Savoring the Savior

  McJesus, by Jani Leinonen, “Sacred Goods," Haifa, Israel  This week, as I sat at my computer browsing through some of the art featured in the "Sacred Goods" exhibit in Haifa, Israel, I was drawn to the sculpture created by Jani Leinonen entitled, "McJesus". Recently, this sculpture has been the cause of protests by the Catholic church in Israel, as they seek a court order to have this sculpture removed from the exhibit. As my mind began to process the image of Ronald McDonald hanging on a cross, reminiscent of Jesus' sacrifice for sin, I recalled some of the discussions of Francis Schaeffer regarding art. In "How Should We Then Live", he spoke of how art is often a window that provides a view of how society around us interprets the world. For Christians, this means that as we examine art, listen to the radio, or watch television we should be aware that we are hearing another person's commentary on life. This exhibit was about how con...

Despite the various views regarding theology, soteriology, and eschatology, there is one thing that the majority of Christians unanimously agree on. Every Sunday, Christians all around the world (the universal church) gather together with other believers in their community (the local church) for a time of celebration, worship, and fellowship. Week after week, year after year, various expressions of the church have been meeting since it was first established in Jerusalem, but for what purpose? This week, one of my brothers in Christ reminded us that as believers, sometimes we need to step back and examine ourselves to make sure we focus on the complete picture of the church that we find in Acts. In his conversation, he likened the church to our muscular system and spoke about what might happen when someone just lies in bed and eats without any exercise. His focus was not just on the amount of weight that a person might gain, but the potential atrophy that can occur when we s...

FROM THE DESK OF Corru P Tion Attacking the Family When we first discussed our strategy to begin our assault on the family, I must admit that I was unconvinced that this simple scheme would grant us an advantage. However, upon studying all of the available research I not only believe we can gain the upper hand but a decided victory. As you will see, by beginning our attack on the role of the husband and father, we not only bring devastation to the family but have the opportunity to affect society as a whole. As we wait for their love of the book to wax cold, familiarize yourself with this plan of attack and be prepared for war.  Attacking Biblical Manhood The first stage of our attack will be against those who are husbands and fathers among them. There are several approaches that can be utilized to assist in disrupting their effort to raise children in the discipline and instruction of their God. We might begin by replacing the time they...

We are two days into 2019, and if you are like many other Christians, you have resolved that this will be the year you finally stick to some sort of Scripture reading plan. There are a variety of these plans available that range from focusing on specific parts of Scripture to reading through the entire Bible once or even twice this year (if you haven't started find one here ). Today, I want to encourage you not only to stick with the reading plan that you have selected but more importantly remember why  you are reading... to seek Him. On day two, hopefully, you don't need too much encouragement to pick up your Bible and spend some time reading, but a few weeks from now, your resolve might start to waver. It might be that you are pressed for time, finding it can be difficult to escape from everything that competes for your time and attention, or maybe you are discouraged because as you read things aren't as clear as you thought they would be, in fact, some of what you ...