Pete Briscoe: How I Preach
Pete Briscoe: And this is How I Preach …
[Pete Briscoe is the Senior Pastor of Bent Tree Bible Fellowship, a multi-site church in North Dallas; he is a graduate of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Born in the UK, to a family of preachers, he came to the US when he was seven, and he followed the path of his parents into ministry. I used to attend Bent Tree when I lived (and practiced) close to its location and have always enjoyed Pete’s preaching. So here he is,
Theism?
The other day, the news reported on the bizarre behavior of chimpanzees. New footage shows these primates in West Africa banging and throwing rocks against trees, and chucking them into gaps inside trees, etc., all producing piles of rocks accumulating in and around trees. These piles did not seem to have any functional purpose, and looked suspiciously like ritual cairns (= mounds of stones) found throughout human history as memorials or markers.
As Joshua did, way back
Trash!
Yes, it’s trash. All that white stuff—a river of trash!
The surreal sight snakes its way through the capital of Lebanon, Beirut, a blot and blight.
Two million tons of the bad stuff, stretching for a quarter mile through Jdeideh, a suburb of Beirut. This overflowing landfill is the result of Beirut’s months-long garbage crisis, both an expression and a consequence of Lebanon’s dysfunctional politics.
Said a local resident, Jawanah:
This used to be such a beautiful
Genesis 28:10−22
God’s guaranteed promises call for a response of trusting worship.
Jacob is on the run from his brother who has developed homicidal tendencies after being cheated of his blessing. The deceiver is headed to his uncle’s house. Jacob’s arrival at the “place” is apparently no accident: the verb indicates that Jacob “encountered/struck” the place (28:11). The narrator records what Jacob’s eyes see, with a threefold repeat of “behold!” (28:12, 13, 15), escalating
Heaven?
Fewer Americans believe in God than ever before.
That’s the result of a study published recently in the journal Sage Open: “Declines in American Adults’ Religious Participation and Beliefs, 1972–2014,” by a group of psychology researchers lead by Prof. Jean Twenge, of San Diego State University.
The percentage of Americans who claim they never pray has climbed to an all time high, up foiur-fold since the 70s and 80s. Correspondingly, belief in God has declined
Acclamation!
I was in Israel last year, with a bunch of Dallas Seminary students, on a study tour. And we were in Jerusalem for several days.
While our days were filled with tours, and lectures and study time for the students (who had to take two exams in those three weeks we were there), we did have some free time. And I set off to wander on my own.
And got lost in the maze-like streets of Jerusalem.
[Not the first time, nor, hopefully, the last. There’s something exhilarating about
Daylight!
They conducted a new poll the other week in the United Kingdom.
2,465 young people between 18 and 25 were asked to name the top five things critical for their quality of life.
Freedom of speech was #1 with 87% voting for this item. Other things that were voted on in fairly large numbers included hot water, welfare system, internet access, and daylight.
In fact, internet access (voted for by 69%) beat daylight (voted for by only 64%). Internet access, these folks believe,
Abe Kuruvilla is the Carl E. Bates Professor of Christian Preaching at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY), and a dermatologist in private practice. His passion is to explore, explain, and exemplify preaching.