Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
To Hell and Back
A sermon delivered by David Hughes, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Winston-Salem, Nc., on February 26, 2012. Genesis 9:8-17; 1 Peter 3:17-22 The phrase “to hell and back” has been used many times for many reasons. For...
The Lord’s Prayer: Bread in the Wilderness of Life
A sermon delivered by Joel Snider, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Rome, Ga., on March 11, 2012. Mark 6:30-44 Morning Prayer: We thank you, good and gracious God, for the vision you have given your children in every...
Appearances Can Be Deceiving
A sermon delivered by Randy Hyde, Pastor, Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ark., on March 11, 2012 Third Sunday in Lent Malachi 3:1-4; John 2:13-22 It doesn’t take long for traditions to become entrenched....
The Way of Wisdom
A sermon delivered by Michael Cheuk, Pastor, Farmville Baptist Church, Farmville, Va., on March 11, 2012. Third Sunday in Lent 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 Several years back, columnist Dave Barry listed “Sixteen Things That...
The Way of Discipleship
A sermon delivered by Michael Cheuk, Pastor, Farmville Baptist Church, Farmville, Va., on March 11, 2012. Third Sunday in Lent 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 Several years back, columnist Dave Barry listed “Sixteen...
“Holy Rollers: The True Story of Card Counting Christians”
Gambling and Christianity go together like oil and water. At least that's been the prevailing attitude. Hence the shock of an idea of a group of Christians – many of them pastors – devoting themselves to the blackjack...
White House Dialogue: A Worthwhile Occasion
I have intentionally waited a few days to write about the meeting at the White House with a delegation of Baptists in order to process my thoughts and feelings. It is a rather "heady" thing to be invited to the...
Our Twin Failures: Loveless Truth, Truthless Love
Love and truth belong together. So why is it that they are so often found separated? Moral life arises from the recognition of eternal truth, the acceptance of the reality of others in that same truth, and the...
Happy Pi Day …
It's generally overshadowed by St. Patrick's Day, but folks who are more geeky than green celebrate Pi Day on March 14 of every year ... it's 3.14, you know. I never considered myself much of a mathlete, though...
5 Thoughts on God’s Gift of Sexuality
A patient and I recently had a conversation on sensuality and sexuality, and I suggested the following five important considerations on the topic, each from a distinctly Christian perspective. Sexuality should be...
Governors Urged to Reject For-Profit’s Prison Plan
Nonprofit and faith-based organizations have asked governors to avoid working with one of the largest prison corporations due to clauses the for-profit company is demanding. A coalition of some two dozen nonprofit...
Why We All Want Government to “Fix Us”
"Will you please make my life improve and improve now?" Being a pastor is a "one size fits all" kind of job filled with lots of expectations. People want happier lives – all the time – so it's not unusual that we are...
Obama Admin’s Summits Could Be Better Timed
EthicsDaily.com has posted severalarticles about the March 7 meeting between goodwill Baptists and Obama administration officials. It was a good meeting. I asked a couple questions during the meeting. The most...
Why We’re Too Quick to Criticize Jefferson’s Bible
The Smithsonian's NationalMuseumofAmericanHistory is currently featuring a display of a project Thomas Jefferson undertook during the latter years of his life: it's called "Jefferson's Bible." Being in Falls Church,...
3 Steps for Churches to Avoid the Dodo’s Fate
Editor's note: This column is another of several EthicsDaily.com will carry from an initiative from Great Britain called "Beyond400.net – Baptists Imagining Life After 400 Years." "The dodo is dead. Everybody knows...
Church, change, and challenge
Christian leaders shouldn't think only about how Christianity is changing the world, but about how the world is changing Christianity. That's according to Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, recently retired as general...
Proposed Organ-Donor Law Dehumanizes Patients
According to the UnitedNetworkforOrganSharing (UNOS), more than 112,000 people are currently on a waiting list for a lifesaving organ. On average, 18 people die every day while waiting for one of these precious organs....
Why You Need That Frustrating Church Community
We need community, but community isn't easy. And it isn't easy mostly because there are people in community, and people have a way of being predictably and messily human. Some of the people in community with us have...
Hear a Word about Baptist Day at the White House
No Baptist speaks for another Baptist, I said, at the conclusion of the three-hour dialoguesession between White House officials and a delegation of 60 goodwill Baptists. Then, speaking for myself, I told Paul...
Rememberdays
Today is my daughter Bethany's birthday. She would have been 26. It's hard to imagine, but I do. Yesterday was the 200th birthday of Raleigh's First Baptist Church -- both of them. As in a number of other southern...
“Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax”
Dr. Seuss created wonderful stories and unforgettable characters. Yet, few have been able to adapt his stories to other media. "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" is an example of a well-done adaptation. Sadly, it is the...