Matthew Chapter 5 is a famous sermon recording the words of Jesus; the first section of that sermon? We call that section “The Beatitudes.” That word — BEATITUDE — comes from a Latin word that means “BLESSED”… because there are a series of verses that start with the phrase: BLESSED ARE THE… 3 “Blessed are … Read more
I’m a red state guy living in the bluest of blue states. I have often referred to this place as The People’s Republic of Hawaii. Because I am a son of the south who has lived just about half my life in Hawaii and half in the south, I have a unique perspective and a … Read more
The Church as a Contrast Society (A Biblical Worldview) Everyone reads the Bible through filters — sometimes LOTS of filters. I know… people sometimes say, “Well, I just believe the BIBLE – that is my doctrine.” Sounds good, until you dissect that and realize that everyone reads the Bible through filters. You and I read … Read more
Watching this political theater in Hawaii this week has been a roller coaster ride of emotions. Here are a few random observations, in no particular order: • The Hawaii Democratic Party is owned, and will always march lockstep with the national Democrats, convinced that they know best, and public opinion does not sway them. • … Read more
When Hawaii dealt with the issue of Civil Unions for same-sex couples in February of 2011 many people who have moral objections to homosexuality in general said, “Well… okay. I still believe homosexuality is wrong, and is not good for society, but I am a fair person, and if this grants more citizen rights to … Read more
115 years ago, in 1898, in an act of perfidy, the Kingdom of Hawaii was unjustly overthrown. We are witnesses to history this week: the 2nd overthrow of Hawaii. The leadership of the Hawaii Democratic Party have plotted this overthrow and allied themselves with a tiny minority to engineer a societal upheaval of major magnitude. … Read more
Many of us watched in dismay and astonishment as some of the younger members of the State Legislature who professed to be Christians selectively misconstrued the essence of the New Testament to justify selling their faith out. They focused on the love of Jesus, the kindness of Jesus, and the oh-so-wonderful inclusiveness of his grace, … Read more
What we have witnessed this week is a revival of Hawaii’s secular religion. Make no mistake about it; it is, indeed, a religion. The chief point of dogma of this secular religion is tolerance… except, of course, for the majority. Intolerance of the majority is a test of fellowship. Adherents of the new faith are … Read more
The Church as a Contrast Society Contrasting ethics Last week we looked at how our values (meaning those of us who make up the church) are different than the values of the surrounding culture. Our worldview is informed by revealed scripture and not by emotion, popularity polls, election results or the changing trends of society. … Read more