A young man stepped up to the checkout-counter in a small drugstore with three boxes of chocolate: small, medium, and large. The pharmacist asked him what his plans were for the three boxes, and the young man replied, “Well, I am going over to my new girlfriend’s house for dinner tonight. Afterward, I plan to kiss her goodnight and give her one of the boxes of chocolate. If she doesn’t let me kiss her, I’ll give her the small box. If she lets me kiss her on the cheek, then I’ll give her the medium box. But if she really lets me lay one on her, I’ll give her the large box.” So the eager young fellow made his purchase and left. That evening he arrived at his new girlfriend’s house where he met her parents and sat down for dinner. Before the meal started he asked if he could say grace. Then he began to prayer this elaborate earnest prayer. He rattled on about forgiveness, grace and mercy for almost five minutes. When he finally said amen, his girlfriend leaned in and said, “Wow. You never told me you were such a religious person.” Nervously, he whispered back, “And you never told me your dad was the pharmacist!”

We can all pray when we really need to, can’t we!? Read more…

If yesterday was like Valentine’s Days of the past, over $1 billion was spent on chocolate, 180 million cards were exchanged, and 196 million roses were sold! Unless you’re Charlie Brown, you’ve probably given and received some special valentines in your life. You’ve probably had some things wrapped in red foil or a heart-shaped box. Or maybe you’ve stood at a florist’s counter trying to decide on a “just right” arrangement of roses. Even a Snickers looks better if it’s got a red ribbon around it. Valentine’s Day offers us the opportunity to say “I love you” in elegant, ornamental ways.

Sadly, this Valentine’s Day also marked a new low in our cultural comprehension of love. By now you’ve heard of the book or the movie, 50 Shades of Grey. There is no denying that the books and movie are having a huge impact on our culture. Book sales passed $100 million in November. One of the fastest selling series of all times, it passed The Da Vinci Code and is swiftly catching up to books series like Harry Potter and Twilight. The movie opened yesterday to sold-out audiences. But it’s not really a Valentine’s Day movie. It’s not simply a love story. It’s not sweet or romantic. The story centers on a complex and creepy sexual relationship. Its messages are disturbing and even degrading, especially to women. Read more…

Two thousand years ago, Jesus entered our world and changed everything.

Jesus is the most famous person in all of history. More songs have been sung to him, artwork created of him, and books written about him than anyone who has ever lived. In fact, Jesus looms so large over human history that we actually measure time by him! H.G. Wells, who is famous for his fiction novels like The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds, once said, “I am an historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure [of all time].”

But more important than Jesus’s impact on history is his impact on humanity. Everywhere Jesus goes, he leaves changed lives in his tracks. Over the past five weeks, we’ve examined the stories of five people whose lives dramatically changed after an encounter with Jesus. A theologian who grew weary of his religion, a five-time divorcee looking for love in all the wrong places, a blind man who longed to see, a little tax collector who was more than a little curious about Christ, and a woman caught in the act of adultery—their lives were touched and forever changed by an encounter with Jesus. Read more…