EPIC: Germany (Day 4)
I continue my journey through the Land of Luther, all as part of the project I’m calling EPIC. Today we visited Erfurt where Luther entered a monastery and began life as a monk. Here are a few notes and a couple of photos.
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Today, More than Ever, Read Beyond the Headlines
I’m not sure the news will ever be the same after the presidency of Donald Trump. While the industry has already been in a long decline, it seems to have entered into an era of near-insanity as the networks and websites compete against one another to set new standards in thoughtless, bloviating reporting. Whether those…
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EPIC: Germany (Days 2-3)
The EPIC trip to Germany continues. Yesterday we toured Wittenberg (where Luther lived, taught, preached, and, of course, nailed those 95 Theses to the door) and today we spent time in Eisleben (where Luther was born and died). As before, click any image to see it larger.
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EPIC: Germany (Day 1)
The EPIC journey continues. Most of today was spent in travel, though the official event did begin with a lecture this evening. Here’s my journal for the day… (Click any image to see it bigger)
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EPIC: Germany (Day 0)
My EPIC journey has begun and the first trip is taking me to … Germany. My plan for this trip is not to blog about what I’m doing, but to journal about it the old-fashioned way. Like this: (click any of the images to see them bigger) I will provide another update on Monday.
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It’s Going To Be EPIC!
This weekend I am setting out on the biggest project I’ve ever attempted, a project that will take me around the world and through the ages. In a series of journeys that will unfold over the next couple of years, I will travel to the four corners of the earth to complete research for a…
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The New/Old Way Our Culture Pressures Us To Conform
Every culture has certain standards that distinguish good and respectable people from the bad and disreputable people. Every culture has ways of compelling people to adhere to its standards. Some force adherence through guilt, some through fear, and some through shame. In a guilt-innocence culture, your standing before others depends upon your level of guilt…
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He (and They) Must Not Be a Novice
It’s not easy to become a pastor. A pastor is not qualified to ministry by something as straightforward as obtaining a master’s degree or possessing the ability to hold the attention of a crowd. A pastor is qualified to ministry by something far rarer and far more difficult to gain: godly character. He must be…
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The Mark of the Most Successful Worship Leaders
Every week a pastor or worship leader chooses the songs his church will sing the following Sunday. Every week he combs through the possibilities to select the five or six that will best fit within the service he is planning. How can he choose well? How can he best serve his congregation in their singing?…
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Beware (and Embrace) the Power of Story
There’s a new gospel in town, and it has recruited cadres of evangelists. This new gospel heralds peace with God and man, it proclaims enlightenment through acceptance. Yet it’s not acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, but acceptance of a new morality, the embrace and endorsement of what Christians have long understood to…
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10 Issues To Work Through Before You Get Married
Some people get married too soon. After love at first sight and a whirlwind romance, they quickly plan a wedding, exchange rings, and settle into a marriage that soon turns sour. So much pain can be avoided by working through issues before that wedding day. While courtship and engagement is, of course, the time to…
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How We Worshipped: Last Sunday of July
Every few weeks I like to share an example of one of our services at Grace Fellowship Church. I do this because I believe we can benefit from seeing how other people worship in other congregations and other contexts. I hope you find it helpful! This service’s cast of characters included Paul (our lead pastor)…
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The Lingering Stench of Sin
We used to live on the fringes of a small town surrounded by farmland. We quickly learned that of all the farm creatures in the world, pigs must be the stinkiest. It was not unusual to drive down the highway on a hot summer afternoon and to begin to detect a faint whiff of pig…
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Do Not Envy the Wicked
I just finished another pilgrimage through the Proverbs, and time and again read the promises that those who live good lives will receive good things while those who live bad lives will receive bad things. This is the way God has structured his world. But while these things are generally true, they are not universally…
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Two Different Ways to Think About Sex in Marriage
You have no right to a secret sex life. If you are married, you have no right to do anything outside the knowledge and consent of your spouse. That includes adultery, of course, but it also includes sinful fantasies and all manner of self-gratification. It’s simple. It’s obvious. It’s biblical. But it’s widely ignored. You…
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Four Sources of Discord in Your Church
Every church is at every time in danger. Every church is in danger of disruption and disunity when Christian turns on Christian or Christian turns away from Christian. In Paul’s letter to Titus he offers four sources of discord and warns us to avoid them (“But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the…
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Wanting It Enough
I want to have 10 percent body fat. I set that goal a while ago and even managed to get really close to reaching it. But eventually I found out that I want to have 10 percent body fat just a bit less than I want to have 13 percent. There’s a key difference between…
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A Quick Fix for Low Self-Esteem
Sometimes it happens to even the best of us. We aren’t watching for it, we aren’t expecting it, but suddenly it overwhelms us like a tsunami. In a moment we’re plunged into the depths of sorrow and despair. Now we find ourselves grappling with negative thoughts, we realize we’ve lost confidence in our abilities, we…
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Doers and Delegators
We tend to associate the highest godliness with the humblest service. Jesus proved his holiness when he stooped to wash the filthy feet of his disciples. He proved his submission to God when he willingly faced the unjust suffering of the cross. In both cases, it is what Jesus did that displayed his godly character.…
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An Army Without Supplies
I am an avid reader of books related to the Second World War. In my estimation, no conflict in history has been more interesting than this one. It has generated a wealth of fascinating stories and riveting accounts of unbelievable heroism. And even though countless thousands of books have already been written, new ones pour…