“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you – unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5) Have you ever heard of a nominal Christian? Local churches are full of them. A nominal Christian is defined by the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelism as “a person who has not responded in repentance and faith to Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and Lord.” They may claim to be Christian, even be faithful […]

“And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature’.”(Mark 16:15) Billy Graham’s death this week was the end of a brand of Christianity that many of us were part of. It’s why so many lined up this week to pay honor to a life of service by getting one last chance to be with him while he lay in his casket in his boyhood home. Like many of you, I have grown up with Billy Graham. As a child, my […]

“If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) One of the pastors visited a friend of mine who’s been in church all his life. He calls himself a Christian, but he confessed that he often felt empty and hopeless. As they talked, it became evident to him that my friend may very well have looked like a Christian on the outside, but he had never asked the Lord […]

“And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:8) Here’s a question for your Sunday School class. Ask your classmates how many of the seven deadly sins they can name. Just in case you don’t know, they are pride (vanity), envy, gluttony, lust, anger, covetousness, and sloth. One of these sins is described as an abomination to God. Do you know which one? I remember it from years ago in an exchange I […]