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Philosopher Walter Kaufmann wrote a book ironically titled, The Faith of a Heretic. After explaining our cosmic insignificance, he concluded: “What I want to do and would advise others to do is to make the most of life: put into it all you have got and live, and, if possible, die with some measure of nobility.”

A middle school student in Idaho won first prize in a project he did for his school’s science fair. He wanted to show how conditioned Americans have become to accept junk science without thinking through published studies or their conclusions. In his project, he urged people to sign a petition demanding strict control or total elimination of the chemical "dihydrogen monoxide."

“Strength is a matter of the made-up mind.” – John Beecher If you want to get anything done, you have to start with a decision to do it.

I just learned that another friend of mine is dying. Without previous warning, he began to experience what he thought were mild symptoms that gave him concern and went for a check-up. Stage four liver cancer. A follow-up CAT scan revealed tumors in both his liver and his lungs. He is still unsure what he will do, but the prognosis offers no hope.

How thick is your skin? Or are you thin-skinned? What would your co-workers and family or friends say? When was the last time you were offended? How often does that happen? How careful do people have to be around you? Are they walking on eggshells, afraid you’ll either lash out or clam up?

What to do with this huge block of stone? It took months to cut it out and move it from the quarry to its current resting place. Now after two of the finest sculptors in the world attempted to make it look like something meaningful, they gave up. It was now thought to be flawed, useless, and an eyesore in the public square. It sat that way — unused, unfinished, unsightly — for nearly a hundred years.

I remember very little from church growing up. Our church was liturgical and I didn’t understand it. The sermons were boring and I’d almost always fall asleep. It’s one of the reasons I tell our young pastors, “It is a sin to preach a boring sermon!” And that’s why we strive to be engaging, Biblical, applicable, and inspiring.

We had a lot to do to get ready for last weekend. Launching Hoist The Sail involved so much…books designed and printed. Videos prepped and recorded. Sermon series prepared and written. Even music written and arranged. All with a hard deadline.

You have probably heard people talk about being “saved.” Jesus said that He came into the world “to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10 NIV). What does that mean?

A man in Gallatin, Tennessee walked into a Walmart dressing room with a new pair of jeans. He took off his old worn and dirty jeans, and put on the new pair from off the rack. They fit well! So, he ripped off the tags and walked out…all the way out of the store.

“It’s easier to keep going than to restart.” That’s all I could think of while huffing and puffing and sweating profusely. I was only two miles into a measly three mile run, and at a pace much slower than two months before. That was the problem. It had been two months since my last marathon, and I had not run even a block since.

I was just a young boy the first time I flew in an airplane. It was exciting to me. But when we hit turbulence and the plane started bopping up and down, my excitement morphed into fear. The next time my uncle offered to take me up, I wasn’t sure I wanted to go. My dad reassured me by explaining how the turbulence was simply varying low and high pressure air pockets and that it was perfectly normal. He said the plane was built to withstand far more, and my uncle and other pil

“The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates

Why do these things keep happening? Now it’s a Christian elementary school. Little 9-year-olds mercilessly gunned down!

“Are you crazy?” None of you reading this are surprised that I’ve been asked that.

When Junior was little, he thought the whole world celebrated his birthday on March 17 by putting out decorations with his favorite color, green. He didn’t know that his birthday was also Saint Patrick’s Day. Patrick was an amazing person with a huge heart for God and the Irish people.

A nun walking down the street noticed a young boy on his tiptoes trying to press a doorbell on a house across the street. Although he was trying very hard, he wasn’t tall enough to reach the doorbell.

In the Bahamas last week, a tour boat witnessed a dog jumping into the ocean after a hammerhead shark. On land, I think we know who the winner would be. But in the sea? That dog would be no match for the 12- foot predator.

There is good reason we get afraid. Fear protects us from harm.

When I was 9, I heard about an all star game at the end of little league season and I wanted to make that team more than anything. But I wasn’t that good. So when players were picked and I wasn’t, I couldn’t accept it.