Free Republic

“Second, it is time for the world – especially Muslim communities – to explicitly, forcefully, and consistently reject the ideology of al Qaeda and ISIL.” As if they knew he would say this today (did they?), an international group of Muslim scholars today issued a purported refutation of the Islamic State’s understanding of Islam. Unfortunately, it is yet another farrago of detours, deceptions, half-truths and outright falsehoods. Will Muslim communities ever really reject the ideology of al Qaeda and the Islamic State? They haven’t yet in any way that would make even one jihadist lay down his arms and become...

What is the trend? Are church members and church leaders saying sermons should be longer or shorter? The answer is "yes." If my answer is confusing, I understand. But the reality is there are two major trends taking place related to sermon length. I have been following these trends through anecdotal information and social media polls for three years. There are growing numbers of respondents who believe sermons should be longer. There are also growing numbers of respondents who believe sermons should be shorter. And there aren't many people in the middle of those two divergent views. By the way,...

“You’ll find our text this morning in the Old Testament…” I know this is a rare announcement on a Sunday morning, but when you heard it last, what did you think? “Oh no! Not another historical lecture.” “We’re going to get a whipping with the law today.” “Why? I came to church to hear about Jesus.” “What’s Israel and Babylon got to do with my family struggles?” Or maybe you didn’t just think it. You said it or emailed it to the pastor afterwards. And pastors are feeling the pressure. Some surveys put the ratio of Old Testament to New...

When was the last time you heard an archbishop discuss preaching this way: Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas has urged Catholic priests to always prepare and think carefully about the content of their homilies, saying delivering “boring” sermons is unjust to God and the churchgoers. deliver better quality preaching. These included, he said, their failure to prepare for the liturgy. Drawing from his own experience, Villegas attributed his long and winding homilies to his failure to “know my people well.” “In other words, I was speaking about hunger when I did not feel the hunger myself. I was speaking about death,...

A federal judge has backed a homosexual-rights group in its claim that members were injured by an American pastor’s biblical preaching in Uganda against homosexual behavior. But the ruling from Judge Michael Posner in a case brought by Sexual Minorities Uganda against Pastor Scott Lively of Abiding Truth Ministries could mean much more. It could establish that an international consensus disavowing long-held biblical standards could trump the U.S. Constitution.

Turn or Burn A Sermon No. 106 Delivered on Sabbath Morning, December 7, 1856, by the REV. C.H. SPURGEON at the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens. “If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow and made it ready.”—Psalm 7:12. IF THE SINNER turn not, God will whet his sword.” So, then, God has a sword, and he will punish man on account of his iniquity. This evil generation hath laboured to take away from God the sword of his justice; they have endeavoured to prove themselves that God will “clear the guilty,” and will...

What Is the Road to Christ? … from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:15-16 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. Luke 24:27 The best sermon is that which is most full of Christ. A Welsh minister, when preaching at the chapel of my dear brother Jonathan George, was saying that Christ was...

SNIPPET: "U.S. intelligence officials believe there are dozens -- perhaps hundreds - of Americans who have been in e-mail contact with the radical Yemeni cleric who is believed to have inspired and directed both the Fort Hood shooter and the failed Christmas Day airline bomber, the Investigative Project on Terrorism has learned. Efforts to learn the details of that communication, or even to target Anwar Al-Awlaki militarily, may be hindered by his status as an American citizen."

As Obama's church affiliation was attacked fully expect Sarah's affiliation to come under scrutiny - I don't know how many if any of these sermons she heard but she did belong to this church for some years. Wasilla Bible Church

Temetum Per Occasionem. If it is true that the Holy Spirit works in each and every baptized person, then what is the role of the individual believer when something contrary to the Gospel of Jesus is preached in a faith community? Is it to sit idly and say nothing? Is it to walk out and come no more? Or is it to confront and open dialogue in search of truth? Is it not a sad commentary that no one in a congregation is willing to question, to perhaps object, or at least seek clarification? Are members of such a congregation...

Democratic presidential contender Senator Barack Obama’s campaign was dealt a setback when examination of the sermons of the pastor of the church he has been attending for the last 20 years revealed the man to be a raving lunatic. Samples of the Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s sermons quoted him urging Blacks to sing “God Damn America,” calling the United States a terrorist nation that brought the 9/11 attacks on itself and alleging that the government was trying to destroy Blacks by giving them drugs and AIDS. Videos of Wright’s rantings have been popping up all over the web. Obama has tried...

The usually elegant Ms Owl looked at bit shopworn when she visited today: she had a bad weekend in church ! Who knew OWLS were so devout ?

[OK, here's one more post for Holy Week. It's a Palm Sunday homily from last year.] We all, IÂ’m sure, look forward to Holy Week with a certain degree of anticipation: we are about to relive drama of salvation, to celebrate the holy events which achieved our redemption and made the forgiveness of our sins possible. Liturgically, we look forward to the whole cycle of the Holy Week services, with all of their rich and profoundly moving symbolism, all culminating in the feast of feasts, the glorious Resurrection of Our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ. The week, as we...

Who’s fault is it that the ‘war on terror’ is so hard to overcome?1) The Islamists brain washers, from those that teach that non Muslims are Apes, Pigs, Cows, those that teach that the west in the enemy and one mush wage war on all non Muslims kafirs, those that instill extreme hatred & death cult to be glorifying death & mass murder over the value of any life, those that build up the fantasy on among young Muslims to be striving for an all out Islamic Caliphate, to be dominating the entire world. 2) Mainstream Muslim leaders, the “normal”...

Across western Florida, Tony McCullough is known as the “Blue-collar John the Baptist.” Just as unorthodox with the religious establishment as John was to 1st century Palestine, Tony McCullough’s niche in the radio evangelist genre is that he tells it just like it is. Like it or not. If you need to hear a thinly veiled prosperity gospel along with smoke, mirrors and a hard candy coating, then there’s more than enough outlets, but if you want to hear the Christian Gospel preached, proclaimed, and expounded upon without pretension, reservation or apology then Brother Tony is your man. Listen to...

Hi friends, We have put two of my past sermons on our website so that they might be heard online. Visit the http://www.lifeandlibertyministries.com/audio to listen. More will be added later. Denny

It seems like every month there is a new crisis in the Islamic world. Last month it was rioting, property damage, and 150 deaths over the publication of 12 cartoons five months earlier in a small Danish newspaper. This month the Islamic judiciary threatened to hang an Afghan because he converted to Christianity over 14 years ago. Pundits and scholars scramble to find explanations, and the rationalizations become more and more convoluted. Most people have grown tired of the rationalizations, and are saying, “Show me the facts and data, and let me draw my own conclusions.” Without bogging this exercise...

SERMONS OF THE CURE OF ARS THE DREADFUL STATE OF THE LUKEWARM SOUL In speaking to you today, my dear brethren, of the dreadful state of the lukewarm soul, my purpose is not to paint for you a terrifying and despairing picture of the soul which is living in mortal sin without even having the wish to escape from this condition. That poor unfortunate creature can but look forward to the wrath of God in the next life. Alas! These sinners hear me; they know well of whom I am speaking at this very moment.... We will go no further,...

Monday May 28, 2001 Memorial Day Reading (Acts 19:1-8) Gospel (St. John 16:29-33) In the first reading today we hear St. Paul talking to these early disciples and asking them how it was that they were baptized. They tell him that they were baptized with the baptism of John, and that they had never even heard of the Holy Spirit. So St. Paul then Baptizes them according to the Holy Trinity; Baptizes them in the name of the Lord Jesus so that the Holy Spirit would come down upon them. The reason why I mention that today is because that...

Thursday May 24, 2001 Sixth Week of Easter Reading (Acts 18:1-8) Gospel (St. John 16:16-20) As the Apostles were discussing this question of what Jesus would mean by, "Within a short time you will not see Me, and then you will see Me again," they did not understand possibly what that meant. Of course we can look back on it and see that it meant He was going to die and then He was going to rise from the dead. This part of the Gospel of St. John was prior to our Lord's death and so it was not a...