Hard Questions for Thoughtful Christians and Inquiring Skeptics
Luke 13:1-5
Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People (and Good Things to Bad People)? One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Isaiah 1:18: “‘Come now, let us reason together,’ says the LORD. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.’” This week, and in fact for most of this summer, I want us to reason together, to have a dialogue about some of…
John 14:6, Acts 4:12, Romans 1:18-25
Is Jesus Really the Only Way? (And if so, what about those who have never heard His name?) Dr. Robert Yarbrough, a professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, was reviewing a book for an evangelical publisher on women’s roles in the church, a topic we are going to be dealing with later in this series. In the introduction of her book the author noted that historically the nearly universal position of orthodox Christianity has been that women should not be ordained to…
Acts 20, 21
How Do I Find God’s Will for My Life? This third sermon in our series on Hard Questions could do one of two things: It could liberate you in an important area of practical Christian living, or it could blow your mind and upset your whole spiritual applecart. Someone has said that sacred cows make the best hamburger, but it’s easy to choke on it. I may be slaying someone’s sacred cow today, but I don’t ask that you digest it all…
Luke 9:49-62
Is Tolerance a Virtue or a Vice? Today is the fourth in a series of nine messages on Hard Questions for Thoughtful Christians and Inquiring Skeptics. Today I want to ask the question, “Is Tolerance a Virtue or a Vice?” And I want to answer my own question with a firm, unequivocal, “It depends.” I have here a magazine whose cover asks the question, “Why are Christians So Intolerant?” I believe that’s a legitimate question, because there are many people who need the Lord…
Mark 9:43 48, 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10
Hell? Yes! There are several reasons why I have decided to address the topic of hell in this series on “Hard Questions for Thoughtful Christians and Inquiring Skeptics.” First, it is clearly a biblical topic. Second, it is a neglected topic in our churches. Third, hell is under intense attack in our rationalistic, relativistic culture. And fourth, and most importantly, I want to warn those who are on their way there to stop and turn around before it’s too late. Unfortunately, we cannot assume…
1 Corinthians 11:2-16; 14:34, 35; 1 Tim 2:8-15
What is the Role of Women in the Church? The topic of gender roles is a minefield many pastors consider too risky to cross, and I understand their hesitancy. It’s not without good reason that I am starting my study month tomorrow! It should be obvious that we cannot look to society for help in resolving the gender controversy, for the positions staked out there are pretty extreme. On the one side we have the women’s liberation movements like NOW, the National…