Grieving the Spirit

"Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God." Ephesians 4:30 Of all the epistles that ever came from the heart of the great Apostle Paul, this letter to the 
Ephesians seems to me about the sweetest and best. It is t...

Living in the Spirit’s Fullness

There are occupational hazards in being a Pastor. Let me mention two of them. One of them is that while people expect you to be pious, you can come across as a little too pious at times -- like the lady who came to a pastor at the end of a service, and was very effusive in her gratitude. She said, "That was the most wonderful sermon I've ever heard. That was absolutely fantastic! It was so powerful, it has changed my life!"

Now Concerning Spiritual Gifts

Nineteenth in a series 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of th

Superficial vs. Spiritual Wisdom

1 Corinthians 2:12-13 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those w

Proclaiming The Gospel In A Fallen World

While I was a seminary student, I was pastor of a small rural church. I struggled each week to prepare and deliver sermons that would provide spiritual nourishment for that little congregation. At the time, I attributed this struggle to a number of factors: lack of experience, the 75 mile commute that...

The Church Needs Power

Acts 2 It recently came to my attention that there are more than 800 churches in the city of Cleveland, and if you were to consider the whole of Cuyahoga County that number increases to over 1200. Last week while driving along Kinsman Ave. from 55th St. to 154th St. I counted 45 churches along...