Sparked by the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, Serbia, World War I began in 1914. In turn, World War II started in the 1930s, with Japan’s, Italy’s, and Germany’s invasions of China, Ethiopia, and Poland, respectively. But, according to Ivy League sociologist Philip Rieff, there is a longer running “world war,” one which erupted with particular ferocity in 1882, when Friederich Nietzsche declared, “God is dead.”1 The parties to this larger conflict do not bear the names Central Power, Axis, and Allied. Rather, this is a war between first, second, and third “worlds” (overarching cultural perspectives)—the […]

  On one hand, Jonathan Edwards is the champion of the Great Awakening. When he preached the sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” congregants literally cried out, “What shall I do to be saved?” This sermon on the sinfulness of sin and the justice of God left the church members of the Enfield, Massachusetts, congregation feeling the weight of their rebellion against a good and holy God and longing for Christ’s tender mercy. According to Edwards, who tackled the subject of the role of emotions in Religious Affections, this is just how it should be:

  Sunday, September 16 Bill Mills will be at the First Baptist Church of Perryville for a combined Sunday school hour, worship, lunch, & an afternoon session! Lunch is provided to those that are staying for the single afternoon session. A sign up sheet for the afternoon session is on the bulletin board across from the church office or call the church to sign up.

4 Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. 5 They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.” 6 Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him 7 and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing.” Genesis 19:4-7 (NIV)

Pastor John Scripture Reference: Hebrews 13:1-19

  In 369 A.D., the inhabitants of Cappadocia, in what is now Turkey, suffered a disastrous year. A poor harvest led to serious food shortages, high prices, and a flourishing black market. Many starved; but one man took action—a local pastor, Basil of Caesarea (329/30-379). He sold much of his personal fortune, gathered those affected by the disaster, and “collecting all kinds of food, fed them and tried to keep them alive.”1 Basil’s actions were a fine example of the ideals expressed in his monastic rules of life.2 His pioneering work in the Church both as a theologian and church […]

By Chuck Bentley My wife, Ann, and I have been blessed with four boys, and we wanted to be sure to teach them important financial lessons that would serve them well throughout their lives. Our goal was to have each of them become financially independent adults — able to stand on their own. In short, we wanted to raise the boys to be generous givers, prudent savers and wise managers of God’s money. Here are some key tips and principles we implemented at various stages in the boys’ lives.

  13 For you formed my inmost parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them. Psalm 139:13-16 (ESV)

Pastor John Scripture Reference: Hebrews12:25-29

  Carrying their tax receipts, the Armenian priest and village leaders went out to meet the Ottoman Turks. They wanted to prove they were no part of the tax protest, which the sultan had sent his troops to crush. The commander was unimpressed though the paperwork was in order and the delegation begged for mercy. His force surrounded the village and then bayoneted every human being therein.1 Other Ottoman forces followed suit throughout the region, and eventually, well over a million Armenians lay dead.2 Apparently, taxes were not the real issue after all.3