When Psalm 121 appeared as the primary reference in Pastor Brian’s message on September 24, it brought back vivid memories for me. I had committed the entire Psalm to memory in junior high school, after moving twice within 15 months. The transition to 7th grade in Ohio, then 8th grade in Pennsylvania, did not go […]
On Wednesday morning, all across the United States, high school students will be gathering for one simple thing: to pray. To pray for our nation. To pray for their schools. To pray for their friends. At some schools, great crowds of teens gather. At other schools, it may be just a few.  See You at […]
Pascal (pictured here) was a famous mathematician, scientist, and philosopher when he converted to the Christian faith. He had a profound conversion experience. So powerful, that he recorded a few brief words and sewed them into a secret pocket in his jacket to carry them close to his heart – always. He began with […]
My heart was strongly encouraged by this thought from an unknown author: All of the darkest, saddest, most terrible nights our world has ever known are counterbalanced by ONE EARLY MORNING in Israel when holy angels rolled the stone away from an empty tomb and proclaimed, He is risen! He is risen, and if you […]
God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering. -Augustine That’s it! It is my story and my journey, as it is yours. Making sense of suffering. Finding hope in the hard times. Just worth thinking through. May you have strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, Pastor Brian
Despite the standard secular mantra that all religions are the same and teach the same thing, nothing could be further from the truth. All religions do have things in common, like a belief in God, praying to God, holy writings that tell the followers about God, and practices of worship. But every religion has […]
I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see … John Newton is the famous author of the beautiful song “Amazing Grace.” He was a former captain of slave ships who became a pastor and then worked to oppose the slave trade. Here is a delightful and encouraging thought from […]
A final reason why many choose not to believe in God. The first three reasons were: The problem of suffering. Bad religion that has hurt people. Misconceptions about the conflict of science and Christianity. The fourth reason is going to be a little touchy, so I will just put it out there and give a […]
In my last blog post, the first two reasons given for not believing in God were the problem of suffering and “bad” religion. There are two more reasons that shape the minds and hearts of many people about faith. I will talk about the third reason today. Three: The theory of materialism, (or) secularism, (or) […]
Do you know what a straw man argument is? It is when you set out an opposing position in such a way that it is easy to dismantle that position. We can’t do that with unbelief. We must take with great seriousness and intellectual rigor the reasons people choose not to believe. There are four […]