April 7, 2014
How has God’s Word changed your life? What are some Scriptures that have made the biggest impact?
February 10, 2014
Other than Jesus, who is the person in the Bible you would most like to have a conversation with and why?
January 13, 2014
Besides the Bible, what book that you read in 2013 made the greatest impact on you?
saved by a compass
During World War II, Waldemar Semenov (a retired merchant seaman) was serving as a junior engineer aboard the SS Alcoa Guide when a German submarine surfaced and opened fire on the ship. The US merchant ship was hit, caught fire, and began to sink. Three hundred miles off the coast of North Carolina, Semenov and the other sailors lowered lifeboats into the water. Fortunately, the lifeboats were equipped with a compass. Semenov and his crew used the compass to sail west by northwest toward the shipping lanes. After three days, a patrol plane spotted Semenov’s lifeboat and the USS Broome rescued the men the next day. Thanks to that compass, Semenov and 26 other crewmembers were saved.
front to back
At the start of the movie Walk the Line, young Johnny Cash is talking with his older brother Jack who is hoping to become a preacher. Johnny is sad because he doesn’t know the Bible like his brother, who said, “If I’m going to be a preacher one day, I gotta know the Bible front to back. I mean, you can’t help nobody if you can’t tell them the right story.”
Bible cyst
An acquaintance of mine recently went to have his doctor examine a cyst on the top of his wrist. The doctor told the man that it was a “Bible cyst.”
it’s not about me
Tim Keller asks, “Is the Bible basically about me and what I must do? Or is it basically about Jesus and what He has done?” The pastor and author asks us to consider the familiar account of David and Goliath. We tend to view that story as an example of how God can help us slay the metaphorical giants in our lives. Keller suggests that’s a mistake. A story from the gospel of Luke reveals why.
outdated?
In 2012, Encyclopedia Britannica declared that information has been changing so rapidly that their encyclopedias were quickly outdated. So instead of focusing on physical books, they’ve made the decision to focus on digital editions. “A printed encyclopedia is obsolete the minute that you print it,” said the president of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Whereas our online edition is updated continuously.”
YOLO
Who wrote the oldest lyrics for a #1 Billboard hit song? In 1965, the folk rock band The Byrds covered Pete Seeger’s song “Turn! Turn! Turn!” That song made it to #1. Almost all the lyrics are straight out of Ecclesiastes 3, making them 3,000 years old. King Solomon, Ecclesiastes’ author, should get royalties!
you choose Q: what's the significance of the number 153?
Q: What’s the significance of the number 153, the number of fish that the disciples caught? —Safy
A: John 21 tells us that the resurrected Christ appeared to several of his disciples beside the Sea of Galilee—showing them that he was alive and then restoring Peter to ministry. The disciples had gone back to their fishing trade, but throughout the night,…
intimidation of the Bible
The Bible can intimidate me sometimes. Certain statements bring on the guilt. Here are just a few of them: “You are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48); “You must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy” (1 Peter 1:15). Psalm 119 elicits enough guilt to last a lifetime: “I have devoted myself to Your commandments” (Psalm 119:45); “I rise at midnight to thank You for Your just regulations” (Psalm 119:62); “I have more insight than my teachers, for I am always thinking of Your laws” (Psalm 119:99); “I have done what is just and right” (Psalm 119:121).
mirror, mirror
When it comes to physical appearance, we’re constantly bombarded with advice. And truth be told, the suggestions found on magazine covers, in TV commercials, and voiced by store clerks—among other sources—bother me. They’re all trying to nudge me to pursue that perfect look.
youth ministry 101
If you read some recent books on youth ministry, it’s hard not to get the sense that this part of church ministry is experiencing some major struggles. And nearly everyone has an opinion about how youth ministry should be improved. Parents, youth workers, and young people themselves have expectations and demands that don’t always overlap. So, what should we do?
