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Years ago there was this guy that always seemed to be in the TV cameras viewfinder at football games. He had a wild multi-colored afro and was holding a makeshift sign with "John 3:16" scrawled on it. Do you remember him? I believe that in his own weird way he was trying to get the message out. But what was the message?  John 3:16 is without doubt the most recognized verse in the Bible. Most Sunday school kids learn John 3:16 before any other verse. It is an important verse that contains a crucial truth of the Christian faith. We learn it early and can say it so fast that we mostly breeze through it without thinking. So let's think about it.  Here is the whole verse, John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  As with all of scripture, John 3:16 has a context. Many scholars believe that this verse was not spoken by Jesus but was a commentary by John. In chapter thr...

"You no good lily livered low down snake!" I can see him now. I can't remember his name but I can see him. He's a filthy old cowboy with a five day shadow of graying stubble hugging his haggard jaw. Crow's feet frame his squinting eyes. Wretched and crooked teeth, those he has, line his gaping lips. And a Texas drawl spews from his mouth with every word. He looks as if he hasn't had a bath in months if ever. And there he is slamming his rival with degrading and brutal language. Imagine being cut to the quick by this cowpoke. How low can one get? It is extreme humiliation. Yet in Ezekiel 16 Sovereign LORD calls Israel to task with these words, " How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord GOD, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman ." Whoa, talk about brutal language! However, Israel deserves every word. God goes on to say in the following verses that Israel is unlike all other prostitutes in that her "lovers...

Most of us have stood on the shore of an ocean. I have had the privilege of viewing the Atlantic and Pacific. I have also had the privilege of standing on shores in the Northern and Southern hemispheres. The ocean always leaves me in awe. If I try to fight its waves I lose. I can’t swim across it, I can’t see the other side and I know that I don’t want to descend into its pitch-black depths, without a bathysphere anyway. Thinking of the immensity and grandeur of the ocean makes me feel tiny by comparison. And it is exactly on this shore that Paul wants each of us to stand. He wants us to try and grasp God’s love. Notice his poetry in Ephesians three, That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. In this literary master work Paul le...

  We had a great weekend of activities at Faith Baptist of Sorocaba. Saturday night we took six teens to a youth rally at Hope. There were over a hundred teens there to hear a great challenge from the Word. Earlier on Saturday afternoon we had over fifty kids at Bible Club. Many had participated in club in the past but had left for one reason or another. The club's new theme has a "Mission Impossible" type emphasis. Each week the three teams get a "Mission" that they have to work out during the week. On Saturday they come with either a successful or a failed mission. Success brings boo-cu points and failure brings latrine duty! The Green team (mine) did really well Saturday but we were edged out by the blue team 1300 to 150. The Red team got latrine. During club a little boy showed up that I wasn't exactly excited about having. He is a little "demon" or at least that is what I've heard. His name is Alex. He lives next-door to our newest ...

Working on a missions team has its wonderful benefits and God has allowed my family to do just that for a little over eleven years now. Needless to say we have learned a lot. In fact when God helped me to realize that He was calling me to the mission field it was because a visiting missionary, during his slide presentation, mentioned that he was going to work in Brazil as part of a team with his brother. I talked with him after his presentation that morning and now, eleven years later, am still a part of that team with Shawn and Donna Alexander and Ben and Dani Jacobs! Granted, the team has changed over those years but the goal has remained the same. We want to make and mature disciples of Jesus Christ who reflect Him in every aspect of their lives with the goal of becoming disciple makers themselves (cp. 2 Timothy 2.2). One of the many advantages of team work is that we often find ourselves serving in different corners of the world simultaneously. Take today for example. Shawn is head...

Father and son after a long night! Blogged with Flock These two boys are in different stages of transition. Gabriel (left) is just beginning a new life. He doesn't know what is in store and it seems that he doesn't care about what is ahead as long as the milk keeps coming and his diaper is changed periodically. He might be the future president of the Republic (let's pray that he isn't) but as long as his minimum needs are met he's OK. Jackson is well along in years (26 going on 27)and he is ending an important part of his life. He is in the last of five semesters of his Seminary training. In just four short months he will be entering the spooky world of those looking for ministry opportunities. Which of the two do you think needs more prayer?