Right after I graduated from high school, I joined an EMT class so I could volunteer with the local rescue squad. The class consisted of studying basic first aid as well as learning how to do patient assessment, apply splints and administer first aid. These skills are called “practicals.”

During patient assessment, the first thing you’re taught to do was “shake and shout.” This meant the first responder would kneel down beside a patient who appeared to be unconscious, place his hands on the patient’s shoulders, gently shake her while loudly asking, “Are you alright?” in each ear.

One evening our instructor was late for class so she told us to work on the “practicals” until she arrived. As we practiced the various skills we’d need to pass the test, I noticed that one of my classmates, Caroline, was starting the patient assessment.

Let me take a moment and say Caroline had a good heart and was a very likeable person. However, if you were in a car crash and Caroline showed up with the ambulance crew, your odds of survival would be higher if you did CPR on yourself than if she did it. For example, one evening during a break, she told us she went squirrel hunting. After she shot the squirrel, she laid it on a stump and did chest compressions on it to see if she could revive it. (more…)

Many years ago, when I was growing up in West Virginia, a handsome young man from a neighboring family was engaged to a lovely young lady. They had the wedding plans completed and knew how they were going to start their lives together.

The night before the wedding his buddies threw him a bachelor party. It included consuming some alcoholic beverages. He left the party and drove home. Along the way, he wrecked his vehicle…and was killed. Needless to say, his family was devastated. It took his fiancé years to recover and move on with her life.

In situations like this, people often ask, “How could God do this?” God is powerful enough to create the universe so he could certainly stop someone from being killed in a wreck. But was this God’s fault? Did God tell him to drink and drive? (more…)

One of my favorite shows when I was growing up was WKRP in Cincinnati. It focused on a struggling radio station run by a group of misfits.

In one episode, the station manager, Mr. Carlson, decided to promote the station at Thanksgiving by giving away live turkeys. He thought it would be a great idea to release them from a helicopter that was hovering over a mall parking lot. They threw the turkeys out of the copter…and the turkeys plummeted to the ground, smashing through car windshields while narrowly missing spectators.

Mr. Carlson had spent a lot of time and money planning everything down to the last detail. There was only one problem. His whole thought process was based on faulty information. Wild turkeys can fly. Domestic turkeys can’t. Just because Mr. Carlson believed domestic turkeys could fly didn’t mean they actually would. One untruth changed the whole outcome.

Unfortunately, there are untruths about God which have become popular in the church. We’re going to take the next few weeks and look at some of them. This week we’re going to address the question, “Can we question God?” Most of us have heard others say, “We’re not supposed to question God.” Perhaps you’ve said it yourself. Is this biblical? (more…)

Please take a moment and prayerfully finish the following statement: As I allow Jesus Christ to lead me, the conditions that I put on my service to him are….

In what areas do you tell God what you’ll do instead of asking what he wants you to do? Do you ever tell God you’ll do it if you have time? By the way, this is a way of saying it may not get done because we usually have the ability to find time to do the things we really want to do. Other common things we say to God are, “I’ll give to others if I have extra.” “I’ll work in this ministry only if I like the other people who are also helping.” “I know the Bible says I’m supposed to forgive but I’ll only do if the person who hurt me asks for forgiveness.”

How much are we willing to embrace the Biblical concept of faith, dedication, and perhaps even suffering for Christ?

The following announcement was published in the bulletin of a congregation in the US. “(Our congregation) is sponsoring a women’s-only mission trip to beautiful Guadalajara, Mexico! We’ll spend the week of June 11-18 in Guadalajara “also known as the shopping capital of Mexico”, where we will have the incredible opportunity to minister to, pray for, and teach women in a vibrant church community. And this trip isn’t a “rough-roach-in-your-bed” kind of experience either – we’ll be housed in nice clean hotel rooms, eat lots of salsa, and have plenty of time to shop! Our hope is to take at least fifteen women (including teenager daughters) on this Mexican Ministry Outreach… We trust God will expand our hearts for Him as He expands our ministry to the women of Guadalajara. If you’re remotely interested in this adventure-or if you’re just in the mood for Mexico after all this winter weather-call for more details about this fantastic outreach opportunity.” (more…)

How would you respond if someone came up to you and said, “I know you’re a Christian. What is the kingdom of God and what does it look like?

Jesus gives us a glimpse of it in Luke 17:20-37. This passage tells us, “ ²⁰ Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, ²¹ nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

²² Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. ²³ People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them. ²⁴ For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. ²⁵ But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. (more…)

Many years ago, my friend Harry asked me to go with him and his sons to a NASCAR race in Martinsville, Virginia. I was excited because I’d never been to one before. The weather forecast called for rain the day of the race. We decided to “go for it,” hoping the weather would cooperate. It didn’t. Rain sprinkles fell from the sky the entire four hours it took us to get to Martinsville.

We made our way to the bleachers and waited to see what would happen. Since this was a new experience for all of us, we enjoyed watching the crews prepare for the race even though they were under canopies and the cars were covered. Eventually the track officials ordered the emergency vehicles to drive around the track to see if they could dry it off. This seemed to be working until the heavens opened. The sprinkles became steady rain. After several hours, the race was postponed until 1 PM the next day. (more…)

On January 3, 1982, an Air Florida 727 took off from Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, headed to Ft. Lauderdale, FL with seventy-nine people on board. Due to ice buildup on the wings, the plane crashed into the 14^th Street Bridge and landed in the Potomac River, which was also covered in a thick layer of ice. Seventy-three people in the plane and four motorists on the bridge were killed.

Six people survived the crash. When they surfaced, they couldn’t swim to shore because of the ice in the river. They clung to a piece of wreckage that was floating in the water. The water temperature was 31 degrees. Hypothermia was quickly setting in. One survivor said the cold water against their skin felt like knives were being shoved into them.

Within several minutes, a police helicopter arrived and dropped a lifeline to the people in the water. One survivor was so cold, disoriented and temporarily blinded by the jet fuel in the water that she couldn’t hold on to the line. She kept falling into the water and was close to drowning. (more…)

How do we respond to people when their actions inconvenience us or are just plain wrong? When someone cuts us off in traffic, is our first thought, “I wonder why she’s in such a hurry? I’m happy to let her in front of me.” When we see the co-worker who is always in a bad mood, do we wonder, “What is going on in his life that makes him this way? I want to keep having lunch with him until I find out.” When we see all the people around us who never grace the inside of a church building with their presence, do we think, “I wonder how I could get to know them better so that I could show them Christ’s love?” Or, do we judge them for their “sinful ways” and thank God that we’re not like them?

As we go through the Lenten season, we’re going with Jesus as he journeys towards the cross in Jerusalem. Last week, we looked at his conversation with the Jews where he told them not to automatically expect that they had salvation simply because they were God’s chosen people. (more…)

Please wrestle with these questions: If there are areas in my life that are out of God’s will, do I want to know what they are? Once I know what they are, am I willing to change in these areas?

Allowing God to show us our sins and then change us is hard. We struggle with giving God this much access and control in our lives. There are several reasons we don’t want God to do this.

The first one is we get comfortable with our sins. Pornography releases chemicals in the brain which excites as well as relaxes those who view it. Drinking, smoking and overeating brings pleasure to our bodies even though the aftereffects can kill us. Being mad allows us to keep control because others usually back down during an argument if we respond in anger. Having sexual relationships outside of marriage allows us to enjoy the pleasures of the flesh without having to make emotional or spiritual commitments to each other.

What does Jesus say about this? (more…)

Being a disciple of Jesus isn’t easy. He calls us to let go of the things we have in our lives that are preventing us from being the people he wants us to be. We all know from experience that letting go of deep-seated ideas and emotions is difficult.

One area where we have to be mature as disciples is in the area of trusting other people. That’s difficult for anyone who has experienced painful rejection or been hurt by others in the past. If we want to continue on the path of being a disciple of Jesus, we have to let go of past hurts and learn to trust. Most people who have been sexually abused have trouble trusting other people. For example, one lady who experienced this kept asking me, “Can I trust you?” over and over again because her pain and feelings of betrayal was affecting everything she did.

I realize this is an issue that’s uncomfortable to all of us and very painful to some. Let me start off by saying that I was never molested or abused. I don’t know what it’s like to experience it firsthand. All I know is what it’s like to work with those who have.

I’m not preaching on this subject because it’s the “in” thing to discuss in culture right now. I’m doing it because throughout my ministry, I’ve dealt with many people who still carry the scars of being sexual abused. Another reason is that in talking with other pastors, I’ve come to realize sexual abuse is a much bigger problem in this area than many people want to admit. (more…)