Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
April 28, 2014
Died: Glen H. Stassen, Baptist Ethicist Who Pioneered ‘Just Peacemaking’ (Christianity Today) Glen Stassen, Leading Baptist Voice in Peacemaking, Dies at 78 (Associated Baptist Press) Amy Butler Chosen as...
Well done, Joe
Rev. Joe R. Babb died on Friday, April 25. At 84, it was still too soon. Joe was a Baptist minister to the core. A graduate of Furman University and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, he served as pastor of...
April 26, 2014
Oklahoma Public School District Bible Class: Sinners will Suffer (ABC News) Business Window Stickers Protest Mississippi Law (ABC News) Jars of Clay’s Christian Fans Lash Out after the Lead Singer Tweets for Same-Sex...
Nelson Mandela: Icon of Reconciliation, Forgiveness, Honor
It's a long way from Kansas City, Mo., to Johannesburg, South Africa. It would take about 17 hours flying time from Kansas City International Airport and cost about $1,675 for a round-trip ticket. I have no plans, or...
Eastertide Signals Return from Exile, Call to Action
I am relatively new to the church year and worshipping in a congregation guided by the Revised Common Lectionary. As a Baptist of Southern Baptist heritage, I was largely unaware that there were seasons through which...
Study: Language, Work Key for Immigrants to Integrate Successfully
Immigration reform remains a divisive issue, but everyone wants to see immigrants thrive in the United States. So says a recent report issued by the Barna Group, which highlights language and work as the key elements...
April 25, 2014
Atlanta-area Evangelical Leaders Call for Immigration Reform (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) Pastor’s Son Claims He Visited Heaven (CNN) Rancher’s ‘Better off as slaves’ Remark About Blacks Draws Fire (Los Angeles...
Good Morning, Jesus!
A sermon by Michael Cheuk, Pastor, University Baptist Church, Charlottesville, Va. April 2-, 2014. John 20:1-18 “Good Morning!” Have you ever had someone say that to you while you were still deep in sleep? I...
Mary, Don’t You Weep
A sermon by Jim Somerville, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Richmond, Va. April 20, 2014 Easter Sunday John 20:1-18 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw...
An Empty Tomb Filled with Hope
A sermon by Bob Browning, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Frankfort, Ky. April 20, 2014 John 20:1-18 Do you think Mary went to bed that Saturday night? If she did, I am confident she slept little, if any. It is hard to...
What Jesus Said…About Fear
A sermon by Randy Hyde, Pastor, Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ar. April 20, 2014 Easter Sunday Psalm 118:1, 19-25; Matthew 28:1-10 I saw an Internet blog this week that said today is the 1,981st Easter....
What Jesus Said…About the Kingdom
A sermon by Randy Hyde, Pastor, Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ar. April 18, 2014 Good Friday John 18:33-38 By all accounts, Pilate was not a politician. He was a rough-and-tumble, violent,...
What Jesus Said…About Betrayal
A sermon by Randy Hyde, Pastor, Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ar. April 17, 2014 Maundy Thursday Luke 22:24-30 It is always a challenge to find something new and fresh to say about the Lord’s Supper. But...
Thunderous Yes
A sermon by Keith Herron, Pastor, Holmeswood Baptist Church, Kansas City, Mo. Easter Sunday Acts 10:34-43 April 20, 2014 Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; I Corinthians 15:1-11; John 20:1-18 This has been one of the most difficult...
Some things new
I suspect we all like things that are new and fresh -- but especially when there's also an element of familiarity. I suppose that's why we like spring so much. We know what butterflies look like, but after a winter...
Do You Place Party Loyalty Before God’s Kingdom?
Not long after I came to Asheville, N.C., the Republican Men's Club of Buncombe County invited me to their breakfast meeting to tell them about myself and my hopes for First Baptist Ashville's future. The man who...
“Heaven is for Real”
Either serendipitously or providentially, my Christian theology class is studying personal, individual life after death - "heaven" and "hell." After that, we will study corporate, cosmic eschatology - the future of...
Let’s Accept the Blue Bird Under Church Watchcare Or At Least Use Its Service
Good and Evil. Constructive and destructive. Transformation and degeneration. Has such not always been the interlocking nature with the technology of communication? TV brings into our homes inspiring stories about the...
April 24, 2014
Pope Stirs Communion Debate With Call to Woman (CNN) Nashville 8th in Nation for New Catholics (Tennessean) Georgia Law Allows Guns in Some Schools, Bars, Churches (CNN) California Evangelical Couple Runs Medical...
Hagee’s End-Times Prediction: Spectacle over Substance
John Hagee announced recently to his San Antonio congregation and worldwide audience that there will be a world-shaking event sometime between this April and October 2015. Yes, that's correct. He is predicting that...
When We All Work Together, Great Change Happens
On Sunday, Sept. 3, 1967, I had recently moved into a graduate student apartment and was about to embark on an academic journey, which would lead to my first master's degree. My personal life was happily consumed with...