written before in these pages about one of those ideas, the belief that we are sexual beings. You can read that article on Zion’s blog (see link below).[1] Here is a brief excerpt from that[...] Read more.

Apr14

The Devotional Life Expanded: Adding Action to Contemplation

April 14, 2022 General

When someone talks about their devotional life what comes to mind? A Bible, Portals of Prayer, maybe an online resource, possibly a hymnal? You probably also imagine some sort of contemplation, reflection, possibly a conversation, and a prayer. This is certainly one piece, one facet if you will, of the devotional life. In fact, it’s[...] Read more.

Apr01

A Conversation on Mental Health Part 1

April 1, 2022 General

We’re talking today about mental health,[1] but what we’re going to talk about isn’t just for people who struggle with mental health; it’s for all of us. We have a simple point, which we’ll expand upon in a moment. Here’s our simple point: (and I would give credit to the person who coined this phrase, but I[...] Read more.

Apr01

A Conversation on Mental Health Part 2

April 1, 2022 General

Last month (October 2020) we started a conversation on mental health.[1] In brief, here’s the key insight we shared: What you think, affects what you feel, affects what you do. What you believe about reality affects the way you feel, which affects the choices you make. We also talked about some of the negative and[...] Read more.

Apr01

A Conversation on Mental Health Part 3

April 1, 2022 General

Over the last couple months[1] we’ve emphasized an important truth: what you think affects what you feel affects what you do. What you believe about reality – what you believe to be true – affects how you feel, and those feelings influence the way you act or react. Last month, we made a very brief reference to[...] Read more.

Mar08

From Invictus to Invocation: A Way for Wisdom

March 8, 2022 General

It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul. - From Invictus by William Henley (1849-1903) The above words, which conclude a poem penned by a man who knew suffering early in his life (a rare[...] Read more.

Mar08

Ash Wednesday: Why Ashes?

March 8, 2022 General

Lent. It’s a 40 day season (excluding Sundays) of penitence and prayer with a concentrated focus on discipleship to Jesus. Although it has taken various forms and spanned different numbers of days, its origins are ancient, emerging in incipient form already in the 2nd century A.D. The church largely settled on the 40 day season to mirror[...] Read more.

Mar08

The Verisimilitude of Scripture

March 8, 2022 General

You’re sitting next to your cousin at a family reunion or visiting with a coworker over lunch and he says, “You go to church, don’t you? I suspect that means you trust the Bible? Why?” What do you say? Let me offer you a word (and its explanation) that you may find helpful: verisimilitude. You can see from the[...] Read more.

Dec30

The Tech-Wise Family

December 30, 2021 General

Wisdom: living well in God’s world. Like a fine wine or a learned skill, wisdom must be crafted and cultivated. It’s not an instant download or a Prime delivery. It must be practiced. We practice it in relationships, in finances, in education, in time management, and in our interactions with technology. In fact, as we have[...] Read more.

Dec30

On Guard! Protect Yourself and Your Family Online (Part 3)

December 30, 2021 General

Over the last couple months we have emphatically made this point: the internet is not safe. It’s not that it’s evil, any more than steak knives and pickup trucks are evil; it’s that it’s not safe (just like steak knives and pickup trucks). And because it’s not safe you MUST take action to protect yourself and your[...] Read more.

Dec30

On Guard! Protect Yourself and Your Family Online (Part 2)

December 30, 2021 General

The internet is not safe.[1] We made this point last month as we emphasized several sobering realities: you and your family are being searched, children are being exposed to pornography, social media is negatively affecting our mental health, you are easy to find, secrecy and lies are encouraged, and human trafficking is happening. If you missed[...] Read more.

Dec19

Meditating on the Manger

December 19, 2021 General

Tucked in the pages of our hymnal is a marvelously profound hymnic meditation on the manger of Jesus Christ written by the 17th century Lutheran theologian Paul Gerhardt. It merits our notice. But before you read it, resolve to read it SLOWLY. Thoughtful poetry should be enjoyed like red wine or quality coffee. Don’t gulp. Sip and savor and[...] Read more.

Oct27

Our Media Are Messing with Truth

October 27, 2021 General

The above classic illustration is designed to confuse you, to mess with your mind and force you to see more than four legs, while wrestling with the truth that the elephant should only have four legs. The medium (a confusing visual image) messed with Truth. Over the next several paragraphs, I want to help you see how the media of our world is[...] Read more.

Oct27

Media: Our Self-chosen Self-defense against Self-reflection

October 27, 2021 General

We are masters of avoidance. We see someone in Wal-Mart we don’t particularly care for and we duck in the first available aisle. We receive an email we don’t want to acknowledge and we simply don’t respond. We are miffed at our spouse and we turn on the TV or retreat to a remote corner of the house. Masters of[...] Read more.

Oct19

The Daily Drills of the Faith

October 19, 2021 General

In his preface to The Large Catechism, Martin Luther wrote, Let all Christians drill themselves in the catechism[1] daily, and constantly put it into practice, guarding themselves with the greatest care and diligence against the poisonous infection of… security or arrogance. But, you say, Isn’t the catechism that[...] Read more.

Oct14

On Guard! Protecting Yourself and Your Family Online (Part 1)

October 14, 2021 General

Let’s start with something we know to be true, but do our best to forget: the internet is not safe. It’s not that the internet is bad, any more than a rock or a baseball bat is bad; it’s that, like rocks and bats, it has inherent danger. And we must guard ourselves and our families against that danger. So let’s begin by[...] Read more.

Oct01

Learn the Language of the Faith

October 1, 2021 General

Life requires language. Beyond English, German, or Spanish, etc., life teems with vocation-specific language. Professors speak of MLA, TLA, the syllabus, and the précis. Truckers talk about alligators, bears, and cabbage (referring neither to animals or vegetables). Restaurant servers speak of tops, the window, and 86-ing menu items[...] Read more.

May05

The Inequality in Equity

May 5, 2021 General

Words matter. Even more, as we’ve so often emphasized in this newsletter, in our daily online teaching time, our Bible studies, and our Sunday sermons, the meaning of words matters. We’ve compared words to filled donuts; it matters what’s inside. If it’s icing, we’re golden. If it’s mustard, we’re[...] Read more.

Apr18

Easter Isn't About Heaven

April 18, 2021 General

This may come as a surprise to you, but Easter isn’t about heaven. Jesus didn’t rise from the dead so that you could die and go to heaven. Does that mean that Christians who die don’t go to heaven? No. The souls of Christians who die are taken to be with Jesus in heaven, but that’s not why Jesus rose from the dead.[...] Read more.

Apr02

Christianity's Bigger, Better (True) Story

April 2, 2021 General

Stories define us. Individual stories, family stories, cultural and societal stories. Did you grow up in hard times under difficult circumstances? That’s part of your story. Did your ancestors emigrate from Germany or Mexico? That’s a part of your story. Did you grow up on a farm or in town? That’s part of your story. Did you[...] Read more.

Apr02

Further Clothed: Our Hope for the Resurrected Body

April 2, 2021 General

Years ago, before we had children, Rebecca and I went tent camping up the coast of Maine into Cape Breton, Canada. We overnighted at an ocean cliff side campground called Meat Cove. In daylight and calm winds, we adventurously set up our tent on a tiny rock outcropping towering above the Atlantic Ocean. As evening advanced and the winds picked up,[...] Read more.

Mar03

The Un-Asked Question: Who Hurt You?

March 3, 2021 General

Good teaching is often characterized by good questions. The same goes for medical care and counseling. Good care is characterized by good questions. Unfortunately, in the name of a radical, woke, sexualized ideology laden with false assumptions and destructive beliefs, these caring questions aren’t being asked and people are being hurt and[...] Read more.

Feb23

In Wisdom's Pursuit: The Inconceivably Complex Universe of Job

February 23, 2021 General

In the opening scenes of the book of Job, angels gather before God in some sort of heavenly meeting. Surprisingly, Satan is among them. (“Satan” is a title that means “accuser.”) God speaks to Satan, asking him from where he has come. “From going to and fro on the earth…” Satan replies (1:7).[...] Read more.

Feb13

In Wisdom's Pursuit: The Enigmatic Universe of Ecclesiastes

February 13, 2021 General

“Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity… I have seen everything that is done under the son, and behold all is vanity and a striving after wind” (Ecclesiastes 1:2, 14). Welcome to the world of Ecclesiastes. It is initially a very disorienting world, one that seems dark and depressing with[...] Read more.

Feb03

In Wisdom's Pursuit: The Moral Universe of Proverbs

February 3, 2021 General

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7) People pursue many things – relationships, jobs, degrees, success. You are no different. Consider the things toward which your mind gravitates, the things you find yourself thinking about when you haven’t[...] Read more.

Dec24

To Hear the Angels' Song

December 24, 2020 General

In response to Caesar’s census, multitudes returned to the place of their ancestral roots, cramming communities to capacity. Streets were jammed with travelers, local markets crammed with merchants, and doors slammed as house upon house filled with extended family. Lowing, bleating, baaing, and cooing mingled with clattering,[...] Read more.

Nov22

Poetry is Good for the Soul

November 22, 2020 General

Poetry is good for the soul. It gives voice to deep down places. It enables the mechanistic eye, constrained by sterile cause and effect, to see in new hues and additional dimensions. Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889), author of the poem below, processed the world in poetry – and much the richer we are because of it! Sip and savor his verses[...] Read more.

Oct31

Faith That Justifies

October 31, 2020 General

Martin Luther was an outlaw. This, decreed by the Holy Roman emperor Charles V in 1521, kept Luther (for fear of his life) from traveling to the city of Augsburg, Germany in 1530 as his and his fellow Lutheran reformers’ confession was to be presented. Charles had summoned the reformers to Augsburg to explain their theological positions[...] Read more.

Oct08

Words Matter: A Call to Do a Very Brave Thing

October 8, 2020 General

This article has a very simple point: words matter. More specifically, God’s words matter. More specifically still, using and speaking God’s words matter. One of the ways Satan works to deceive and lure us is by getting us to use the world’s words. That’s the simple point. Now, let’s consider a story[...] Read more.

Oct08

Beware of Equality (Falsely So Called)

October 8, 2020 General

There’s a piece of legislation that’s been circulating through congress for some time now, the contents of which should gravely concern every Christian who treasures the Biblical, creedal, and historic confession of the Church. It has been deceptively titled “The Equality Act.” Such titling is false advertising in the[...] Read more.

Jun07

Trinitarian Monotheism: A Mouthful of Orthodoxy

June 7, 2020 General

As Lutheran Christians, we are Trinitarian Monotheists. Yes, it’s a mouthful to say, but it’s important to understand that it’s a mouthful of orthodoxy. Orthodoxy has to do with sound or right doctrine/teaching, and the Bible repeatedly exhorts us to guard our doctrine closely. It’s precisely the sort of words that[...] Read more.

Jun04

The Sanctified Imagination

June 4, 2020 General

Apple, Hollywood, the NFL, Xbox, Bud Light, McDonald’s, Acura, and Under Armour all have one thing in common. It’s bigger than trying to sell a product or to gain a larger market share. What they’re really after is your imagination. They know what too few of us have realized: whatever captures our imagination, captures[...] Read more.

May27

Aliens: Extraterrestrial Visitors or Extradimensional Intruders?

May 27, 2020 General

"Aliens exist, there's no two ways about it." Helen Sharman, Britain’s first person in space (in 1992), offered these confident words just weeks ago. She went on to offer, "It's possible they're here right now and we simply can't see them." What do you think? Many people have claimed to see aliens. Some even claim to have[...] Read more.

Apr30

The Pandemic's Endemic Questions

April 30, 2020 General

Besides disrupting our lives, the current pandemic has brought several difficult questions to the surface. We’ve addressed some of them in the previous two articles. In this one we will address two more: Is God causing the coronavirus? Is God judging us through the coronavirus? These are not easy questions, and one[...] Read more.

Apr30

Christ's Corona: Seeing God in the Midst of a Pandemic

April 30, 2020 General

As the global impact of the coronavirus (so named for the crown-like spikes on its surface) has started to set it in – over 130,000 deaths, deflated economies, strained health care systems, isolated citizens, emotionally scarred people, uncertain futures – the question of God has started to emerge. Where is God? Why, as philosopher[...] Read more.

Dec18

Percentage Giving

December 18, 2019 General

Giving. A subject nobody likes to talk about… except Jesus (no wonder He got crucified!). “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Mt. 6:21). In other words, “Your heart follows your treasure; it must be led.” And, “No one can serve two masters… You cannot serve God and money” (Mt.[...] Read more.

Oct22

Luther's Tower Experience

October 22, 2019 General

Martin Luther, the man credited with sparking the Reformation with his 95 Theses and fueling it with over 130 volumes of theological writings from sermons to confessional documents and from commentaries to catechisms, once quipped in a sermon, “I did nothing; the Word did everything.” There was a time, however, when Luther[...] Read more.

Oct16

In the Name of Adult Desires, Have We Overlooked Children's Rights?

October 16, 2019 General

Warning: by reading this article you are engaging in a controversial act. The gestopo of political correctness and tolerance have instructed us not to question the adult desires now being enshrined in same-sex marriage rulings across our country. And while I have done precisely this in numerous newsletter articles, arguing that we are not defined[...] Read more.

Oct04

Our Modern Molech: Child Sacrifice in the 21st Century

October 4, 2019 General

This paragraph is going to be difficult to read. The ones following it should be more difficult. The picture on the right depicts a metal statue of the pagan god Molech. It is being heated with fire as a priest places a baby into its searing hands. He, and the gathered worshipers, will watch this baby burn to death, all in attempt to earn their[...] Read more.

Sep01

Don't be Ozymandias

September 1, 2019 General

Take a good look at the picture above. The traveler on the left happened upon the ruins in his trek across a vast desert. The base of the fallen statue reads, My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair! Whoever Ozymandias was, whatever great works he accomplished, whatever kingdom he built and empires[...] Read more.

Aug24

Did God Make Hell?

August 24, 2019 General

In recent newsletter articles we answered two questions asked by children at VBS: “Who made God?” and “How tall is God?” This month we answer another: “Did God make hell?” That’s a big question, isn’t it? Just asking it changes the mood in the room. Lutheran theologian, professor, author, and[...] Read more.

Aug01

An Epigenetic Epiphany: Could you bless or curse your (unborn) grandchildren today?

August 1, 2019 General

I was (mentally) exploring the ocean depths in a cutting edge, hyper-fast, glowing submarine with Jonathan Park somewhere between mile 2,500 and 3,000 of our vacation when one of the characters used a word that immediately piqued my interest: epigenetics.[1] Epi-what? Epigenetics is the new frontier of genetics and it is causing geneticists to[...] Read more.

Jul24

Stop Forgiving Yourself

July 24, 2019 General

“You need to forgive yourself.” You’ve received such advice. Maybe you’ve even offered it. Someone, maybe you, made a mess out of some piece of life and was/were struggling with guilt. So a well-meaning individual offered, “You need to forgive yourself. Let go. Move on.” Is that good advice? Is it Biblical[...] Read more.

Jun30

How Tall is God?

June 30, 2019 General

How tall is God? Whereas I’ve been asked, “Who made God?” many times, this was the first time that I have been asked “How tall is God?” It may seem like a silly question, but it reveals the beautifully curious mind of a child, one of the most delightful attributes of children, an attribute, sadly, that many[...] Read more.

Jun09

Marriage Matters: Appreciating the Mirror

June 9, 2019 General

Morning routines can be rough. You stumble out of bed to the bathroom and find yourself staring in the mirror at a groggy-eyed troll who you hope you can frighten away with a shower and a shave or some make-up and curled hair along with a full cup of caffeine juiced coffee. You’ve been repeating this ritual for years and the mirror never[...] Read more.

May31

Creational Identity

May 31, 2019 General

Each age is defined by its prevailing cultural questions. Painting in broad strokes, in the first centuries after Christ people wrestled with the question of God: Who is God? The Church responded with the historic creeds (Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian) to concisely and emphatically emphasize the two natures of Jesus and the tri-unity of[...] Read more.

May02

The House of Virtue: Enter Here (Marriage)

May 2, 2019 General

People today enter marriage for many reasons, among which are love, finding one’s “soul mate,” fulfillment, and companionship. Disturbingly, “growing in virtue” never makes the list. For generations marriage was viewed as a house of virtue in which males and females matured. In his book The Meaning of Marriage, Tim[...] Read more.

Apr04

Church: Vanguard of the New Creation

April 4, 2019 General

On Easter morning the Christian Church will shout, “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!” This spine-tingling confession is brimming with hope, not merely for death-weary people yearning for life, but for the sin-gripped earth groaning for liberty. Truly, our Easter cry has cosmic significance. Our task in these paragraphs is[...] Read more.

Mar14

The BIG Hope

March 14, 2019 General

The Christian Hope is Far Bigger than You Might Realize How BIG is your hope? Do you understand the question? If you’re a confessing Christian, how far does your hope reach, how expansive is it, how much does it include? Does it stop short at business success, at college for your kids, at retirement? Popular prosperity preachers[...] Read more.

Mar01

Questioning the Unquestioned

March 1, 2019 General

“The most dangerous ideas in a society are not the ones being argued, but the ones that are assumed.” These words, attributed to C. S. Lewis, bear serious consideration. At the moment, our society is arguing fiercely over weighty matters: government shutdowns, border walls, trade practices, and governing philosophies, to name but a[...] Read more.

Feb15

An Epigenetic Epiphany

February 15, 2019 General

Could you bless or curse your (unborn) grandchildren today? I was (mentally) exploring the ocean depths in a cutting edge, hyper-fast, glowing submarine with Jonathan Park somewhere between mile 2,500 and 3,000 of our vacation when one of the characters used a word that immediately piqued my interest: epigenetics.[1] Epi-what? Epigenetics is[...] Read more.

Feb01

God's Grandeur

February 1, 2019 General

Jan12

For the Sake of Our Girls

January 12, 2019 General

I’ve written this article many different ways in my head over the years, but I could never bring myself to publish it. On the one hand, I’m raising a sensitive subject – our girls and how we raise them – and I want to treat it with all the sensitivity it deserves. On the other, I feel that someone needs to speak truth for[...] Read more.

Dec28

It Will Be Better

December 28, 2018 General

We’ve all said it. A friend has a bad cold and feels miserable. A neighbor just found out he has diabetes and is overwhelmed by what it will mean for his life. A spouse just hit a deer, totaling the car. A child breaks his wrist and is out for the rest of the sport’s season. We want to be helpful. We want to say something encouraging,[...] Read more.

Nov24

Triceratops Trumpeting a non-Darwinian Note?

November 24, 2018 General

Hell Creek Formation, the famous treasure trove of dinosaur fossils (located in Montana, North and South Dakota), has again yielded an amazing specimen. In the spring of 2012, researchers digging near Glendive, Montana excitedly chiseled the sediment away from a 3 ½ foot long triceratops horn. After bathing it in an acid bath to[...] Read more.

Oct25

PINK: No Friend to Females

October 25, 2018 General

Pink used to be a color, a softer hue often favored by females. In recent years, however, it has been hijacked by one of the nation’s biggest objectifiers of women and purveyors of soft porn: Victoria’s Secret. Pink has been gutted of its inherent beauty and has been turned into a product line that Victoria’s Secret has cast like[...] Read more.

Oct19

Good Words: The Church Teaches on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

October 19, 2018 General

The first chapter of Scripture is brimming with good words. Not only is the phrase “it was good” repeated five times, with the qualifier “very” added for a sixth (“God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good”), but these good words teach us what God considers good, a good that continues to[...] Read more.

Sep30

Illuminating the Penumbra's Shadow

September 30, 2018 General

Illuminating the Penumbra’s[1] Shadow Shadows hide things. Such is the nature of darkness. If light is forbidden entrance, sight is rendered powerless. Much like physical objects, words have the power to cast shawdows, not darkness discerenable on the sidewalk, but darkness discernable in lies and obfuscations. This has perhaps[...] Read more.

Sep19

Divinely Barcoded Species? Has God encoded evidence of creation in every creature?

September 19, 2018 General

A recent genetic study published in the journal Human Evolution is rocking the evolutionary edifice, leaving Darwin’s faithful scurrying desperately to shore up the fractured foundation lest the whole house collapse around them. To understand why you’ll need to endure a couple paragraphs of technical explanation, which we’ll make[...] Read more.

Aug29

God in the Details

August 29, 2018 General

You’ve heard the phrase, “The Devil is in the details.” In the following paragraphs, we’re going to look at details, remarkable details, details inside the cell. And instead of finding the devil in them, we’re going to find impressive evidence for God. In fact, the more details science uncovers, the more[...] Read more.

Jul31

A Birth Day for Every Child

July 31, 2018 General

Recently we welcomed two new nephews into our extended family (my brother and his wife’s third child and my brother-in-law and his wife’s fourth) – and they were born within 24 hours of each other! For the rest of their lives, we will celebrate March 1st and 2nd as their birthdays. But what would you think if their[...] Read more.

Jul06

What's Your Story?

July 6, 2018 General

Life needs a story – not a story to tell, but a story to live by. Many stories echo in our culture, calling us to follow their scripts. One of the most prevalent and pernicious is the story of success. Families who accept this story slavishly follow its script. Chapter titles read “Careers,” “Titles,”[...] Read more.

May18

Reasoning from Effect to Cause

May 18, 2018 General

We live in a cause and effect world. Examples are all around us. Cause: squirrels chew wires in my vehicles; Effect: the “service engine” light comes on and I’m out hundreds of dollars to fix the chewed wires (multiple times!) and I put up scary owls in my yard in a desperate attempt to deter them. Cause: a toddler exists in my[...] Read more.

Apr20

Evidential Ax Falls Darwin's Tree

April 20, 2018 General

Darwin’s tree of life has been an icon in textbooks and classrooms for generations. According to the theory, all living things share a common ancestor. Thus, when you trace the branches back, you should find a common trunk from which all living things ultimately sprang. Before scientists knew much about genetics, these branches were traced[...] Read more.

Apr11

The Sexual Revolution's Silencing of the Body and The Church's Call to Let the Body Speak

April 11, 2018 General

The Fruits of the Sexual Revolution The fruits of the sexual revolution surround us. Non-married cohabitation and no-fault divorce are ubiquitous (and nearly unquestioned despite their ruinous effect on marriage and the family). Homosexual behavior, same-sex unions, and transgender ideology are celebrated in media (as anyone who watched the[...] Read more.

Mar16

Divorce by A Million Molehills

March 16, 2018 General

Divorce by a Million Molehills The conversation usually goes like this: “Pastor, I’m in trouble. My wife says she’s done. She wants out. She’s talking divorce. I don’t know what to do.” For many men this is the first time a wife’s words of desperation have hit their[...] Read more.

Mar02

Hollywood Collides with The Truth

March 2, 2018 General

Standing before adoring fans, indulgent friends, and doting colleagues, Oprah Winfrey received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement at the 2018 Golden Globes. Taking advantage of her platform, she addressed the sexual harassment scandal rocking Hollywood. After thanking the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (a group of several[...] Read more.

Feb13

The Trans Agenda and You

February 13, 2018 General

You need to read this article. You probably need to read it twice. The world has changed and it will affect you. It’s not just that headlines now require double takes: “Man gives birth to gender neutral child.”[1] And it’s not just that Facebook offers a dizzying array of gender designations or that we are overwhelmed by[...] Read more.

Jan20

Parenting Matters: Putting the Brakes on Fighting

January 20, 2018 General

Some days it seems like children can think of nothing better to do than fight. One wonders if they lie awake at night dreaming of the perfect zinger to lob at their sibling to get the fight started. Many are the parents who have despaired over their seeming inability to do anything to stop the fighting. Timeouts haven’t worked,[...] Read more.

Jan05

The Price of Pleasure

January 5, 2018 General

We are a culture of pleasure seekers. One need only drive through our towns and walk through our homes to verify it. Our homes have entire rooms dedicated to obscenely large screens equipped with equally impressive speakers flanked by burgeoning shelves of DVDs and game cartridges. Our furniture has been arranged before it as if the almighty[...] Read more.

Jan05

Do Sincerely Held Beliefs Determine Reality?

January 5, 2018 General

In June of 2015 the Supreme Court issued its landmark Obergefell decision, deeming the definition of marriage as one man married to one woman to be unconstitutional and discriminatory to same-sex couples. Justice Kennedy, writing for the majority, justified this redefinition of marriage under the banner of liberty: The Constitution promises[...] Read more.

Jan05

Motivated Out of Reverence for Christ

January 5, 2018 General

Motivation is a funny thing. All of us are motivated by something. Some motivations are good: a new personal best, an organized home office, educated, well-rounded, Godly children, a deeper walk with Christ, glory for God, and so on. Some aren’t: insecurity, greed, pride, image, personal power, selfish ambition, and so on. Identifying our[...] Read more.

Jan05

A Church Named Rachel

January 5, 2018 General

On December 21, the Christian Church solemnly remembered the innocent babies of Bethlehem slaughtered at King Herod’s fear-driven command. The Gospel writer Matthew reached deep into the Old Testament, into the very words of the weeping prophet, Jeremiah, to capture the depth of the people’s grief: “A voice was heard in[...] Read more.