MAC KIRK

Encouraging words about the Resurrection I Corinthians 15 Today's message reminds me of the biography my aunt Jill Morgan wrote about her famous relative, Dr. G Campbell Morgan.  She called the book , A Man of the Word but somehow it was refered to as , A Man of the World.   If you were to skim I Corinthians you would see that it deals with issues that we would wonder, " how did they get there?"  A man in the church commited incest and no censure by the church occurs.  Members were suing other members of the church. There was a quarrelsome spirit in the church. Certain men were followed instead of Christ. There was a question of authority and where it really comes from? Some members denied the resurrection . In other words, there was a lot of things that had to be addressed by the Apostle.  But amid all of this it is a very hopeful letter with some of the most famous Scripture vs we know in it.  Here are just a few. I Cor 10:13  ...

Stress     Who was one of the best generals of the Civil war?  Without a doubt it was Stonewall Jackson of the Confederacy.  One time though even he did not accomplish the mission in time.  When he was supposed to come to the aid of Lee in 1862 to defend Richmond  , he was oddly late.  " He did not try and fail.  He simply made no effort...He spent the 29th of June in camp in disregard of Lee's instructions, and he spent the 30th in equal idleness  at White Oak Swamp .  His 25,000 infantry practically did not fire a shot in the two days." Best little Stories from the Civil war. Kelly.  Apparently according to one civil war historian Jackson had was totally exhausted from the previous ten days of his "whirlwind Shenandoah Valley campaign."  Medical finding in 1960 said this was the effect of stress .      All of us are subject to this.  We can go along with what we think is the right action a...

Romans 6--- a new heart and a new life    The new rain changes everything does it not?  While I am writing this today it has not rained, but I am already seeing it change things when it does come.  Today we celebrate the goodness of God in His love in giving us eternal life.  Sometimes the sun breaks through the clouds and we see a rainbow and we know that despite everything going wrong we rejoice in what God has done in giving us more than we can ask or hope for.  He has given us His Son and without Him we are without hope.  God uses all things in our lives and all people and even in the hard times we know He is working out His will among us and in us.     The letter to the Romans is such a letter about new life.  FF Bruce in his commentary on Romans said it this way, " There is no telling what may happen when people begin to study the Epistle to the Romans.  What happened to Augustine, Luther, Wesley and Barth launched ...