Dr Paul Allen

As followers of Jesus, the best thing we can celebrate together is the beauty of the great love and grace that Christ has shown us. Because of his great mercies, our proper response is to be what Paul calls a “living sacrifice” in Romans 12:1. The words “living sacrifice” together don’t make much sense at first. It’s actually an oxymoron. But reading Paul’s words in Romans just before this verse, we understand that this isn’t the case. We are alive in Christ because we begin to live solely led by his desires and purposes for us. We are also an offering to God because we have chosen to sacrifice our way and plans for the better ones God has for us.  Of course, we realize that, because of our flesh, this is a highly tricky prospect.  Thankfully, the verse continues to reveal how this can happen: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom 12:2).

“And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.” ( Luke  4:32 )   God’s words, whether spoken by Jesus or written in Scripture, are indeed full of power, and it is noteworthy how many and varied are the physical analogies used to characterize and emphasize its power.   For example, consider  Jeremiah  23:29 . “Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?” The fire analogy is also stressed in  Jeremiah 20:9 , when the prophet became weary of the negative reaction against his preaching: “Then I said, I will not . . . speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.”   God’s Word is also called a sharp sword wielded by the Holy Spirit. As part of the Christian’s spiritual armor, we are exhorted to take “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” ( Ephesians  6:17 ). “For the word of God is

One decision determines the fate of the American people every four years: Who will be our next president? This man or woman will almost certainly drive our 320-million-person passenger van through economic upheaval, volatile international affairs, violent terrorist threats, and any number of sensitive social issues. The candidates are pouring in, and the race heating up. So who’s the favorite? Sex. Specifically, sexual autonomy or freedom. The single most powerful, most driving, most appealing person, idea, or reality in American society is sex — the intense and intimate attractions and sensations felt between people. I define it broadly, because Satan’s grassroots campaign has planted sex’s posters and pinups in all kinds of places today, not just the marriage bed. We wish we could define it more narrowly, as God intended when he created sex, but it’s crawled into too many corners, and won too many worshipers. Sex — sexual ecstasy, autonomy, and freedom — is the trump card in America