Pastor Gabe's Old Blog

Here we are, the day after Christmas. Most folks are taking down their Christian decorations, but in a few places, some new holiday decor is being hung in their place. December 26 marks the first day of a week-long festival called Kwanzaa , supposedly a celebration of African heritage. But Kwanzaa is nothing of the sort. This sham of a holiday was invented by a crackpot of a man who cares for black persons about as much as the women he abused. Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga (born Ronald Everett), professor of African studies at California State University, Long Beach. Karenga, a secular humanist, originally meant for Kwanzaa "to give a Black alternative to the existing holiday and give Blacks an opportunity to celebrate themselves and history rather than simply imitate the practice of the dominant society." The name Kwanzaa comes from a Swahili phrase, matunda ya kwanzaa, meaning "first fruits of the harvest." To create his holiday, Karen...

This past Sunday, I preached on Ephesians 5:22-33, a sermon entitled Marriage as Christ Loves the Church . Wife, submit to your husband, as to the Lord. Husband, love your wife as Christ loves the church and gave Himself up for her. Marriage is not a man-made institution—it is made by God. He created marriage and gave it to us as a picture of the way Christ loves His church. Jesus defined marriage this way: "Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate" (Matthew 19:4-6). Contrary to what the culture continues to impress upon us about the sexes, men and women are different. God has designated specific roles for the husband and the wife in a marriage, and they complement one another in streng...

This past Sunday, I preached on how to read your Bible (notes from that sermon coming in a future blog post). Toward the end of the sermon, I provided a 40-day Bible reading plan that gives the reader an overview of the Bible. What are the most important events you need to know? Several have e-mailed and asked for that list. Here it is! Day 1 Genesis 1-2 — The Creation Account Day 2 Genesis 3-4 — The Fall of Man Day 3 Genesis 6, 8, 11:1-9 — The Flood and Tower of Babel Day 4 Genesis 15, 17 — God’s Covenant with Abraham Day 5 Genesis 18-19:29 — Sodom and Gomorrah Day 6 Genesis 22 — Deliverance of Isaac Day 7 Exodus 3-4 — God Calls Moses Day 8 Exodus 20 — The Ten Commandments Day 9 Joshua 1, 24 — Conquering the Promised Land Day 10 1 Samuel 16-17 — David and Goliath Day 11 1 Kings 3, 8:1-9:9 — King Solomon’s Wisdom and the Temple Day 12 1 Kings 18 — Elijah and the Priests of Baal Day 13 2 Kings 25 — The Siege of Jerusalem and Exile of Judah Da...

It's been three years since I first reviewed the most popular worship songs heard in church. This was a critique I planned on writing annually (Christian Copyright Licensing International releases their top 100 list every 6 months). But when 2017 rolled around, I looked at CCLI's top ten songs and saw that the list was almost exactly the same as the year before. Some of those songs are still in the top twenty even now, but I think the list has changed enough (and enough time has passed) that I'm able to do my review afresh. Why is this important? Because the Bible says, "Test everything; hold fast what is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21). The doctrine in even the songs that we sing must be as sound as the preaching. I'm going to examine not only the theology in the lyrics of these songs but also of the artists who sing them. If you wanted to enjoy these songs in the privacy of your home or singing along with them on the radio, that would be one thing. But ...

A video was posted yesterday in which Benny Hinn—the famed prosperity preacher and faith healing hack—seemingly repents of his prosperity preaching. In the video (which you can view here ), Hinn says the following: "I will tell you now something that I think is going to shock you. I think it's an offense to the Lord—it's an offense to say, 'Give a thousand dollars.' I think it's offense to the Holy Spirit to place a price on the gospel. I'm done with it. I will never again ask you to give a thousand or whatever amounts because I think the Holy Ghost is just fed up with it. Are you—Did you hear me? I think that hurts the gospel. So I'm making this statement for the first time in my life, and frankly I don't care what people think about me no more." He then asks his audience, "Am I shocking you?" and says, "Let's have a high-five on that one!" and he starts high-fiving members of his audience. Near the conclusion, he...

This morning, I listened to a sermon from Tullian Tchividjian. It wasn't a sermon he preached yesteryear. It was a sermon he preached yesterday. And he wasn't preaching as a guest speaker in someone else's church. He was preaching in his own church that he has planted in Florida. Tullian Tchividjian—who is the grandson of famed preacher Billy Graham; who followed the honorable D. James Kennedy as the pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church; who made a shipwreck of his ministry when he committed adultery with a member of his congregation; who was revealed to have had another affair; who threw his wife under the bus by making it look like she was the cause of their marriage problems; who was defrocked, then received another pastorate, and broke trust with that church; who has divorced, remarried, and returned to Florida to start his own church—is back. Truth be told, Tullian was never gone. I can't remember a time in the last 4 years since his scandals were firs...

Recently, author and former megachurch pastor Joshua Harris announced that he had left his wife and the Christian faith. The announcement came in a most 2019 way: via Instagram with a picture of himself brooding over a scenic lake (your typical Pondering Pond photo). Most known for his breakout book I Kissed Dating Goodby e, it was all too easy for a plethora of articles to emerge under the heading "Joshua Harris Kisses Christianity Goodbye." Mere days later, Harris was posting pictures of himself at a gay pride event. Some have dared to speculate that Harris's next big announcement will be to come out of the closet. Gossip aside, it's clear that Harris does not intend his departure from the faith to be a quiet, contemplative step back. He will capitalize on his own name and the bankability of a star-pastor going rogue, having said he plans to start a podcast about his "journey." Harris is not a Christian, and he's proud of it. Regarding Harris...

The Bible Project is an online series of free animated videos about, what else, the Bible. When I was first introduced to The Bible Project, I was quite impressed with the quality and had no problem recommending these videos to others. But someone later contacted me and suggested I take a deeper look, particularly in the way TBP creator Tim Mackie addressed the doctrine of the atonement. What I found was astonishing, and little by little more problematic teachings became apparent. After watching dozens of videos, some of Tim Mackie's sermons, and listening to a few podcasts, I did a video of my own entitled What's Wrong With the Bible Project? (which I tried to keep under 20 minutes). The Bible Project fans weren't fans. With nearly 500 comments (edit: which have now been disabled), I've been called everything from a "chump critic," to a "hack," and a "hater." I've been told I'm "just jealous," "misguided,...