Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Looking for Martha
February is approaching, and with it the Martha Stearns Marshall Month of Preaching, when churches are encouraged to invite a woman to preach at some point (or more than one point) during the month. Those brave (and...
New Documentary on Role of Faith in Prisons
EthicsDaily.com has released a new documentary on prisons and faith – "Through the Door," a title that highlights the gate through which Christians walk to visit those in prison and from which emerge those whom...
Super Bowl is Big Business for Human Traffickers
Sports are big business. Right now, advertisers are busy in all media markets promoting the Winter Olympics and the culmination of another season of our nation's obsession with football: the Super Bowl. But marketers,...
King’s Dreams Changed What the Civil War Couldn’t
In Arkansas, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is also a day to honor Robert E. Lee. How one day can hold that ironic juxtaposition of figures together I'll never know. I assume someone thought the day was big enough for both...
Presidential Pot Wink is Misguided, Misleading
Obama's presidential wink at marijuana comes when his public opinion ratings are at all-time low and with a dreadful, glassy-eyed comparison to alcohol. A BBC News headline read: "Barack Obama: 'Marijuana no more...
Super Bowl Encourages Sex Trafficking, NFL’s Response Questionable
The Super Bowl is a significant event for the sex trafficking industry, a global, year-round problem that numerous organizations seek to address. "There are no firm statistics on how much the forced sex and labor trade...
Liberia’s Economy: No Comfort for Oppressed or Oppressors
I had the luxury of passing through Duala, Liberia, on a recent trip, but as a passenger instead of as the driver. Usually I am at the wheel with 12 to 15 passengers on the way to an appointment in Monrovia, Liberia’s...
Witness the Lamb
A sermon by Michael Cheuk, Pastor, University Baptist Church, Charlottesville, Va. January 19, 2014. John 1:29-42 For as long as I can remember when it comes to looking for things, I’m terrible! When I’m the one...
Releasing Angels
A sermon by Robert Browning, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Frankfort, Ky. January 19, 2014 John 1:29-42 Our attention today is drawn to the first chapter of John where Jesus has begun his public ministry and is in the...
Remember Your Baptism
A sermon by Robert Browning, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Frankfort, Ky. January 12, 2014 Matthew 3:13-17 Today, we join Christians around the world who are remembering the baptism of Jesus. The first three gospel...
Too Light a Thing
A sermon by Randy Hyde, Pastor, Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ar. January 19, 2014 Isaiah 49:1-7; John 1:29-37 The late John Claypool tells a story from the early days of his pastoral ministry in...
One Truth at a Time: Lamb of God
A sermon by Jim Somerville, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Richmond, Va. January 19, 2014 The Second Sunday after Epiphany John 1:29-42 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God...
God Picks First
A sermon by Keith Herron, Pastor, Holmeswood Baptist Church, Kansas City, Mo. The Second Sunday after Epiphany John 1:29-42 January 19, 2014 Isaiah 49:1-7; Psalm 40:1-11; I Corinthians 1:1-9 One of the childhood perils...
No better friend
The church never had a better friend than Robert Stewart. Baptists, either, for that matter. Rev. Stewart, who succumbed to cancer on Jan. 20, began his life's journey in a town with the delightful name of Walhalla,...
British Children in Poverty Face Chilling Reality
More than 3 million families in the United Kingdom are likely to cut back on food so they can pay their energy bills this winter. And more than half of the 5 million families that are likely to turn their heating down...
Providing Aid as Christian Witness: Manipulation or Act of Mercy?
Religious hostility is at an all-time high, according to the latest Pew Research Center report, noting that the number of countries where religious minorities are abused doubled between 2007 and 2012. Open Doors' 2014...
Taking Evil Seriously in Our Broken World
I often use the adjectives "broken" and "wounded" to describe the world. Placed together, they express the collective impact of evil and destructive patterns of behavior on human lives. The Hebrew word "shalom" conveys...
4 Truths to Respond to Criticism with Grace
A long time ago in a church far, far away, I received a rather critical letter in the mail. A friend and colleague in the church had been sent the letter as well. As soon as he received his copy, he called me. During...
Skype Interview: Rick Love and Christian-Muslim Relationships
"Jesus is full of grace and truth, but Christians weren't very full of grace and truth in their relationship with Muslims." That was the observation by Rick Love, author of a new book on Christian-Muslim relationships,...
How Syrian Crisis Transformed Lebanese Churches
Since the summer of 2011, the Lebanese Baptist Society (LSESD) has been directly involved in reaching out to vulnerable Syrian refugees affected by the crisis. What we are witnessing today is the changing, cleansing...
Survey: Hostilities Involving Religion Surged in 2012
Unparalleled heights were reached in 2012 as religious hostility increased in nearly all regions of the world. According to a January 2014 Pew Research report, 74 percent of the global population in 2012 lived in areas...