Life's Inanities and Ironies

 In these last days, as the world spirals into materialism and discontent, we fundamentalists must cling ever tighter to the unchanging Word of God. Today, I want to share a message that cuts straight to the heart of biblical living: "I had everything I ever needed and most things I wanted." This isn't some feel-good mantra from self-help gurus—it's a profound testimony rooted in Scripture, calling us to reject the lies of consumerism and find true satisfaction in the Lord alone. Let us begin with the Apostle Paul 's unyielding declaration in Philippians 4:11-13 ( KJV ): "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Brothers and sisters, Paul wasn't lounging in...

 We are going to be starting a series from Matthew on prayer today.  How you communicate with God is as important as how He communicates with you. I want to give you a little background on this series. It is one that I wrote nearly 45 years ago as an exercise in homiletics class . We were asked to take a portion of scripture and draw out of it as many sermons or homilies as we could without significantly repeating ourselves. This draws from Matthew 6 and "The Lord's Prayer" The object was to show that God's word has no limitations. I'm hoping that you will enjoy this exercise as much as I did then and as much as I did in bringing it up to date. In a world filled with performative spirituality —social media posts showcasing " prayer warriors " and public displays of piety —it's easy to lose sight of what true prayer really means. As followers of Christ, especially within fundamentalist Christian communities where we uphold the Bible as our ultimate a...