by Jeff Stairs on October 1, 2011
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I’m sure you’ve heard this one: If a tree falls alone in a forest, does it make a sound (and how would we know)? This pitiful excuse for “deep thinking” came to mind recently as I recalled something from the pastor’s study in the book of James, conducted a couple of years ago. We had [...]
by Jeff Stairs on February 26, 2011
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I really treasure the lyricist who can describe something familiar, with a certain turn of phrase that surprises us and makes us wonder if we ever understood the concept the first time around. For instance, I could tell you that the moonlight was unusually bright and pretty, but I’d rather hear the late Rich Mullins [...]
by Jeff Stairs on November 5, 2010
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Forgive me, if you will, for the needlessly provocative title. I was sent a link to an article devoted to drummers in churches, which raised the puzzling issue of whether to reduce their noise by means of a) a plexiglass enclosure or b) a set of electronic drums. Granted, I personally consider one of those [...]
by Jeff Stairs on March 17, 2010
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Wow, King David sure got himself into some shameful and terrifying situations, and not just with Uriah’s wife. But I’ll grant him this: He got it right when he set his gaze to repent, because he knew the God with whom he was dealing. In the early verses of 1 Chronicles 21, David commands that [...]
by Jeff Stairs on January 17, 2010
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This Sunday morning in the 9:30 hour, we turned our attention to the 2nd chapter in D.A.Carson’s analysis of Paul’s priorities in prayer, entitled A Call to Spiritual Reformation. We spent time, in groups of five to ten, praying for various folks in our church directory, in accordance with the framework that Carson observes in [...]
by Jeff Stairs on December 21, 2009
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prophecy, relativism, syncretism
Well, allow me to approach this from back to front. “When he knew it” was during the reign of Josiah, king of Judah. Josiah was one of the rare cases of a king who “did right in the eyes of The Lord”; so much so that the writer of the Books of “Kings” pays him [...]