Not long ago I officiated a wedding ceremony that followed the predictable theme of faithfulness. I, groom, take you bride, to be my wedded wife. I promise to love you, comfort you, honor and keep you, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, and forsaking all others, be faithful only to you so long as we both shall live. Soon, the bride pledged the same loyalty to her new husband.

 Once upon a time, the renowned 18th Century English preacher George Whitfield was getting the people of Edinburgh, Scotland out of bed at 5:00 am to come hear him speak. On one occasion, a man on his way to a service was surprised when he met up with David Hume, the Scottish philosopher and skeptic.

As a Georgia woman, wife, and mother, I’m incensed by Fulton County Superior Court’s ruling last week to strike down the LIFE ACT in favor of more liberal abortion regulations in our state. It is important for everyone to understand what is at stake, and what outcome may exist as a result of this ruling.

J. Vernon McGee summarized philosophy well. He said, “All systems of philosophy lead up a blind alley.” I agree. You can spend your time and money studying this subject and find sooner or later that it is a mere waste of time.

​Recently, we traveled to South Carolina’s Lowcountry to keep our grandsons while their parents attended an all-day workshop. We enjoyed our outing and were heading home after lunch. As I traveled north on US 17, I switched to the inside lane, anticipating our left turn up ahead.

Church leaders, congregants, and pastors verbally acknowledge the need to reach young adults with phrases like “Young people just don’t come to church anymore,” “Growing up, we never missed a Sunday,” or maybe even “We have a lost generation, Lord come quickly.” Why are young adults so hard to find in our communities?

If there were no God, life would have no meaning at all. Nothing would matter. Man would have no reason to be moral or to exercise restraint in whatever he chose to do. And this describes most people in Western civilization today, unfortunately.

Years ago, a group of college students decided to form an “Apathy Club” on their campus. They advertised the meeting but unfortunately, no one showed up. The explanation was, students  were too apathetic to attend. 

Pope Francis recently dropped quite a theological bombshell at an interreligious youth gathering in Singapore by claiming that “all religions are paths to God.” He went on to explain that religions are like languages seeking to express the divine.

I heard a sermon 32 years ago that I have not forgotten. In fact, there has probably not been a year that has passed since then that I did not think about this message or at least its implications for my life. 

He was sharing his life story when I asked him, “So how did someone raised an atheist become an Anglican rector?” His answer was a simple one-word reply, “pineapple.” The conversation that followed was one of the highlights of my journey.

As a pastor, I have had people ask me how they could know for sure they were really saved. They may have heard some preacher say that one must do this or that and not do other things to be saved. This is the very thing that the Apostle Paul condemned as “works salvation.”

The Georgia Baptist Mission Board is encouraging all our churches to make sure their members are registered to vote in the general election by October 7. Citizens may go to the Georgia Secretary of …

I remember one Sunday leaving a church service and asking a close friend for feedback on my preaching. The friend said, “Maybe you’re called to teach instead of preach.”  My friend was only confirming what I knew. The sermon didn’t go well, and it was my fault.  

Launching new groups is one of the most impactful ways to cultivate a disciple-making culture within the church. As we strive to create environments where people grow together in faith, we need to think strategically about how and when new groups are formed. Group launch days provide churches with the perfect opportunity to help members not currently involved in small groups find a place to belong and grow.

Pastor Joe McKeever shared about an experience his friend Ralph Bethea had while distributing Bibles in Russia after the fall of communism. Bethea visited an older gentleman who talked of abandoning communism and returning to his mother’s faith.

What drives you to your knees in prayer? A pastor friend said, as I was listening to him describe a remarkably difficult time in his pastorate, that this event was certainly causing him to pray, and in his words, “anything that makes you pray is a good thing.” 

I was helping train the staff of Canton Georgia’s First Baptist Church at a retreat center in Peachtree City when our session was interrupted by an unknown lady with a terrified look on her face, saying, “New York City is under attack.” A passenger plane had crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

Maybe you’ve heard about this courtroom exchange between the defense attorney and a farmer who filed a bodily injury claim.

The older I get the more I see shadows of my father in the things I do and enjoy. Whether it’s the gait with which I walk, my general suspicion of politics, or my obsession with some details and my apathy for others, you don’t have to be around me very long to recognize that I am my father’s son. Another enduring trait passed down from my dad is my unexplainable affection for the Andy Griffith Show.

To me, the idea of “first things first” has always made beautiful sense. Therefore, one might ask, “Just what is the first thing I should do?” There is one act that eclipses all other things in importance that one might possibly do on earth, and it must be done while living on earth. And that one most important of all things is trusting Jesus Christ as Savior through sincere belief in Him as God and in calling on Him for salvation.

It is mind-boggling and heartbreaking to learn that another school shooting has taken place in America, and this time in our beloved state of Georgia. Apalachee High School in Barrow County became the latest target for a deranged and troubled shooter on Wednesday morning.

In 1787, when Benjamin Franklin was walking out of the convention hall, a woman approached him and asked him a question regarding whether or not they had been given a republic or a monarchy?” Franklin responded by saying, “A republic, madam - if you can keep it.”

When we think of being a missionary, most people think of someone who goes to another foreign country to spread the Gospel.  However, as we see from the Scripture passage above, the Great Commission is not limited to foreign countries.

Have you ever thought about why a pigeon walks so awkwardly? In a devotional reading in Our Daily Bread, Martin De Haan shared a pigeon’s eyes cannot focus as it moves, so the bird actually has to bring its head to a complete stop between steps in order to focus.  The pigeon proceeds clumsily – head forward, stop, head back.