There was a time when churches held weeklong revival services. An evangelist preached sermons to save the lost and sanctify the church. Church members invited the unsaved, unchurched, and unrepentant to the revival. They even had special seating: The Mourners’ Bench. The mourner’s bench was created by John Wesley, the father of Methodism. There are biblical reasons to reject Wesley’s theology and methodology. But his premise was right: contrition is the key to conversion.  The second beatitude clarifies two misunderstandings about the Christian life.  Being a Christian is not about being sad. Matthew 6:16 says, “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.” The hypocrite looked gloomy, assuming this is what it meant...

Matthew 21 begins the account of the final week of the earthly life of Jesus. It is called Holy Week or Passion Week, as it culminates with the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. It begins on Palm Sunday, so called because the crowds placed garments and branches in the path as Jesus rode into Jerusalem. John 12:13 says they were palm branches.  The Triumphal Entry is the first and last time Jesus travels to Jerusalem in Matthew. Jesus was born in Bethlehem. His parents fled to Egypt after his birth. He was raised in Nazareth. His ministry took place in Galilee. The Gospels tell us that Jesus traveled to Jerusalem on several occasions to observe the holy feasts. The events of Holy Week took place during the feast...

The public ministry of Jesus was in its early stages. Large crowds gathered to hear his teachings and see his miracles. But Jesus was not caught up in his fast-growing popularity. He would not let the multitudes distract him from his Father’s business. And he did not want his new disciples to be seduced by the crowds. Matthew 5:1-2 reports: “Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.” What follows is the greatest sermon ever preached. It is the first recorded discourse of Jesus – the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5-7, Jesus explains the righteous standard for citizenship in the...

In Mark 14:53-65, a religious court condemned Jesus for blasphemy.  In Mark 15:1-15, a civil court condemned Jesus for sedition.  The Sanhedrin unanimously voted that Jesus was worthy of death. But only the occupying powers of Rome could authorize capital punishment. Their charges against Jesus would have to matter to the Roman governor. Pilate would not care if Jesus committed blasphemy. So the religious leaders accused Jesus of claiming to be a king A self-proclaimed king was a potential threat to Caesar, which would matter to Pilate.  “The King of the Jews” is the dominating theme of Mark 15. In verse 2, Pilate asks Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” In verse 9, Pilate asks, “Do you want me to release for you the...

At first glance, the tenth commandment seems anticlimactic. The Decalogue begins with commands about how to love the Lord God. No other gods. No carved images. Reverence God’s name. Remember the Sabbath. The Decalogue ends with commands about how to love our neighbor. Honor your parents. No murder. No adultery. No stealing. No bearing false witness. Then the Decalogue ends in Exodus 20:17: “You shall not covet.”  It may feel like this tenth commandment does not have the same gravity as the previous commandments. One may be tempted to think this Tenth Word should have been tucked earlier in the Ten Commandments to conceal its obscurity. Or maybe a more critical...

Two of the Ten Commandments address the spirituality of speech. In Exodus 20:7, the Third Word commands, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.” In Exodus 20:16, the Ninth Word commands, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” The Lord is listening to what you say. You may talk behind your neighbor’s back. You cannot talk behind God’s back. Psalm 19:14 should be our daily prayer: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock...

The seventh commandment is stated in four words: “You shall not steal.” The meaning of this commandment does not require much exposition or explanation. It means what it says. You shall not steal. We all know what stealing is. To steal is to take or keep that which does not belong to you. The meaning of this commandment is obvious. Unfortunately, the magnitude of this commandment is overlooked.  The Eighth Word is viewed as the simplest to understand and the easiest to obey. But the former does not assume the latter. The truth is that stealing is a hereditary sin that renders every person guilty of theft. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were free to eat of the...

In 1631, the royal printers of London reprinted copies of the King James Version of the Bible. Little did they know the typesetters had made an unintentional but massive omission. Soon after its publication, readers discovered the mistake. The error was made in Exodus 20:14. The omitted word was “not.” The Seventh Commandment read: “You shall commit adultery.” The printers were heavily fined and stripped of their licenses. Copies were destroyed. The version was dubbed “The Wicked Bible.” Fourteen copies remain in museums around the world. With the moral perversion, situational ethics, and spiritual indifference of our culture, you would think many people are reading from...

Black Lives Matter. This simple statement is undeniably true. Yet this three-word sentence is controversial. For some, it is a lament and call for justice. For others, it is the rallying cry of a cultural revolution. Still, others hear it as reverse racism and feel compelled to reply by declaring, “All Lives Matter.” Police and their supporters retort, “Blue Lives Matter.” The Sixth Word of the Decalogue defiantly responds to these competing slogans by insisting that no life matters unless God matters. Human life is a gift from God. Acts 17:25 says that God “gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” Acts 17:28 says, “In him we live and move and have our being.” God is the divine source, sovereign...

The first Four Words of the Ten Commandments are calls to worship.  The First Word commands the proper object of worship: “You shall have no other gods before me.” The Second Word commands the proper manner of worship: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image.” The Third Word commands the proper attitude of worship: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” The Fourth Word commands the proper time of worship: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy”  We must worship God exclusively, correctly, reverently, and regularly. If you are not careful, life will crowd God out. But redeemed people must never forget to make proper time for the God who created us, sustains us, and redeemed us. Ray Pritchard said: We give 1 day in 7 to...

What’s in a name? Proverbs 22:1a answers: “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches.” Every person has three names: The name you inherit from your ancestors. The name you are given by your parents. The name you earn for yourself. Names are important. This was especially true in the Bible, where names were more than a label, title of address, or means of identification. A person’s name represents his or her nature, character, reputation, personality, influence, authority, and lifestyle. What a person was called reflected who that person was.  We still think that way. Take something as simple as a telephone call. You dial a number. Someone answers. You...

During Freedom Summer in 1964, three workers for the Congress of Racial Equality helped a church in Mississippi with a voter registration drive. The church was burned down by the Ku Klux Klan. While investigating another church burning, these civil rights workers – Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, who were white, and James Chaney, who was black – disappeared. A month later, on August 4, 1964, the young men were found shot to death in a shallow grave in a remote field. Nineteen Ku Klux Klan members were indicted for these events, including the local sheriff. Seven were found guilty. The funeral of James Chaney is remembered for...