A Christian Response to the Occult
If one is coming into contact with the spiritual realm apart from God, they are interacting with the only other spiritual reality that exists, that of Satan and his demons—the world of the occult.
Articles for tag: C.S. Lewis
June 24, 2024
June 30 Application | ‘As Soon as You Began to Pray’
First Thessalonians 5:17 says, "Pray continually." David Faust writes: "What do you do 'continually' in a typical day? Check your e-mail? Look at your cell phone? Grab another cup of coffee? Do you worry continually? If a Fitbit could track your walk with God, what would it record?" . . .
January 23, 2024
GLCC Prof Helps Shed ‘Light’ on C. S. Lewis
Dr. Charlie Starr’s introduction to C. S. Lewis came by reading "Mere Christianity" for an apologetics class at Dallas Christian College in 1981. The Great Lakes Christian College professor is now the foremost authority on Lewis's handwriting. . . .
5 Preaching Tips from C.S. Lewis
In a letter to a seventh-grade girl from 1959, C.S. Lewis shared eight pieces of writing advice, the first five of which I believe to be quite relevant for preachers.
May 15, 2023
May 21 | Application (‘We’re Meant to Lament’)
The book of Lamentations is an acrostic poem where the verses begin with consecutive letters of the alphabet. Jeremiah wept “from A to Z” . . .
March 13, 2023
March 19 | Mend My Brokenness
How severe was Israel's brokenness? Very! The people had majored in minors (Amos 5:21-24) and were experiencing the worst kind of famine—one from the Word of God (8:11). They would not be able to escape judgment from the Lord of Hosts. . . .
March 1, 2023
Grace Is Amazing
By James Estep “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.” Penned in 1772 by John Newton, the message of “Amazing Grace” resounds into the 21st century. The tune as originally written is a favorite of many believers. In 2007 Christian musician Chris Tomlin updated the words to say, “my chains are gone, I’ve been set free” . . . but the message remained the same. Grace is amazing! My home church for a while described itself as “An Amazing Grace Place,” which represented them well. But why is grace so amazing? Paul explained why in
March 1, 2023
Grace Unites Us
My journey in the International Churches of Christ and beyond . . .
January 31, 2023
The Duct Tape Letters (Book Review)
I must admit, I simply couldn’t ignore this title. I had to buy a copy of "The Duct Tape Letters" just to see how it measured up to "The Screwtape Letters" by famed author C. S. Lewis. . . . Would Drew Baker’s recently published homage be worthy of comparison?
October 3, 2022
October 9 | Application (‘Surviving a Spiritual Drought’)
What will be your survival strategy when you face a spiritual drought? How can you hydrate a dried-up soul? Psalm 42 offers help. . . .
March 1, 2021
Under the Protection of Truth
Truthfully, brothers and sisters, when did it become so easy to lie? “I am praying for you” (but have you been . . . really?). “I’m running late because there was traffic” (or maybe you just got a late start). “I am going to do that right away” (well . . . perhaps). I recently called our local butcher shop and ordered a 3-pound tomahawk steak for a family celebration dinner, but before I could pick it up, a friend who knew of the celebration plans called to tell me she picked up a standing rib roast for me. I
November 22, 2020
The New Year, No Fear Challenge
How You Can Begin 2021 with Courage and Understanding This year-end article was written in mid-September. Due to the magazine’s production schedule, I simply don’t have the luxury of knowing if we’ve made strides toward loving each other well, who won the election, the state of the economy, or whether there is a coronavirus vaccine. As I type these words, my mother is suffering from COVID-19. She’s older, in poor health, and already fighting cancer, so I have no clue whether she will survive or go to be with the Lord. Remember the old saying, “hindsight is 20-20”? If
June 14, 2020
Open for Business . . . No Laughing Matter?
By Alan Scott In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis in April, I met a good friend at a restaurant because we could. We needed to. But nobody else was there. I felt fear and dread still creeping through the streets as I trekked toward our favorite eatery. A masked host seated us at properly distanced chairs outside on a patio. Apparently, innumerable state restrictions allowed restaurants to open, but with all the fun taken out. It was weird. But sitting outside in the warm sun and laughing wasn’t weird. I thought of Paul’s great theological words, “Rejoice in the
May 18, 2020
Application for May 24: If Only I Knew Where to Find Him
(This “Application“ column goes with the Bible lesson for May 24, 2020: “I Catch No Glimpse of Him!“) By David Faust Certain things are rare, but you can find them if you know where to look. If you want to see polar bears, you can find them in countries that ring the Arctic Circle. Looking for penguins? Go to Antarctica. Redwood trees? They grow in California. Koalas? Go to Australia. Travel to the right location and you can find rare works of art. Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is housed in the Louvre Museum in Paris, and his Last Supper is on display
May 3, 2020
Application for May 10: It’s Never Quite Enough
(This “Application“ column goes with the Bible lesson for May 10, 2020: “His Treasured Possession.”) By David Faust At age 86, Jackie Long died from injuries sustained in a car accident—an abrupt end to a fruitful life. Jackie worked tirelessly on our church staff for four decades, and then after retiring in her sixties, she continued to serve cheerfully as a volunteer for another 20 years. She welcomed guests, cared for those in need, coordinated countless weddings and funerals, took meals to shut-ins, ministered with senior adults, and volunteered with benevolence agencies in our city. Hundreds gathered at the funeral
April 15, 2020
Church Organs/Organists Featured in Newspapers (Plus News Briefs)
Compiled by Jim Nieman and Chris Moon Church organs and organists recently were featured in articles in Kentucky and Ohio newspapers. The organ at Calhoun (Ky.) Christian Church survived a flood in 1937, a near-disastrous move to a new building in 1998, and transitions from hand-pumping to water-pumping to an electrical pump over the past 100-plus years. The McLean County News detailed the organ’s rich history in a story from March. Since 1905, only five women have played the organ regularly. The present organist is Judy Rightmyer, an octogenarian. Rightmyer’s grandfather used to hand-pump the organ and sing bass in
August 19, 2019
Lesson for August 25, 2019: Lift Up One Another (Ecclesiastes 4:7-12)
Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 9 (weeks 32-35; August 18—September 8, 2019) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ________ Lesson Aim: We are better when we have each other to care for and to care for us. ________ By Mark Scott Ecclesiastes is full of sound advice: know what really matters in life, redeem pleasure, use time wisely, be judicious with your words, think properly about wealth, act well toward
We Believe Jesus Is Lord
By John Caldwell The first song I ever learned was “Jesus Loves Me.” The first Bible verse I memorized was John 3:16. I preached my first sermon on that same text; it lasted 10 minutes. When I began my ministry with the infant Kingsway Christian Church, my first sermon was simply entitled “Jesus.” When I retired from that ministry 36 years later, my sermon was “It’s Still Jesus.” If you call me a “Jesus freak,” I’ll consider it a badge of honor. But who is this Jesus? The answer to that question is more important than anything else. Jesus raised
May 15, 2019
Churches Donate 3 Tons of Pennies to Camp (Plus News Briefs)
Compiled by Chris Moon and Jim Nieman Lake Springfield Christian Assembly in Chatham, Ill., is learning the power of the penny. The Christian camp has collected a million pennies from 26 churches during the past two months to help generate funds to acquire an additional 2.7 acres of land. The $10,000 in pennies were put on display in a large bin at the camp; they weighed 6,000 pounds. “(The lesson here) is that every penny counts, especially when you’re a 501(c)(3),” camp manager Kerma Yotter told the State Journal-Register. “What’s more amazing, and we see it all the time, is God’s provision through his faithful
May 29, 2018
Sinner Anonymous
By Gene Shelburne As God’s people, we have one common bond: All of us have brought our sins to Jesus. And that is what brings us around his table. How sad, then, that many of us spend so much energy trying to conceal our sinfulness! Why does the church often become an exercise in pretending we are perfect? The late Bishop Fulton J. Sheen said, “The modern world does not believe in sin. . . . It used to be that we Catholics were the only ones in the world who believed in the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary.
