Within recent memory the ecclesiastical drums were being beaten for “youth services.” If you wanted to be “right on,” “in the spirit of our times,” that was the “in” thing to do! Now not near so loudly but quite perceptively another trend is developing among us, namely, the introduction of “Children’s Church Services.” Oh yes, we […]
In this lucid and convincing article, Rev. Calvin Vander Meyden, Christian Reformed minister and home missionary in Flanders Valley, New Jersey, presents the Scriptural mandate for the Christian Day School. He replies to the comment frequently made that Christian education is “too costly” and that it deprives parents of their savings accounts, luxurious cars, snowmobiles, […]
THE UBIQUITY OF THE PINK PEPPERMINT A Roman Catholic family moved into the house next door to a Christian Reformed family. After they had become acquainted, the Roman Catholic housewife felt free, over a cup of coffee, to say to the Christian Reformed housewife, “I understand a little of what your church believes, but one […]
More than thirty years ago the writer heard a Methodist minister of the gospel make this statement before a group engaged in a study of Christian leadership in Protestant churches, “Unless tho Christian church undergirds gospel preaching with a sound educational program centered in the Scriptures she will find her influence decreaSing rapidly,” This brother in the […]
In How to Really Love Your Teenager, Ross Campbell says that “one of the most important areas in which a teenager needs training is in how to handle anger. . . . Anger is normal and occurs in every human being. The problem is not the anger itself but in managing it. This is where […]
There are some people who would like everyone to believe that there Is no difference between a male (man) and a female (woman). There are even some church people who have a favorite Bible verse which they quote to prove that God wants everyone to think that way. The text is Galatians 3:28 and it […]
Do you think everyone has a God-given right to have life? First we better understand what we mean by the word life. Good ol’ Webster’s Dictionary has much to say about this little word. Here is just the first part of its definition: “That property of plants and animals which makes it possible for them […]
Remember last time we talked about life—when it begins and what it means? We also talked about man’s definition of life from the dictionary and God’s definition of life from the Bible. Did you look up the Bible passage at the end of the previous article? Hope so. It was Psalm 139:13: “For You (God) created […]
We have heard predictable explanations for the tragic killings of four children and a teacher by children in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Some say it’s violence on television and in films. While today’s graphic “entertainment” violence is far worse than the cowboys, vaporizing aliens and monsters I grew up watching, that alone seems an incomplete excuse. Others […]
It was ten years ago. I was in the midst of finishing out the year as a long term sub at the local Christian high school. My daughter, a freshman, was one of my students. Some of the other students had been intrigued by the fact that she was comfortable having her mom as a […]