One of the coolest experiences I have had in my life was when my wife and I visited the Mammoth Caves in Kentucky. The cave system is the largest known cave system in the world. It is known for how long it is, but also how big some of the caverns are in the cave system. Some of the caverns are over a hundred feet tall. Years ago, we took a guided tour through the caves. They have a lighting system...  Read More

One of the things I dislike most about my role as youth pastor is trying to discern if someone is lying to me. Working with teens, and truthfully a lot of adults are not much better, it is tough sometimes to discern who is lying and who is telling the truth. I’ll be honest, a lot of times I weigh the cost of even trying to find out! I feel like sometimes I could be a full-time investigator, which ...  Read More

How can a good God allow evil and sin to exist in the world? How can a good God allow suffering and pain? Why would God make so many people die in the Bible? Why doesn’t God show himself to us? How can a loving God send people to Hell? How can the Bible be true? How does the earth appear to be old, but the Bible makes it seem young? If Christianity is true, why are there so many “Christians” whose...  Read More

One time I was driving home from my outreach night as a youth pastor at my previous church, when I realized that my car lights were beginning to run dim. What I would realize later is that my car alternator was dying. As my lights were dimming, I was racing home faster than I usually would drive (no, seriously   Read More

Main Point and Overview:Illumination is a powerful and needed tool in many cases. Several examples come to mind. We need headlights to see where we are driving. We need traffic lights to avoid collisions. We need streetlights to show addresses. We need nightlights to avoid walking into the bathroom wall. The point being that light is necessary for direction. It is also necessary for exposure. Ligh...  Read More

Let’s get right down to the nitty gritty, because this passage of scripture is a can of worms. This passage of scripture is purely talking about judging others in terms of putting others down and thinking of others below you. There is a balance to judging, and Christians are to hold each other to a moral standard, by calling out sin in a loving way to help them in their walk. Christians are not to...  Read More