Pastor’s Blog

This book review by Terry Delaney appears on his website, Christian Book Notes (January 20, 2012). Used by permission. Lloyd-Jones, D. Martyn. Born of God: Sermons from John, Chapter One. Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2011. 482 pp. $29.00. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) is well known by many in the Reformed circles of Christianity. This […]

The U.S. Religion Census just came out with their once-every-ten-year numbers trekking religious involvement state by state. A decade ago, the state of Washington placed 49th (one position ahead of Oregon—we can’t beat them in football but we can beat them to the pew on Sunday morning). In 2000, 33% of our population claimed religious […]

“Lord Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?” (Zechariah 1:12). It may surprise you, but the Angel of the Lord asks this question, doing so in the Prophet Zechariah’s night vision. Israel had been exiled some 70 years […]

Like it or not (and I don’t), Pastor Joel Osteen has become the church’s spokesman. I guess that comes with being pastor of the nation’s largest church. Lakewood Church in Houston has around 50,000 members. Osteen’s books (It’s Your Time, Become a Better You, Your Best Life Now, and Everyday a Friday) have made him […]

When she came down the stairs for breakfast, I told her she’d kept me up all night. Claire quizzically looked at me. Our 18 year old daughter hadn’t done anything wrong. The home was at peace the night before; it was quiet through the night. I had risen around 2 a.m. to go to the […]

The mailer started out well: “One death and one resurrection brought us one Savior to rescue us from…” You’ve seen them before. Churches send out oversized postcards to those in their zip code inviting them to a special service or a special seminar. The one I’m quoting from was an invitation to Easter Sunday. But […]

I still remember “liver and onion” night as a child. We probably didn’t eat it that often but it seemed like it showed up at dinner every few weeks. I can still remember the “tub” it came in from the store. I can still remember looking at the reddish-brown “blob” as it was thrown into […]

Marx, Freud, and Darwin have been dead a long time but their disciples still advance their cause. This past week, our local newspaper (The News Tribune, March 21, 2012) ran an editorial from the Detroit Free Press. It was entitled “Evolving Opinions on Evolution.” They were reacting to a reposting of a Gallup Poll that […]

I was so excited to get my first check, after all, I didn’t even own a bed. Rent was $525. When you divide that by the other five (all of us buddies who had just graduated from Pacific Lutheran University) each share was just $87.50 per month. But when you were just starting out, every […]

Ryken, Philip Graham. King Solomon: The Temptations of Money, Sex, and Power. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2011. 256 pp. $16.99 [but can be found for a little over $10.00]. This book review by Terry Delaney appears on his website, Christian Book Notes (February 23, 2012). Used by permission. Introduction Dr. Philip Ryken currently serves as president of […]

I enjoy reading our paper’s “Letters to the Editor.” It provides a snapshot of what’s going on out there—a window into society’s soul. But one of this morning’s editorials (TNT, 2-29) provided a window into the soul of a local, mainline church. And I, for one, did not enjoy the view. The editorial was entitled: […]

On one end the psalmist says, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord’” (Ps. 122:1). On the other end were the people of Malachi’s day who had a different thought about going to God’s house, “What a weariness this is” (Mal. 1:13). On one end […]