Although it’s a short book in the Bible, only 25 verses in English or 335 words in Greek. It is a powerful book on how to deal with issues between friends. Here’s the backstory. Philemon is a slave owner whose slave, Onesimus, had stolen from his master, Philemon, and had run away. Onesimus had made his way to Rome where he crossed paths with the imprisoned Apostle Paul. Paul led Onesimus to faith in Christ Jesus and is now sending him back to his master, Philemon, presumably bearing this letter. Thus Paul is writing to Philemon as one friend to another.

How would Philemon receive Onesimus? Would he put him to death, the accepted fate of runaway slaves in the first century? Paul’s letter of intercession is a masterful ...

One of the most fearful things for most Christians to do is to share their faith with others. They fear rejection. They fear not knowing what to say or stumbling over their words. They fear being accused of hypocrisy. So how can we overcome those fears and fulfill the Great Commission to go into all the world and share the Gospel (Mark 16:15)? There is a wonderful story in the Bible of an ordinary man who was used of God to share his faith in Jesus Christ to an unbeliever and lead that man to salvation. It is found in Acts 8:26-40. Here are seven different steps to take in sharing your faith in a way that won’t scare you to death:

1. Obey the prompting of the Holy Spirit. 8:26, 29. Philip was one of the seven deacons of the Jerusalem...
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1990 was a tumultuous year for Elsie and me. I was out of the ministry and was selling commercial lighting. Elsie and I had begun attending Crystal Evangelical Free Church (now New Hope Church) in New Hope, MN. We were pretty burned out on church and chose to sit in the balcony of the church where we could see and not be seen. I can still recall the words of the new pastor, Stephen Paul Goold, on our (and his) first Sunday. After singing a solo (he had a great voice and had previously sung with the Day of Discovery singers in Florida), Stephen talked about the future of Crystal Free Church. He shared his vision of a growing church with a corresponding growing outreach to the community and the world. He then said these words, “Crystal ...

If you want to know how something is supposed to function or look you need to go back to the original. The original sets the pattern for what it should be in the future. Over time copies of the original can become distorted whether it’s a photo, a document, or whatever. That is certainly the case with marriage. God’s original design for marriage was heterosexual monogamy between one man (Adam) and one woman (Eve) for a lifetime. Polygamous marriages, open marriages, homosexual marriages, cohabitation were never (and still aren’t) God’s intent or design for marriage. If you don’t believe me, go back and read Genesis 2 and read the prima facie evidence for marriage.

Along that line, if you read Genesis 2 you ...