The Jews plotted the death of Jesus, and the Romans executed him. The temple officers blindfolded him, mocked him, spat on him, and struck his face with their fists. The soldiers whipped him, crowned him with thorns, struck his head with a mock scepter, and crucified him. The suffering of Jesus was severe. No question…

The Sunday evening message (“Are Christians Hateful?”) introduced a six-part series answering questions asked by teenagers hostile to Christian faith. As noted, American teens confuse opposition to homosexuality with hatred. But refusing to wave the rainbow flag isn’t hateful. Homosexual behavior puts people at higher risk for depression, anxiety, domestic violence, and terminal illness. Worst…

Record temperatures and fierce storms always seem to focus attention on the theory of manmade global warming or climate change. Is the earth’s average temperature rising? Are diesel engines and factory emissions heating up our planet? Or do temperature fluctuations result from normal climactic cycles? And are environmentalists using climate change as an excuse to…

People with deep concerns about the legalization of same-gender marriage regularly hear themselves labeled “homophobes.” This insult aims at silencing debate. “The Supreme Court has already decided this issue. Let’s just move on.” But this tactic can never still the voice of a true disciple. In 1973, the same court legalized abortion. All these years…

Isaiah’s aim is to draw the heart of disobedient Judah back to God. Toward the end of his great prophetic book, he acknowledges that his people are religious. “They seek me daily,” the Lord says, “and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the…

On the Day of Atonement, the tenth day of the seventh Jewish month, Israel’s high priest entered the inner sanctum of the temple. In his hands was a golden censer filled with coals. The sweet incense burning on them filled the most holy place with fragrant smoke. The high priest also carried blood into the…

Since people are so weak, sinful, and foolish, we wonder how God could love us. Even the most mature Christian often has thoughts in his head that make him feel ashamed in the Lord’s presence. We have the assurance, of course, that Jesus has walked in our sandals. The Bible explains that “we have not…

Once I watched an episode of “Russian Roulette,” a game show that ran for two seasons (2002-03). The winning contestant earned $10,000 by correctly answering some easy questions. The host told the man he could turn his cash into $100,000 by taking a gamble. There was a five-in-six chance that he would lose everything and,…

Amassing wealth is within the grasp of average Americans. Some years ago a former Wal-Mart employee was interviewed on a national news program. The woman had retired with more than $1 million after working only 20 years. She had managed this by living on a shoestring and investing every possible cent in the company’s profit-sharing…

June 16, 2007. It was a Saturday night in Selmer, a small Tennessee town about 30 minutes from Freed-Hardeman University. Hundreds of spectators lined the street to watch a show sponsored by the charity Cars for Kids. But the event turned into a nightmare. At 6:30 p.m. professional driver Troy Warren Critchley did a controlled…