Thoughtful Reflections on Faith and Life
Galatians 3:19-29 Introduction I want you to think about different jobs that you have had over your lifetime. What did it look like when you would first show up to work? What that looked like may or may not depend on how long you had been in that position. There are two scenarios in particular … Read More “A Great Transition” »
Galatians 3:15-18 Introduction What does it mean to promise someone something? And in what context would you promise? Not every statement is or should be a promise. “I promise to drink some coffee after church.” “I promise to put gas in my vehicle at some point.” There is no reason to promise those things. Usually … Read More “A Great Promise” »
Galatians 3:1-14 Introduction How do you respond when you get frustrated, especially when you get frustrated with a person? There are all sorts of things that people do. Some people bite their lip so they do not say something they might regret. Some people go for a run or do some other exercise to blow … Read More “A Great Example” »
A month or so ago, I notice quite a few Christians posting on social media, statements by a person (that we had never heard of before) named YoungHoon Kim. This person, who self-describes as the “Highest IQ Record Holder” made a number of very pro-Christian statements. Here is just one example: There are many more … Read More “Why Have Christians Been Drawn to YoungHoon Kim?” »
Romans 4:13-25 Introduction Are you a person of faith? And what does that even mean? For some people, they might take that as someone who is trusting or hopeful. Another person might equate that with belonging to a religious tradition. Faith is one of those words like love that has expanded into so many meanings … Read More “Faith: Seeing What is Not Yet” »
When you hear a pastor talk about faith, you probably think I have something specific in mind. But in this case, I’m not referring to belief but our daughter Faith. Faith is our youngest child and is pretty quiet. It can be a challenge for people to get to know her because she is so … Read More “Good News: Surprised by Faith” »
This is an interesting question to reflect on. You could say that I’m not certain how to respond. A good place to begin might be my own nature. I am a skeptic by nature. It was skepticism that caused me first to walk away from the church. It was skepticism that later caused me to … Read More “How Certain Do We Need to Be in Our Faith?” »
Today I met with the group home where our children with autism live. It was a time to discuss how they were doing and how their needs can be best met. One of the things that I really appreciated was that they are very proactive when it comes to their religious needs. This is not … Read More “Disabilities and Religious Needs” »
Someone recently asked me about people with Asperger’s Syndrome and the challenges of Christian faith. Asperger’s is now known simply as autism. I have heard people claim that people with autism struggle with faith. It is true that people with autism have brains that are wired differently. They may encounter faith in different ways. The … Read More “Autism and Faith” »
We have been hearing a lot about people struggling with doubt and even walking away from the faith. I remember as a youth pastor having one of the youth, who had seemed strong in his faith, come out as an “apatheist.” It was tough. How we react when someone comes to us to us with … Read More “What Not to Do and What to Do When Someone Doubts” »
There have been a number of recent stories about high profile Christians either announcing they have left the faith or that their faith is shaky. However, there are plenty of people that we have never heard of going through doubt all the time. What should we do if we experience doubt? I will admit that … Read More “What Should You Do If You Begin to Doubt?” »
Of all the roles that I have, the one I feel the most pressure for is that of a parent, especially a Christian parent. I want my children to grow up to be good and emotionally healthy adults. But I also want them to become followers of Jesus. The scary part of being a Christian … Read More “What to Do When Your Child Says They No Longer Believe” »
There are those within the church who are critical of Christian apologetics who point out its limitations. They will argue that presenting an apologetic for Christianity will not result in the person becoming a Christian. It is argued that people become followers of Jesus only by the calling of the Holy Spirit. Therefore apologetic arguments … Read More “Apologetics Will Not Make Anyone a Christian” »
Why am I a Christian? What is my faith based on? That depends upon the day. There are days when God’s presence feels so real. I have had numerous specific prayers answered in very dramatic ways. I have been overcome with feelings of peace and great confidence in God’s activity in my life. But there … Read More “Why the Resurrection of Jesus is Important to Me” »
Some Christians think that doubt is the worst possible thing to happen to a believer. It is so bad that it must by buried deep down, never to see the light of day. I think that view of doubt is unfortunate. I see doubt as being a natural part of the faith experience. We see … Read More “What to Do When You Experience Doubt” »
Our youngest daughter’s name is Faith. Yesterday she did something that me very happy. Her class had to do a Thanksgiving assignment that included the things that they are thankful. It includes many of the things that you would expect. But I was particularly impressed with one item. Did you see that? “I’m thankful for … Read More “Faith Living Up to Her Name” »
It is frequently claimed that Christians should have an unquestioning faith since Jesus taught us to have child-like faith. We should bury our doubts and questions and just trust as a child would. The problem is that I have yet to meet that child who does not question. Every child that I encounter is filled … Read More “Real Childlike Faith” »
My understanding of baptism has evolved quite a bit over the years. Obviously moving from my Anglican upbringing to my current Baptist pastoral ministry required some change. However, even that change has been complex. When I first left the Anglican church, I completely rejected infant baptism as having any spiritual significance. All it it was … Read More “Thoughts on Baptism” »
A sermon preached at Queen Street Baptist Church on Luke 7:18-28. Introduction Would you describe yourself as gullible or skeptical? I must confess that one of my guilty privileges is having fun with gullible people. I once convinced a lady that I had invented a solar-powered flashlight that unfortunately only worked in the daylight. I … Read More “Faith, Doubt and the Unexpected” »
A message based on Luke 7:1-10 preached at Queen Street Baptist Church. Introduction What would it take to amaze you? Depending on your life experience, it might be difficult for you to be surprised or taken off guard. Others might be amazed on a daily basis by the things that happen. I was amazed this past … Read More “I Believe. Yes, Sir!” »
I have been reading Temple Grandin’s Emergence: Labelled Autistic. In one of the chapters, Temple shares about an experience in chapel at the boarding school she attended as a child. I will share a portion here to give you some insight in the challenges of communicating spiritual truths to people with autism. “I am the … Read More “Faith, Autism and Taking Things Literally” »
I appreciated this short video by Bruxy Cavey on faith and doubt. I don’t believe experiencing and expressing doubts is something that will lead away from Jesus. I think it is more dangerous to have a culture where doubts are forbidden and condemned. A book that I really appreciated on this subject is John Ortberg’s … Read More “Can Faith and Doubt Coexist?” »
I have heard from some people with autism that faith can be difficult. I have also heard from parents concerned about how to explain Christian faith to their child with autism. I have blogged previously about autism and faith. What I would like to do now is just talk about my own experience. How can … Read More “My Autism and My Faith” »
One of the most common questions I get is about how people with autism understand faith. At first I tried to guess from my children with autism, which is hard because they are both nonverbal. Now that I have been diagnosed with autism myself, I have a bit more insight. Here are five things to … Read More “5 Things You Need to Know About Faith and Autism” »
There are many Christians that deeply love Jesus. A good number of them have had some sort of amazing experience with God. They are filled with emotion toward the God who has saved them. All of this is good. There is nothing wrong with having an emotional faith. There is something wrong with having just … Read More “5 Reasons Why You Should Not Just Have an Emotional Faith” »
I recently reposted my most popular blog post, Three Reasons Why Rick Warren is a Heretic. I get three responses to this post. One is appreciation for my satirical attempt to show that Rick Warren is acting biblically. Another is a complete misunderstanding of my post, where people are offended that I call a good … Read More “Setting the Record Straight: What I Really Believe” »
A devotion based on 2 Thessalonians 1:3. A thanksgiving was a normal part of an ancient letter. Paul took what was a routine section of a letter and infused it with meaning. When Paul says “Thank God,” he is not just being polite, he is really thanking God. He had something specific for which he … Read More “Devotions: 2 Thessalonians” »
There is a great line in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus Finch is having a conversation with his daughter about why he has taken on the extremely unpopular defence of Tom Robinson. In explaining his stand to Scout, Atticus says: This case, Tom Robinson’s case, is something that goes to the essence of … Read More “Faith Like Atticus Finch” »
One of the reasons people don’t want to be involved in apologetics is that they do not want to have a intellectual faith. If they had to choose between a head faith and a heart faith, they would go with the heart. But the point is that you do not have to choose. There is … Read More “Heart vs. Head” »
In my spiritual journey I went from being a nominal Christian to an atheist to a theist to a Christian. For this post, I want to focus on the time that I was a theist. Even though I had regained faith in God, I did not want to become a Christian. In no way am … Read More “5 Reasons I Didn’t Want to Become a Christian” »
I hate when people ask me how I became a Christian. It is not that I am embarrassed or am afraid of sharing my faith. Rather my conversion story is long and complicated. Some people have one major event that brought them to Christ. I had six major steps and when I am asked that … Read More “6 Steps in My Christian Conversion” »
Many Christians believe all doubt is bad. I really like what Tim Keller shares in his introduction to The Reason for God. “A faith without some doubts is like a human body without any antibodies in it. People who blithely go through life too busy or indifferent to ask hard questions about why they believe … Read More “Tim Keller on Doubt” »
I came across this surprising quote that may shock some readers: “I envy you not having to think any more about Christian apologetics. My correspondents force the subject on me again and again. It is very wearing, and not very good for one’s faith. A Christian doctrine never seems less real to me than when … Read More “Spiritual Dangers and Apologetics” »
James 2:14-26 Introduction One of the distinctives of Christianity is that we believe that salvation is by faith alone. There is no religious ritual or level of good deeds that will bring about our salvation. The thief who died on the cross hours after meeting Jesus for the first time is just as saved as … Read More “Dead Faith” »
Luke 1:5-20, 26-35 Introduction Growing up, I did not realize how easy my parents had it at Christmas. Since I was an only child, not only was it cheaper to buy presents for only one child, it was also lacking in dangers of jealousy or competition. As a father of five children, I have to … Read More “Have Some Faith” »
Hebrews 11:1-6 Introduction As a child, I was always someone who was unsure of myself. It is not that I could not do anything, I just lacked the confidence to try. The people I envied were not the people who could do everything but those confident enough to try things without anxiety of possible failure. … Read More “Being a Confident Christian” »
When I was a youth pastor, I remember being contacted by one of the teens in our group about Christadelphians. They were nice people who believed in Jesus, was that not enough? Being not very familiar with them, I had to look into it. I have decided to revisit that. What is it that Christadelphians … Read More “Christadelphians” »
