Humor in Review Humor has taken a turn for the worse these days. At times, we don’t even see just how raunchy, immoral and degrading the humor of our days has become. When my Ft. Wayne Seminary professor for Missions, Dr. Rev. Eugene Bunkowski, returned from Nigeria after being a missionary there for 20+ years, he would comment to us about this…

Standing Up for Righteousness When the Jews tried to trip Jesus up and discredit Him, He said:  18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? 19 Show Me the tax money.”  So they brought Him a denarius.  20 And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”  21 They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”  And He said to…

This year, September 8 to 14th is national Suicide prevention week. Last year in June of 2018, the topic of suicide was one of the lead stories for the media. Of course, this was driven by the deaths of Fashion Designer Kate Spade (1962-2018) and Chef Anthony Bourdain (1956-2018). In recent memory another suicide that comes to mind is that of Comedian…

Many of us were raised on the King James Authorized Version (KJV) of the Bible or maybe even using the Revised Standard Version (RSV). We’ve probably all seen presentations trying to convince us which of these and others is the best translation to use. We’ve probably also all heard from some quarters that the KJV of the Bible is practically equal to…

How Using the Altar from Both Sides Teaches the Lord’s Supper More Clearly It was not until the middle ages that the altars of the Christian church were placed against the chancel wall. This was done for the purpose of accenting the medieval distortion of the Lord’s Supper, which made it a propitiatory sacrifice. The mistaken belief was that Christ’s body and…

What about Church and State? There are five freedoms granted in the 1st amendment to our US constitution. They are freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom to assemble peaceably, and freedom to petition the government for a redress of grievances. The first freedom regarding religion has two clauses which are the “establishment clause” and the “free exercise…

More on Tradition Tradition is an important part of our history and social fabric. It provides guidelines for acceptable social interaction and for extending and receiving hospitality. I know that in Minnesota we are known for our long farewells. In fact, YouTube videos have been made which poke fun at us for this. Search online for “How to Talk Minnesotan – The…

New York has the biggest and longest garbage strikes in the country, and the garbage piles up on the streets. One resident said that when a garbage strike was called before Christmas one year, he solved the problem by wrapping his daily garbage as if it were a Christmas gift and putting it in the back seat of his car, leaving the…

  We have had a rash of active shooter events in recent months and years. Numerous people have been injured and killed. Then we have the recent Kidnapping of Jamie Closs and the murder of her parents. Thankfully, she escaped alive and her kidnapper, and the murderer of her parents, has been captured. All of this leaves us wondering why this is…

As we begin a New Year, we are reminded of things like New Year’s resolutions and second chances. We always have a second chance in Christ to redeem the life New Life He has given us. As we live daily in His grace, we are stewards of the time and abilities He has given us, and we are then able to look…