Dear Friends,   We have this clock.   It’s been in our family for as long as I can remember.  Since before I was born, I think.  It’s a wind up clock that sits on the mantle over the fireplace and ticks and tocks constantly.  It bongs on the hour and dings on the half hour.  And every week, I have to wind it or it stops.    Four years ago, when life shut down for all of us and we started looking around the house for the home maintenance projects we’d been putting off, I decided to take the clock to have it cleaned and oiled.  It was working jus ..read more

Dear Friends,   It’s not often that a network sit-com includes the classical teleological argument for the existence of God.    But that’s what happened back on October 4, 2018.  The CBS television network aired an episode of Young Sheldon titled A Crisis of Faith and Octopus Aliens.  This particular episode found young Sheldon’s mother Mary wrestling with faith and doubt after a friend’s child dies.  Sheldon sees his mom is troubled. He’s concerned. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxIY0iHaVXU Those of you who have been following along with the McCheyne Bibl ..read more

Dear Friends,   First things first this week.  You’re about to lose an hour.  Sorry about that. Now, on to weightier matters.   I’ve been thinking this week, ever since Cole’s message on Sunday, about Jesus’ encounter with the rich young ruler.   As Cole said, this young, powerful, wealthy man saw himself as self-sufficient.  Whatever he needed in life, he was able to provide for himself.    But even rich young rulers have to deal with the big existential questions in life:  Where did I come from?  Why am I here?  And  ..read more

Dear Friends,   It’s not unusual to see a video clip from Joe Rogan circulating on social media.  Joe Rogan is, after all, the most listened to podcaster in the world.  He has nearly 15 million subscribers.  His most recent multi-year podcasting deal will earn him a reported $250 million dollars.  When Elon Musk first appeared as a guest on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, the episode was seen by 69 million viewers.    When Joe Rogan speaks, lots of people listen.   Two years ago, Joe, who is an agnostic, had some characteristically brash things to ..read more

Dear Friends,   Do you love to hate?   That question grabbed my attention as I read an article this week by Alan Jacobs.  He is an author and a distinguished professor of humanities in the honors program at Baylor University.  The title of the article I read is Hatred Alone Is Immoral:  Why We Whould Be Concerned, Above All, With The Education Of The Passions.  In it, he explores the pleasure we find in indulging our hatred of others.  He quotes Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, who, before becoming a Senator, declared that what unites us in our cul ..read more

Dear Friends,   There are likely two notations today on whatever calendar you use.  Today is Valentine’s Day.  And it is Ash Wednesday.   Valentine’s Day is a day set aside to celebrate and express love and affection for a romantic partner.  Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the 40-day journey (with Sundays excluded) that lead us to contemplation of the cross of Christ in preparation for our celebration of His resurrection.  Ash Wednesday has a very different kind of love in view.   I’m a fan of romance and desire and passion.  I believe God has desig ..read more

Dear Friends,   Last night, as we met for dinner for our men’s First Tuesday gathering, I was talking with Curtis Thomas about his upcoming Romans study, which will start a week from Sunday.  If you need more details or you’re interested in being part of the study, contact Curtis and let him know.  His email address is c-b.thomas@sbcglobal.net.       This study is is for believers and unbelievers alike.  It’s something Curtis has done over and over again for decades, taking hundreds of people through the book of Romans.  He’s seen many peop ..read more

Dear Friends,   This weekend is a big weekend for our students.    The D-Now weekend is an opportunity for students to work together, have fun together and grow together spiritually.  I hope you’ll be praying for these young people, Pastor Cole and our Roots volunteers.   It’s interesting to me that we know nothing about Jesus when he was a teenager.  The only glimpse we have of Jesus between the time when He was a baby until He began His ministry as a young man is found in Luke 2.  It’s an account you likely know well.  Twelve-year-old Jesus and H ..read more

Dear Friends,   A few years ago, I read online a remarkable testimony from a young woman who experienced an unexpected and dramatic conversion to Christ.  Her name is Keri Smith.  Back in 2017, twenty years after graduating from Duke, she began to question the worldview she had learned at the university and had unquestioningly appropriated as her own.  As she began to see the flaws in her thinking, she began looking for another, more firm foundation for her life.  That eventually led her to a place she never expected to find herself – following Jesus.   Keri h ..read more

Dear Friends,   I’m sure you know that Jesus summed up all of the Old Testament commands – all the law and the prophets, as He put it – with two directives.  Love God with everything you have and love your neighbor as you love yourself.   You may have heard someone along the way who has suggested that this verse is telling us that in order to love others well, we have to first love ourselves.  Before we can be of any use to our neighbor, we have to make sure our self-esteem is intact.  We have to love ourselves first.   That’s not the message of Jesus in this ..read more