Posts by David Oliver
The Right to Life
So familiar and so profound are the words of the Declaration of Independence identifying the self-evident and unalienable rights of men that most think that they form the opening statement in this celebrated document. Actually, these words form the second paragraph of our nation’s founding pronouncement. They identify the right to life, liberty, and…
Read More“Concerning Christ and the church”
Last month, I officiated at an outdoor wedding. Whenever a couple tells me they are planning to be married outside, I always tell them they have to have a “plan B.” No one wants to be a part of a wedding ceremony held in a driving rainstorm. This couple did have a back-up plan, but…
Read MoreTwenty-two: Numbering Our Days
Job observed that his days were like a weaver’s shuttle, sliding along the loom so swiftly that the eye could hardly follow. I sympathize with the Old Testament saint’s assessment of how fast the days of his life seemed to pass. The older I get, the faster they go. A few months ago, I received…
Read MoreRepentance and Salvation
Several years ago, a couple attended the services of our church, but after a few months they stopped coming. They told me I said something in a sermon with which they strongly disagreed. What did I say that they found so troubling? I said that repentance was necessary for salvation. How is that problematic? Did…
Read MoreOn Funerals, Cremation, and the Gospel
I am often asked what I think about cremation as opposed to burial. A generation ago fewer than one-in-twenty were cremated at death. Many older folks still prefer traditional burial, but today the cost of cremation is two-thirds less. Primarily because of that, fully half of all Americans who die this year will be cremated…
Read MoreWith Dobbs, What Has Changed?
On June 24th the Supreme Court issued its ruling on the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case. The landmark verdict reversed the controversial 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that declared that the U.S. Constitution guaranteed the right to an abortion. The recent ruling states that the Constitution does not confer any such right. Those…
Read MoreBoasting in Shame
Among the many books in my library is a very useful commentary on the book of Genesis by Lutheran scholar, H.C. Leupold. This two-volume exposition of the first book of the Bible contains careful verse by verse explanations of the text. Particularly helpful for the preacher is a concluding section at the end of each…
Read MoreEternity
On December 31, 1999, I, along with millions of others, was watching television early in the day as the New Year arrived in far off New Zealand and Australia. Normally, the arrival of the New Year in other countries would hold little or no interest for me. However, this was the year of “Y2K.” Everyone…
Read MoreTreasure Hunting
For nearly a decade cable television’s History Channel has broadcast a reality program called The Curse of Oak Island. The show follows the efforts of Rick and Marty Lagina, originally from Michigan, who search for hidden treasure on a small island off the shore of Nova Scotia, Canada. The thought that lost treasure might be…
Read MoreRunning before Ahab’s Chariot
The Bible is a timeless book, as helpful to people today as for those who lived when it was first penned. (Rom. 15:4; I Cor 10:11) However, because the culture in Bible times was much different than in our own, some passages of Scripture can be difficult to understand. The Bible refers to anointing with…
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