Often, debaters of scriptural issues like to play the card that “The Bible only says, (fill in the blank) three times”. Or “God only addressed this subject once in Scripture”, trying to undermine a teaching that they either do not like or want to deemphasize. One glaring example of this is a premise upon which …
The Worst of Times
In 1859, Charles Dickens wrote A Tale of Two Cities. It is a novel set in London and Paris just before and during the French revolution wherein multiple thousands literally lost their heads in France. It places in juxtaposition the two cities; London enjoying peace, safety, and prosperity, and Paris in which overthrow and anarchy …
Bricks
Down through history, doubtless as far back as the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11, man has been a brickmaker. Bricks have been a staple building material through the centuries. While great temples, obelisks, and government structures have been made of quarried stone as the costliest and most enduring of building materials, the humble brick …
The Time of Our Lives
We have all heard the saying, “I’m having the time of my life.” It is usually expressed by someone who is in the midst of having great fun, maybe on vacation, during a family event, or some other special activity. It communicates a heightened sense of joy, appreciation, or well-being one is experiencing at the …
Does Character Matter Anymore?
Recently the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame (HOF) ballots went out to some 500 sports writers who have the responsibility to vote on candidates to the Hall each year. This year, rather unusually, there was not a single player who reached the required 75% level of approval in order to be elected to the …
Is the Lotto a Good Bet?
News spread fast that a single lotto ticket “hit the Mega Millions” jackpot to the tune of 1 billion dollars on Saturday, January 23rd. To make it more poignant for those of us here in southeastern Michigan, the winning ticket was purchased at the Kroger in Novi. The internet and news outlets were flooded with …
What Makes Us Strong?
When I was first saved, I was working for my dad installing septic fields during my first summer home from Bible College. I was working with a guy who was probably about 23 or 24 and I had been witnessing to him on and off. One day we were installing a filtration bed and it …
Flashback: Imperfect Faith
Some of you may remember Martha McKeen. Martha was a charter member of Berean from 1940 when the church began. When I came to Berean she had just finished her tenure as church secretary. During her lifetime at Berean she probably served in just about every capacity she could have in the church. She was …
Laden with Happiness and Tears
Most of us are probably familiar with the timeless musical, “Fiddler on the Roof”. The story centers around Jewish life in a village in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia at the turn of the 20th century. Tevye, a milkman in the village of Anatevka, attempts to maintain his Jewish religious and cultural traditions as outside influences encroach upon his …
Headstones
I’m a real history buff. It is not that I am a proficient historian. It is just that I enjoy reading histories and biographies of extraordinary people who have influenced our world. My favorite book of this sort is “Jonathan Edwards: A Life” by George Marsden. It is a mammoth volume that serves as a …
