Sweet Tea and the Spirit

I have several friends who order their drinks without ice. Whenever they order at a restaurant, the server always does a double take. “Sweet tea with no ice?” But my friends have a practical reason for their anti-ice stance. They want the maximum amount of tea possible in their glass. I guess, from that perspective, …

Recruiting Network: The Church’s Role in God’s Mission

This is the third post in a series on “seekers.” Previous posts have established that Sinners do not seek God naturally (Romans 3:10-11) God seeks and saves sinners (Luke 19:10) The Holy Spirit draws sinners to seek Him (John 3:8) But that does not mean that sinners are automatically converted without being evangelized. That leads to the question this post …

Breathing in Outer Space

Imagine stepping out into outer-space for a spacewalk. As you take your first steps out of the international space station into the infinite realm of space, something terrible happens. You feel sick. Your hearing and speaking abilities suddenly vanish. Trapped in a spacesuit, you feel disoriented and can only think of one thing: get back …

Every ’78 Pontiac

In Neuroscience, the Reticular Activating System refers to a set of connected nuclei in the brain that monitors and filters information being taken in by the senses.[1] When the brain becomes familiar with certain stimuli or patterns of stimuli, the Reticular Activation System becomes more sensitive to that information. It is what allows a person …

What Your Pastor’s Sermon Really Needs

I love 1 Corinthians 1:20-25. In it, Paul makes a great case for why we need the Holy Spirit to draw men unto Christ when we present the Gospel message. Paul starts the passage by calling out all of the intellectuals, scholars and academics asking, “Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” …

How to Make an Effective Announcement

The morning worship service was broadcast live each week on the local radio station. So, the pastor knew he had to wrap everything up by noon. At the close of the sermon, he glanced at his watch to see that he had only one minute left, so he quickly transitioned to announcements. Imagine driving in …