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Visiting the Pantheon, one of Rome’s premier tourist sites, it’s hard not be humbled by the knowledge that this building has lasted 1900 years and still stands as the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome, while modern concrete structures deteriorate. Take a look at the magnificence of the Pantheon.Photo credit: CC BY-SA 4.0 licensePhoto credit: Macrons CC BY-SA 4.0 licensePhoto credit: Anthony Majanlahti CC BY 2.0 licenseThe Romans’ concrete technology was lost for almost a millennium as the Dark Ages unfolded, and Europe regressed technologically and economically. The discovery of Roman manuscripts on making concrete in 1414 sparked gradual reintroduction of...

On Thursday’s broadcast of CNN’s “New Day,” CNN Chief Business Correspondent and host Christine Romans stated that under President Joe Biden’s student loan cancellation, “the winners are the colleges that just keep raising tuition again and again and again.” And the plan doesn’t address the root cause of student loan debt, the massive cost of college.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.Ecclesiastes 3:11 Don Richardson spent many years in Papua New Guinea. In his research, he investigated many cultures and their religious ceremonies. This book is a result of that investigative work. The first time I read this book was back in 2004, and I still find myself picking it up from time to time. The information inside is well worth the few dollars you may spend.Besides being an...

JERUSALEM—Authorities are investigating after witnesses accused a local religious nut named Simon Peter and several others of hosting an unauthorized super spreader event in an enclosed room in Jerusalem. Experts say the event, which was not authorized by the local Jewish or Roman authorities, may put everyone in the area at risk for infectious diseases such as leprosy. "This is completely inexcusable," said local magistrate Biggus Tookus. "We have found that there were at least 11 people at this event. No one's address was recorded at the door and we don't know where they are now." One medical expert named...

“Inculcating the Reformation through Catechesis” (Romans 3:19-28; John 8:31-36) First, let me tell you my title for this message. It’s “Inculcating the Reformation through Catechesis.” Now the next thing I want to tell you is this: Don’t let that title scare you off! Don’t worry, I’ll explain each of those terms: “Inculcating the Reformation through Catechesis.” So here we go. The first one I’ll explain is “the Reformation.” What is the Reformation? This term refers to the much-needed reforming of the church--straightening it out where it had gone wrong--the reforming movement undertaken by Martin Luther and his associates in the...

Most of us are familiar with Martin Luther’s heroic statement at the Diet of Worms when he was called upon to recant. “Unless I am convinced by sacred Scripture, or by evident reason, I cannot recant, for my conscience is held captive by the Word of God, and to act against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me.” Today, we rarely hear any reference to the conscience. Yet throughout church history, the best Christian thinkers spoke about the conscience regularly. Thomas Aquinas said the conscience is the God-given inner voice...

“Governing Authorities: God’s Servants for Your Good” (Romans 13:1-10) Our text today is the Epistle reading from Romans 13. And as soon as I say “Romans 13,” most people who know the Bible will instantly say, “Oh, that’s the chapter about government.” And that’s right. Romans 13 is the classic passage in the Bible about the role of government, about how God instituted governmental authority, and about our relationship to the governing authorities, especially as Christians. So those are the things we’re going to explore now, under the theme: “Governing Authorities: God’s Servants for Your Good.” “For our good? Really,...

“Genuine Love in Our Church Family” (Romans 12:9-21) Our church is called to be a loving family. I know this is so, because that’s who God says we are. God has made us a loving family. He calls us to live and act as his loving family. And he enables us to do so. This is why I as your pastor can call on you to be who you are in Christ: brothers and sisters who love one another with a genuine love that shows itself in actions. That is kind of a summary of today’s Epistle reading, from Romans...

“If God Is for Us” (Romans 8:28-39)In our Epistle reading for today, St. Paul writes, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” The answer, of course, is no one. If God is for us, it doesn’t matter who might be against us, because they are not God. Oh, they may indeed be against us, but that is far, far outweighed by the fact that God is for us. I mean, who could be greater and more powerful than God? No one. By definition, no one or no thing can be more powerful than God; otherwise, that person...

For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. ( Romans 5:11)Romans chapter Five is one of those places in the Bible which “established (me) in Righteousness”(Isaiah 54). I had a very finely tuned conscience, I was keenly aware of the “sinfulness of (my) sin” and needed constant reinforcement of the assurance of salvation. I needed to know that in spite of my sins, I was right with God. How can a righteous and Holy God accept a grievous sinner such...

The Fezzan is an area of approximately 212,000 square miles of unforgiving desert and valleys. Situated in the south west of modern day Libya it’s not an area you’d easily traverse, let alone live in. Yet in the 1st millennium BCE a people did exactly that. They created art, irrigated the baked earth and sustained a culture. One of the earliest surviving references to the Garamantes is found in Herodotus’ Histories, written in the 5th century BCE[1]. Herodotus’ description was contradictory, they had no weapons, but they hunted a cave dwelling tribe nearby using chariots. He also went on to...

“Words of Spirit and Life” (Ezekiel 37:1-14; Romans 8:1-11; John 11:1-53) Have you been starting to feel like you’re Lazarus? I mean, you’ve been cooped up in your quarantine “tomb,” not just for four days, but now going on fourteen days. You’ve been stuck inside so long, maybe skipping showers, maybe skipping laundry--“Lord, by this time there will be an odor!” You’re stuck inside, and you’re waiting for someone to speak the word, “Lazarus, come out!” But for now, it looks like you’re going to have to wait a little longer. The President’s hope that we will be able to...

“How Being Justified Changes Your Life” (Romans 5:1-8) How has this coronavirus thing changed your life? Has it? Maybe it hasn’t. But for lots of people, it has. Let me count the ways. No baseball, that’s the main thing. No hockey either. No March Madness. Universities have shut down. K-12 schools have shut down. No toilet paper to be found on the shelves. Travel plans are being disrupted. The economy is being hurt. The stock market is down big-time. I know for myself I’ve lost about $5,000 on my investments so far this year, almost all of that in the...

Dangling from an abseil rope 30ft up a river gorge rock face, archaeologist Jon Allison certainly felt close to the Romans who had worked on that same spot 1,800 years ago. They left their mark in the shape of graffiti composed of inscriptions and carved faces, and studying the messages produced the sensation of the quarry work gang communicating across the centuries. The carvings reveal that soldiers of the Second and 20th legions were detailed to operate in the quarry as part of the major repairing and re-building of Hadrian's Wall. And as a serving soldier himself for 22 years,...

“Two Men You’re Related to” (Romans 5:12-19) You know those ancestry tests you can take? You know, the ones where you spit into a little tube, and you send it off, and then they let you know what your ancestry is. And they’ll even give you lists of names of people you’re related to, including people maybe you didn’t know you were related to. Well, today I’m going to tell you about two people you definitely are related to, and--guess what--you don’t even have to spit into a tube. And so our theme this morning: “Two Men You’re Related to.”...

“Justification Is the Article on Which the Church Stands or Falls” (Romans 3:19-28) There is a saying attributed to Luther that, in the Latin, goes like this: “Justificatio est articulus stantis et cadentis ecclesiae.” Which, being translated, means: “Justification is the article on which the church stands or falls.” Dear friends, on this Reformation Day I submit to you that this is what the whole Reformation was about, namely, the doctrine of justification. This is the article of doctrine on which everything else depends. It is the article on which the church stands or falls. What’s more, it is the...

The Vatican announced the launch of the "Click to Pray eRosary" Wednesday. October is the month of the Rosary. The eRosary is an app-driven device that can be worn as a bracelet. To activate it, all you have to do is make the sign of the cross, similar to how Catholics begin praying the Rosary. Once activated, the wearer can choose between three different options to pray. There is the standard rosary, a contemplative rosary or a thematic rosary, which will be updated every year. The device shows the users progress throughout each prayer and keeps track of each rosary...

The weak, vacillating and ultimately cruel and cowardly figure of Pontius Pilate is one of the most enigmatic figures in Sacred Scripture. From the Gospel accounts, he seems to be a man who almost wants to be a hero, to defend the innocent victim, Jesus, against the murderous lynch mob besetting Him. Indeed, Pilate is urged by his wife to "have nothing to do with that just man." In the end, however, he lacks the courage to act virtuously. He condemns Christ to a horrible death, despite knowing with certainty that He is innocent. But who was Pontius Pilate? Did...

The Romans generally tolerated other religions, allowing and even welcoming Egyptian gods into their pantheon. Though they viewed the monotheistic Jews as being odd, they left more or less free to practice their own religion. The great Jewish revolt was not a religious war, but a war against Roman imperialism and unfair taxation. In the 60’s CE a financial crisis forced Rome to raise the taxes throughout the empire. The Jews in Jerusalem resisted the extra taxes heavily and fighting broke out after Roman forces looted a temple and killed as many as 6,000 citizens. This massacre prompted a region-wide...

“How Do We Get God’s Grace?” (Romans 3:19-28) On the last Sunday in October every year, we celebrate Reformation Day. For on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed Ninety-five Theses to a church door in Wittenberg, Germany, thus starting the great Reformation of the Christian church. Last year, 2017, was the 500th anniversary of that momentous event, and there were huge celebrations around the world. This year, 2018, is the 501st anniversary, so the occasion is toned down accordingly. But we still have something to celebrate. Indeed, 1517 was just the beginning of the Reformation. Every year now we will...