January 2013
16 posts
9 tags
The perfect WordPress theme and one valuable...
In this episode, the last WordPress theme you’ll need, easy management of multiple websites, a blogging app, and one useful writing tip.
In this episode of Tech Help for Churches:
A clean and responsive WordPress theme with plenty of options (but looks good out of the box).
A WordPress “plugin” to manage multiple websites with convenience.
Blogging applications to write and publish posts...
1 tag
The primary reason people don’t read or listen to...
Your writings and audio content (including sermons) may be what people are looking for, but there’s an obstacle standing in their way which you can remove.
In this episode:
Learn from my mistake: Research before buying
Facebook EdgeRank experiment: Posting more
Better titles mean more readers/listeners
Should you podcast?
[viral-lock] Learn from my mistake: Research before buying
Soon...
3 tags
Judge not, unless the Bible tells you to (and it...
“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” (Matt. 7:1-2)
You probably can’t count the number of times you’ve heard this passage used in the wrong context (assuming you know the right context). Even a casual reading of Matthew 7:1-6 should make it clear that not all judging is wrong. If...
3 tags
How to remove malware from WordPress and keep your...
Malware infection is fairly common on WordPress sites. But there are simple ways to keep your site secure. Also, is Facebook really worth your time?
In this episode…
Is Facebook really worth your time? (After all, your posts aren’t being seen by fans.)
How to remove malware from WordPress (Don’t panic. It’s not that hard to do.)
Keep WordPress safe from hackers (Why wait for an attack?...
1 tag
Maybe you don’t know the golden rule like you...
The golden rule is the very heart of Christian discipleship. However, many times we practice the world’s version of the golden rule rather than the Lord’s.
“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” (Matt. 7:12)
Though this ethical principle originated with the Old Testament of the Bible (Lev. 19:18), it is...
1 tag
What happened between the Old and New Testaments...
Between the prophecy of Malachi and the arrival of John the Baptist, a 400-year period of “silence” ensued. We typically refer to that period as a time of silence because Israel heard nothing from God or any of God’s prophets. But that’s not to say the Bible is silent about those 400 years.
I know I’m stepping into eschatology (end times) controversies, but Daniel 11 provides insight into what...
Sinfulness is best motivated by self-love and self-interest. In fact, I’d say personal vanity lies at the root of most of our problems.
Never before have people entertained such grandiose notions about humans and such puny views of God. - Michael Horton
Nowhere in the Bible is the “mind,” per se, described as evil or unworthy of being the means by which God communicates with us. What the Bible does denounce is intellectual pride, but not the intellect itself. It is humility that we need, not ignorance. I stand opposed to arrogant and cynical intellectualism. But that is not the same thing as using the mind God has given us, with the help of the...
Christ died that we might live. Abortion kills that someone might merely live differently.
Abortion, a subtle infanticide, has no compatibility with the Christian faith.
91 percent of Americans consider religion very important in their lives, but 63 percent reject the concept of absolutes. There seems to be a deepening paradox in society where our commitment to religion has grown, but we have also (unfortunately) accepted moral relativism.
“Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions.” - G.K. Chesterton
It does not spoil your happiness to confess your sin. The unhappiness is in not making the confession. - C.H. Spurgeon
Many of us wait to be taught the Bible (by a pastor, a Christian author, etc.) but the Bereans were commended for studying to verify what they had been taught (Acts 17:11). More than six times in the gospels, Jesus asked, “Have ye not read?” Reading the Bible is a good start for us.
1 tag
There’s joy in heaven when a sinner repents but...
There is joy in heaven when a sinner repents (Luke 15:10). So, why doesn’t the church share in the same joy when we witness a sinner repent? I know it happens, but not as often as it should. At the very least, we don’t seem so anxious to see it happen.
Perhaps I should explain what I mean. Allow me to do so by telling you a short story of two brothers.
The rebellious brother
There was a man with...
Justin Bieber releases a new album and fans hurry to buy it. Nicholas Sparks pens another novel and to the library or bookstore we go. The newest addition to the Lord of the Rings franchise comes to theaters and millions of people rush out to see it.
Almighty God writes a book, personally addressed to His children, and few read it. Those who do rarely talk about it with the kind of enthusiasm we...
˙sʎɐp ǝsoɥʇ ɟo ǝuo s,ʇı
December 2012
44 posts
The Christmas season is winding down. Looking back over your time spent with family and friends this week, how often was Christ the focus of your discussions or activities?
I recently heard a secular humanist touting the fact that even Christians care little about Christ during this holiday. He said the majority of songs and traditions we treasure are void of Christ.
Is he right?
Merry CHRISTmas!
3 tags
When religion replaces discipleship (the...
Is there room in our theological boxes for genuine discipleship? Has the contemporary church become more about “church” than Jesus Christ?
Pecan-free pecan pie?
Imagine a scenario where so-called experts appear on television to warn the world that the harvesting of pecans is destroying the environment. Perhaps others claim that pecans are especially fattening and their consumption shortens our...
Christmas is a difficult holiday to explain or defend in that it does not come from the Lord explicitly or the Bible. But it is rooted in the wonderful memory and celebration of Immanuel being born into this world for an extraordinary purpose.
Disciples often feel compelled to fight in the culture war where apparent enemies seek the total removal of Christ from the season. Should we?
My...
3 tags
The night Angier Primitive Baptist Church was able...
A single mother of three boys, struggling to make ends meet, walked from door to door asking her neighbors for help. With every door slammed in her face, her desperation grew stronger. Her only prayer was that she might be given just enough to buy Christmas presents for her sons.
The pursuit of charity
She finally arrived at the home of a dear sister in Christ, a member of Angier Church, who was...
“Jesus Christ demands self-denial, that is, self-negation (Matt. 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23), as a necessary condition of discipleship. Self-denial is a summons to submit to the authority of God as Father and of Jesus as Lord and to declare lifelong war on one’s instinctive egoism. What is to be negated is not personal self or one’s existence as a rational and responsible human...
If you were to spend three years with Jesus in the flesh, how do you suppose your life would be different?
There is never a time when we should compromise God’s standards for us. But that doesn’t mean we should engage in the defamation and denigration of the lost sinners who make up the corrupt culture around us. When disciples become political, we mistakenly treat others as the enemy instead of wayward sheep.
Meekness is not weakness. The Christian disciple is called to be both meek and bold. Meekness is strength and courage kept under control. There is more power in the sunlight falling silently on a small patch of Earth than in the crashing of thunder and flashing of lightning in a terrific storm.
“Gentleness is an active trait, describing the manner in which we should treat others. Meekness...
Who would ever be tempted to engage in the kind of evil that killed our best friend? Most would proclaim, “Not me!” Yet, we do it daily.
“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.” (John 15:12-14)
If only we had as much passion for the church as we do the NRA and political parties.
Perhaps you heard about the group of theologians who were discussing the doctrines of predestination and free will. When the argument became heated, the dissidents split into two groups. One man, unable to make up his mind which group to join, slipped into the predestination crowd. Challenged as to why he was there, he replied, “I came of my own free will.”
The group retorted,...
“If you are looking to grow a church, I have only five words of advice: Jesus...”
“The bow cannot be always bent without fear of breaking. Repose is as needful to...”
“Jesus was asleep on the ship in Mark 4:38. There was the King of Kings taking a...”
“Afraid? Of what? To feel the spirit’s glad release? To pass from pain to...”
“The reputations we have in this world are not always accurate. However, they...”
“I’d like to begin featuring different Christian websites that are...”
“The news of today’s school shooting in Newton, CT is beyond tragic. It...”
“Someone gave me a bookmark with this printed on it…
“Lord, I have...”
“I was talking with a brother in the church earlier today and he made an...”
“We like to classify people as good or bad. Perhaps it’d be better to say...”
“The hope that God has provided for you is not merely a wish. Neither is it...”
“I’m still sick (three days running). I guess it’s further proof that...”
“When the church takes its mind away from Christ, human authority and tradition...”
“We would exhibit more wisdom if we prayed for [kings and rulers] more, and...”
“The religion that makes a man look sick certainly won’t cure the world! -...”
“As Americans, we can get so caught up in defending our rights that we lose...”
