The Titanic set out from Southampton, England on April 10th 1912. Two stops were made at Cherbourg, France, and Queenstown, Ireland to pick up more passengers prior to the Titanic’s final departure to New York. There were 2,240 souls on board on April 11th. She sailed the most direct route to New York through the North Atlantic and made good time until she reached a point about 400 miles south of the Grand Banks off the coast of Newfoundland. The Titanic was equipped with a telegraph, a relatively recent addition to ships and had been advised that there were icebergs in the vicinity, but the messages were mostly unheeded.¹ After all, the ship was  “unsinkable.”

The Titanic carried some of the most important and ...

You know who they are, don’t you? They are people you know who avoid conflict at any cost. They are afraid of conflict even though counselors and psychologists tell us that conflict is a “backdoor blessing.” They say that because it forces us to face issues in our lives or relationships and make changes.

Let me say something up front, no one likes conflict.  The issue, however, is not the conflict itself but how you handle the conflict. Conflict handled well can cause growth, resolution of problems, and deeper relationships. Conflict handled poorly can result in even greater division.

Facing conflict and dealing with it is risky. You risk alienating the other person, becoming emotionally out-of-control, doing or ...

Like many of you, Elsie and I in the past have found ourselves in search of a new church. Finding a “good” church is hard. There aren’t a lot of churches in our area that meet the criteria I list below. So though the pickins be slim, what should you and I look for in a church before settling in and calling it home? Here are seven criteria I look for in a church:

1.      Bible preaching. Does the pastor practice expository preaching of the Bible? What I mean by that is does he proclaim the meaning of a passage of scripture in the Bible and tell us how to apply it to our everyday lives? In my opinion the best type of expository preaching takes a book of the Bible and carefully proclaims the truth of...

All those struggling with sexual purity are vulnerable to sinning especially under certain conditions. We call these conditions “triggers” because they can lead (“trigger”) us to sexually act out.  Sexual acting out becomes a form of medication that elevates your mood and makes you temporarily feel better. If you’re a Christian, the sexual “high” wears off quickly and the feelings of guilt, shame, and self-condemnation flood in.

Perhaps you’ve heard of the acronym H.A.L.T.?  The letters H.A.L.T. are frequently used by Alcoholics Anonymous. AA says they stand for Hungry, Angry, Lonely, and Tired. These four are conditions which make those battling alcohol addiction particularly ...