Citizen of Heaven

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! I’ve been preaching … about the power of smiles. Joy is meant to be shown and shared. It makes all the difference in the world. I’ve been reading … the lyrics to “Closed on Sunday,” from Kanye West’s new album. This is why I don’t listen to hip-hop.  I’ve been hearing … All the local Chick-fil-A employees sing their boss’s praises. And I m...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! I’ve been preaching … about leadership. Chick fil-A #01389  trains its employees to be “leaders,” both inside and outside the workplace. And it shows. I’ve been reading … about Christians withdrawing their support for Chick Fil-A because of changes in their charity policy. We have got to get a grip on who the good guys and bad guys are in...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! I’ve been preaching … about the fear of God in a godless world. Sinners do not fear God; we know that. But there may be a bigger problem — that there is not enough fear of God in us. I’ve been reading … Faith for This Moment, by Rick McKinley. It is our job as Christians to present the gospel to the world. But if we think it is merely a to...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! I’ve been preaching … about God-given rights. They are not as “self-evident” as the founders asserted. And they certainly are not as important as the right God actually endowed us with. I’ve been reading … Epitaph, by Mary Doria Russell. Again. The OK Corral incident was all about gun-control laws. They didn’t work then, and they don’t wor...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! I’ve been preaching … about The Little Drummer Boy. This is not a beloved icon of the season; it’s an example of everything that’s wrong in the church today, and I’ll be glad to tell you why. I’ve been reading … A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. The spirit of giving manages to escape many of us. Surely the story of Jesus should be eno...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! I’ve been hearing … the good work Terry does in cooperation with Philip Martin on the popular Do the Work podcast. If you’re on Facebook, look it up. It will give some excellent insight in to the work of an evangelist — helpful for preachers and non-preachers alike. In the “I’ve been Playing” segment, we will discuss Terry’s lifelong obses...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! In this special two-part episode, I will be speaking with Terry Francis, who preaches for the Chelsea church of Christ in the Birmingham, Alabama area.  Terry cohosts the popular Do the Work podcast with his colleague, Philip Martin. I was able to sit down with Terry recently. Here is some of what we talked about: Terry has been preaching...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! We will discuss what I call “The Magnificent Seven,” Biblical characters that remind me of the heroes from the classic film. We will discuss Epitaph, by Mary Doria Russell, again. Josie Marcus was determined that the world see her man, Wyatt Earp, as the man she knew him to be. We should be equally protective of Jesus’ reputation  We will...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! We will discuss placing our faith in government. Only God can give assurance in the matters Christians truly care about.  If that isn’t enough for us, an ineffectual government is the least of our worries. We will discuss Epitaph, by Mary Doria Russell. There is the Wyatt Earp who played by the rules and lost, and the Wyatt Earp who broke...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! I will give thanks for the assurance we have in our salvation. Balancing confidence and humility is tricky, but thankfully we have Jesus to show us the way. I will give thanks for God’s presence, as expressed in Aaron’s benediction.  It’s easier to remember our blessings when we remind one another from time to time. I will give thanks for...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! We will discuss the authority given in the New Testament for local congregations. Simply put, you can’t go it alone, and Jesus will not permit you to try. We will discuss The Bridezilla of Christ, by Ted Kluck and Ronnie Martin. It is tough to adopt a “you first” mentality in a “me first” culture. But we will kill the church if we don’t tr...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! We will discuss the myth of “priorities.” Thinking we can balance commitments to money and the Lord is wrongheaded, and doomed to tip to the wrong side. We will discuss Barbarians at the Gate, a book that details the buyout of RJR Nabisco. When making money is the only objective, there’s no limit to how insane the behavior can get. We will...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! I’ve been preaching … about loincloths — not the physical garments made famous by Tarzan, the spiritual ones we make to rationalize getting by with the absolute minimum. I’ve been reading … John, the gospel written specifically to build faith. You can read the gospel and believe, or you can see Jesus in the flesh and disbelieve. It’s about...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! I’ve been preaching … about being born of the Spirit.  The Holy Spirit makes a powerful and unmistakable impact on the souls He touches.  If you don’t know what I mean, maybe that should tell you something. I’ve been reading … Luke, the gospel account that presents Jesus as the Master Teacher.  But no matter how great a Teacher He is, it w...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! I’ve been preaching … about whether you are baptized. Not whether you have been baptized, mind you — whether you are baptized.  There is a difference. I’ve been reading … Mark, the gospel account that particularly emphasizes the power and authority of our Savior.  Strange that those closest to Him had such difficulty with the concept.  I’v...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! I’ve been preaching … about tolerance. We have fits tolerating pain and ill treatment in this life; why do we find it so easy to tolerate sin? I’ve been reading … Matthew, the first of the four gospel accounts. Matthew is all about the kingdom of heaven. And it’s like no kingdom you’ve ever seen before.  I’ve been hearing … about the 1619...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! I’ve been preaching … about our storm shelter. You can embrace the danger, ignore it, hope to escape it, or seek a shelter that guarantees your safety. You choose. I’ve been reading … Miracle at the Higher Grounds Café, by Max Lucado, Candace Lee and Eric Newman. If you could ask God anything, what would it be? I might ask, “Why aren’t Chr...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! I’ve been preaching … God’s lists of requirements. The fact that they differ so much doesn’t mean I get to pick and choose; it just means I have extra reading to do. I’ve been reading … about Union Theological Seminary. You could search for God in a place where they confess sins to plants, or you could search in the Bible. You won’t be sur...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! I’ve been preaching … about the joy we find in Jesus. And maybe that’s the problem with unhappy Christians — they aren’t really “in Jesus” in the first place. I’ve been reading … Hosea — a book about a man determined to make his marriage work despite his wife’s best efforts. Fidelity is a word seldom used and seldom practiced today, it see...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! I’ve been preaching … about patience. Patience is a choice, just like every other virtue. The trouble is, patience comes with a price tag we are often unwilling to pay. I’ve been reading … Tornado in a Junkyard, by James Perloff. If we are supposed to believe something as ridiculous as Darwinism, we really ought to have some proof.  And de...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! I’ve been preaching … about our lost sense of identity. With everyone telling us God is irrelevant or imaginary, it’s no wonder so many Americans feel lost. I’ve been reading … Three Finger, a biography of hall of fame pitcher Mordecai Brown. He earned his nickname the hard way, then he made it work to his advantage. I’ve been hearing … so...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! I’ve been preaching … about the decline of values in a godless society. If you don’t have God defining right and wrong, there is no right and wrong. We’re proving it in America every day. I’ve been reading … quotations from Mark Twain. All this time I’ve thought I was a big Mark Twain fan. All this time I was wrong. I’ve been hearing … Car...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! I’ve been preaching … about the rise of violence in our godless society. The world reacts radically when situations do not suit them. People of faith should know better. I’ve been reading … prophecies about the downfall of empires. Sometimes it seems God is disconnected from the affairs of history. But He isn’t. Just ask any Assyrians or B...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! I’ve been preaching … about the servant.  Isaiah 53 shows us what the true servant of God looks like. Fair warning — you won’t like what you see. I’ve been reading … Some people actually believe the Babylon Bee. Maybe instead of blaming  the news, or fake news, outlets, we should put the blame where it belongs — on the readers. I’ve been h...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! I’ve been preaching … about how our conscience is not our guide. God’s word is our guide. It is never wrong, and our conscience often is. I’ve been reading … about moral facts, and whether they exist. Our children are being taught that they do not, and that explains a great deal about children today. I’ve been hearing … Beethoven’s 3rd sym...