Gordon Franz writes,

One day a friend sent me an invitation to a church meeting and asked me if I knew anything about the subject. On the flyer was a picture of a human skeleton with crooked teeth and a rock embedded in his forehead. The title above the skull read: “They’ve Found Goliath’s Skull!”

Has Goliath’s skull really been discovered? To find out, you’ll have to read rest of the story here.

This is a good example of what Franz calls “Tabloid Archaeology,” and unfortunately, many Christians buy into this stuff hook, line, and sinker. If it sounds good and seems to give credibility to the Bible, then no matter its source (email, blog, tabloid, video) or level of scholarship, we assume it must be true and with great excitement pass it on to our friends.

To avoid future embarassment, we can all be grateful for a new website Franz has developed called Life and Land Seminars. It has a lot of material on Bible backgrounds, but some articles deal specifically with sensational theories and discoveries. The site is formatted like a blog, so navigation can be tricky. But if you use the search bar in the top right corner, you should be able to search and find any pertinent articles quickly. Think of it like a “Snopes” for biblical archaeology. Here’s a few other debunking articles Franz has written:

Does “The Lost Shipwreck of Paul” Hold Water? – A critique of the theory of Robert Cornuke.

Mount Sinai is Not at Jebel Al-Lawz in Saudi Arabia (and parts 2 and 3) – A careful refutation of the theory of Ron Wyatt that has captivated many gullible Bible believers.

Did the BASE Institute Discover Noah’s Ark in Iran? – The historical and geographical problems with a recent theory promoted in Christian circles.

The So-Called Jesus Family Tomb “Rediscovered” in Jerusalem – A lengthy analysis of the Talpiyot tomb that recent movie producers have claimed belonged to Jesus of Nazareth.

HT: Todd Bolen

In honor of Mother’s Day last Sunday morning, we considered the “High Calling of a Mother & Grandmother.” Here was my sermon outline:

1. Four people in a family – 2 Timothy 1:5 and Acts 16:1-2 introduced us to a family of four: Lois, a believing grandma; Eunice, a believing mom; Timothy, a believing son; and Timothy’s father, an unbelieving dad. We were encouraged to see how God used a mother’s and grandmother’s faith to be instrumental in saving young Timothy.
2. Four areas of training children – From the description of Jesus’ development in Luke 2:52, we saw four areas that every mother should train her child: mental, physical, spiritual, and social.
3. Four kinds of people in our church – We concluded by considering how these truths would apply to four groups of people in our church: moms, grandmas, women without children, and men.

Thought & Discussion Questions:

• Are there any similarities between Timothy’s spiritually “mixed family” and mine? Are there people in my household who do not share my passion for God? What can I learn from Eunice’ example?
• Mothers, do you pray regularly for your children? How are you doing in training your children in these four areas of mental, physical, spiritual, and social? Where do your children naturally excel? Where do they struggle? What is one area you can begin to improve immediately?
• Grandmothers, are you loving and serving your children as they now raise their kids, and supporting other younger moms in the church? Read Titus 2:3-5 and consider how you should apply this. Who is one young mom in the church that you can specifically pray for and encourage?
• Women without children, do you feel disappointed that you do not have children of your own? What is your attitude toward mothers and grandmothers? Are you joyful and content in your present circumstances? Has God called you to consider adoption, or to help other moms who are raising kids?
• Men, what is your mindset toward child-rearing? Do you consider it primarily a woman’s duty, or are you providing spiritual leadership in the home and church? Are you serving and praying for your wife? Are you teaching your daughters to become future moms and women of God? Could you serve more faithfully in children’s ministry so that moms can have their spiritual batteries recharged?

Sunday’s sermon has been uploaded to our podcast site and is now available for free download or to listen online.)

May God help us apply His Word this week in our hearts, in our words, and in our actions.

We all know God’s command in James 1 to “prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” But often, doing the word is not as easy as it sounds. It’s so easy for me to “look myself in the mirror” as James says, but then walk away, forgetting what I’ve seen. Collectively, it’s easy for us to hear God’s Word on Sundays, nod our heads in agreement, close our Bibles, go our separate ways, start another busy week, forget what we heard, and never take any specific course of action.

I would like to do a better job of providing tools for our church to apply God’s Word in our lives. Michael Fabarez, in his book, Preaching That Changes Lives, says to pastors, “We must do all that we can to assist our people in acting upon the truth we dispense. Therefore, it behooves us to design and supply tools that will assist them in this process. Providing your congregation with a few useful aids for application is well worth your time and effort” (p. 175).

So, today I’ve begun my attempt to help us better act on the truth. I will be writing a weekly note called “Doing the Word,” which I will either hand out on Sunday or email out early in the week. I will try to briefly summarize Sunday’s message and then offer a few practical application questions. These questions could be discussed as a family or used in private reflection and prayer. I hope you find them edifying.

On Sunday, we studied John 17:13-19, asking what is the Christians’ relationship to this world, and discovering the crucial role of the Word of God. There were three points:

1. We are SEPARATE from the world (vv. 14, 16)
2. We are SENT into the world (v. 18)
3. We are SANCTIFIED by the Word (vv. 17-19)

Here are some thought and discussion questions, which I shared during the sermon:

• Am I being increasingly sanctified from the world by the Word? How is progress evident in my life?
• Which “wrong approach” to the world do I tend to take? Withdrawing myself from it? Conforming to it? Trying to moralize it?
• Am I taking my commission to the world seriously? Who has God specifically brought into my life to reach?
• Do I see the dangers of the world? Where am I most susceptible to worldly influences?
• Since God’s Word is true, am I truly devoting myself to it in my personal walk? My family? The church? How could I do better?

(Sunday’s sermon has been uploaded to our podcast site and is now available for free download or to listen online.)

May God help us apply His Word this week in our hearts, in our words, and in our actions.

Last Sunday night I had the privilege of preaching at First Baptist Church of San Jacinto. I chose to speak on faith in times of crisis from Habakkuk 3:16-19. It’s a reminder we all need in this world so full of sorrow and disappointment.

As I explained the historical background of Habakkuk, I was reminded afresh of the severe judgment God sent upon Judah because of their sin. First, he raised up the dreadful Babylonians. Then, He controlled the weather patterns to bring devastating famine. It was a two-front war. God does not play around with sin. He abhors it, and judges it seriously.

But even in the darkest moment, as he trembled at the thought of judgment, the prophet Habakkuk trusted the Lord, and rejoiced in the God of His salvation (Hab. 3:18).

This week, as I reflected on the passage, I was reminded of an earlier statement in Habakkuk’s prayer. In chapter 3 verse 2, the prophet pleaded, “In wrath remember mercy.” And amazingly, that is exactly what God did. Even in the moment of wrath, God showed mercy to His people. How? Jeremiah 29 tells us.

• God sent His people into captivity. This whole chapter is written to “all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon” (Jer. 29:4). God did not obliterate the Jews, but rather sent them to a faraway land. He remained faithful to His covenant with Abraham to make a great name and a great people (Gen. 15:1-3).
• God made their lives comfortable. In Jeremiah 29:6-7, God instructed His people to build houses, take wives, and seek the welfare of the cities where they dwelled. In Babylon, the Jews did not endure slavery like they had in Egypt. Their lives were actually quite comfortable. I’m not saying they lived in the Ritz-Carlton, but they did enjoy a remarkable level of freedom and prosperity.
• God limited their captivity. In Jeremiah 29:10, God promised that the Jews would be allowed to return to their homeland after 70 years. When this interval of time had passed, Daniel interceded, and God answered (see Daniel 9).
• God made Himself available to them. God did not abandon the Jews, but said that when they repented and prayed to Him, He would listen (Jer. 29:12). When they sought Him, He would be found by them. He was standing by ready and waiting, like the father of the prodigal son, to reconcile and restore His wayward people.

How thankful we can be that God does not always give us what we deserve. He often shows mercy even in the midst of wrath. Truly, our God is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth! (Exodus 34:6)