Halloween’s origins are not a matter of speculative debate, but a historical fact rooted in the profane festival of Samhain, celebrated by the pagan Celts. This was no innocent harvest party; it was a demonic rite where the veil between the living and the dead was believed to thin, inviting spirits—both benign and malevolent—into the world.

They are my life. Other than Jesus himself, they are the clearest sign of just how much God adores me; just how treasured I am to him; just how loved I am; they are a constant reminder of how true my sonship to God is.  When I receive kisses from my queen, it is the Father giving his son a kiss. When my children embrace me, it is my elder brother holding me near. When we hold hands to pray around our meals, I am in close fellowship with the Trinity. It is a truly wonderful thing.

Because the bible is the singular unified voice of God, these passages and Luke 17 are not in contradiction, but beautifully harmonize with each other. When someone has sinned against us we must have a heart like Christ—compassionate, loving, and ready to forgive—and we should settle in our hearts that we will forgive when they repent (Mark 11:25).

This is one of those examples of when we need to just read the bible plainly and do it. A woman’s long hair is her glory and a covering for her. When she cuts it off, she loses her glory, and she loses her God given covering. It’s as simple as that.

The church, for too long, has neglected this reality and has been too comfortable cozying up to the culture and adopting its ideas. Certainly, Israel took from Egypt (Exodus 12:36), but only their material possessions as God instructed them.

These are just a few examples of righteous deception in the bible, but in every one of these cases, we see the person or people lying, being deceptive, strategic, shrewd, and wise as serpents, we also see them being as innocent as doves.

The subject of mortifying sin ought to resonate with the push for biblical masculinity; the call to mortify sin brings about a spirit and a sense of adventure, battle, conflict, and conquest. We are teaching ourselves, our men, and our boys to be a warrior who is tender to his allies and tough on his enemies.

It is perfectly obvious that not everyone submits to everyone else, and it is foolish to imagine it so. Elders do not submit themselves to parishioners, police do not submit themselves to citizens, and husbands do not submit themselves to wives. What Paul is indicating here is that, although not all people submit to each other, all people do submit to someone.

The Lord has been at work in my life and has been teaching me many things, of which I hope to share a small bit with you here. God is always at work, really, even when we aren’t aware of it. Over the last bit of my life, however, I have been afforded the kindness of being more aware of it than normal.

God is the original horticulturist. But he doesn’t grow the expected fruits. Of course, he is the one who is all-around responsible for the growth of all the pomegranates, avocados, peaches, pears, and plums, but he is also the cultivator of a different and even better fruit, a spiritual fruit.

“You mean, all I have to do is drink this cup and I’ll be forgiven? All my sins will be wiped away?” Yes! Only in this cup, this blood, can God and man come and live together.

The following is a sermon manuscript delivered at a Men’s Fellowship on July 15, 2022 at Freedom Church in Dayton, OH.

Paul condemns this ideology and hermeneutic at the beginning of chapter 5.  The reality is, that legalism does not appease God.

Many people want to forget their past and feel the relief of forgetting the shame they have experienced, and if that is the goal then the world has a plethora of options to choose from.

So when we look at children, what are we supposed to see? Children are helplessly dependent and this in turn forces their humility.

I don’t think it is possible to have a genuine relationship with someone without eventually conversing about suffering and sharing the ways that you have suffered in this life. We all suffer.

Paul knew full well the issues in the Corinthian church at that present moment. He did not set into writing this letter without full knowledge of the status of this congregation.

Picture Ahithophel’s king, David, sleeping on his comfortable couch. He raises out of his slumber, stretches his arms, yawns, and shuffles his feet beneath himself, hoping to touch his elusive sandal with his ever-searching hallux.

Pragmatism is the practical or realistic approach to solving problems or the idea that the results themselves confirm the validity of the methods used and is often found in Christian circles. For example, if a method of evangelism doesn’t work by people confessing Christ, then one will look for another or different method to use for evangelism.

Picture Ahithophel’s king, David, sleeping on his comfortable couch. He raises out of his slumber, stretches his arms, yawns, and shuffles his feet beneath himself, hoping to touch his elusive sandal with his ever-searching hallux.