Author: Pastor DeBruyn

The Prince of Peace

The Hurt of War amidst the Hope for Peace

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. —Isaiah 9:6, KJV

One of my favorite Christmas carols, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, contains the same line in all five stanzas; that being the sweet refrain, “peace on earth, good-will to men.” [1] Yet lurking ominously in the midst of this song lies this reckoning which contradicts the hoped for reality:

And in despair I bowed my head: “There is no peace on earth,” I said, “For hate is strong, and mocks the song Of peace on earth, good-will to men.” [2]

With the exception of a few decades, the history of the world is the history of war.

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“Feelings Driven” Christians

by Pastor Larry DeBruyn

On Faith, Facts, and Feelings in the Christian Life.

Our society is passionate. We feel strongly about politics, religion and other issues. Frequently, I hear people state they are really “passionate” about this or that. For decades now, the sensate has come to dominate how in our culture people view life. People determine the validity of things not by whether they are right or wrong, but rather by whether it makes them feel good or bad about themselves. Joel Osteen makes people feel good about themselves. With his message of “hope and change,” Barack Obama did the same during his election campaign, and became President of the United States. This is the manner of contemporary culture, and I am concerned that it has also become the way of culturally driven Christians who have immersed themselves in the contemporary way of doing church.

Many Christians determine the rightness or wrongness of something based upon how it makes them feel. Click here to continue reading

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