We were eating in a Chinese restaurant some time ago, and I noticed something funny about my fortune cookie. On the back of the fortune (which, I think, said I was going to have a good year) it had a series of numbers. It was only the second or third time I saw those numbers there that I realized what they were. There were six, two-digit numbers—lo…

And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? And he said, Who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom you persecute: it is hard for you to kick against the goads. And he trembling …

Is God a time traveler? How does God know the future? I know the question sounds a little silly. After all, God is God and he knows everything, right? But hold on a second; let’s develop that question a little bit. It may not be as silly as it sounds. In fact, this question is one of the most important questions you can ask about the future. Is God…

Unless you have just recently arrived from outer space, you have probably heard of Nostradamus. The odds are you don’t know very much about him; you may have heard that he made a lot of predictions or prophecies and that some of them have come true. And the presumption is that those that haven’t come true—well, those must be somewhere out in the fu…

Years ago, in watching the three memorial services for Ronald Reagan, and all the formality that went with them, I found myself strangely touched. There were several moments when I had a lump in my throat. I thought it was altogether fitting and right to have such a memorial for one of the great presidents of the greatest and most powerful nations …

We have two sources of information about God. First, we have his revelation of himself in the Bible. Second, we have God’s revelation of himself in the creation. From those two witnesses we have a glimpse into the entirety of God’s plan—from now all the way back to the beginning. Let’s think the unthinkable for a moment. The first words of the Gosp…

In any age, and under all conditions, men and women of God have serious responsibilities. In sickness or in health, in poverty or in wealth, we have a job to do. Perhaps you don’t think of yourself that way—as a man of God. But if you take his name upon you—if you are a Christian or a Jew—you are his man, his woman, and you are where you are for hi…

Sometimes, when I am studying the Bible, I find myself faced with a mystery. What on earth was God saying or doing on this occasion and what does it mean? Someone once complained about this wondering why God hid things from us. Why, he wanted to know, doesn’t God come right out and tell us plainly so we don’t have to guess? I have two things to say…

Like every American I have read and heard the Gettysburg Address more times than I can recall. I had the singular misfortune not to be required to memorize it when I was in school, because U.S. News was right when they featured a brand new book about the Gettysburg Address and called it the greatest speech in American history. And, in one of the tr…

Oleh webmaster@borntowin.net (Sermon by Ronald L. Dart)

Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him […] and were filled with indignation, And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison. But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life. Acts 17…

When the framers of our American constitution first gathered, they faced a fundamental question. The question was not merely, Can we create a free republic? The question was, Can we create a free republic that will remain free? Those men knew their history, and they knew that history was against them. The first step in gaining freedom was past—it w…

I remember first seeing the movie The Ten Commandments in the theater over 50 years ago. One of the things I remember from the film was the stentorian voice pronouncing: proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof. I recall thinking how awkward the King James English was in the picture at that point. I knew it was a ci…

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights[.] Declaration of Independence The founding fathers stated in the first official document of our nation that our rights and our freedoms are granted, not by men, but by God. And we laid the foundation of th…

What’s really going on in the world? And what is this War on Terror really about. When you get to the basics, what people call terrorism is actually a war against the spread of freedom. The war is being waged by the enemies of freedom. Their motive? They are mortally afraid. What are they afraid of? Well, freedom of course. They think we are the pr…

If power corrupts (and we know it does) and absolute power corrupts absolutely, how is it that God has not been corrupted? This is one of the old and popular challenges that unbelievers like to toss out to Christians. Actually, it is a perfectly legitimate question, and the answer to it opens the door to understanding and resolving a wide range of …

And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will show w…

As I watch the way our government is changing, I can’t help thinking back to a time when man enjoyed maximum freedom under God. The story is in the Bible, of all places, and it describes, of all things, a theocracy. Many nowadays worry that Christians want to establish a theocracy in this country, but they needn’t worry. You can’t establish a theoc…

Is there such a thing as the unpardonable sin? It’s a disturbing idea—that there might be something I could do that could never be forgiven. And, since I have had the question in last day or so, I thought I might tell you what I know about it. It is, I think, rather more complicated than a set of a few proof texts commonly quoted and explained. Let…

The conscience is the inner sense of what is right and what is wrong in our conduct and our motives. It’s supposed to be that guiding light that says, You should feel good about this act. You should feel awful about that one. It’s that sense which impels us towards the right kind of actions. It’s that complex of moral and ethical principles that co…

In doing research for a book I was writing, I came across something that was new to me, and likely new to you as well—unless perhaps you are an observant Jew. I was browsing the book titled Judaism when Christianity Began by Jacob Neusner, and the chapter that dealt with the coming of the Messiah naturally caught my eye. In it, I found that the Jew…

What do you do when you cut loose from God? How do you live, what guides your decisions? How can you tell right from wrong? And when you think about it, who consciously cuts loose from God. Does anyone say, I don’t care about God, I’m going to dump him? Maybe, but those are generally out on the fringe somewhere. Let me show you a more pertinent exa…

And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Who also said, You men of Galilee, why stand you gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, who is taken up from you into he…

An article recently showed up in my email about the state of Christianity in China. I almost didn’t read it. I have heard about Chinese Christians before, but nothing to make me think they could do any more than struggle along against the various obstacles in that country. But I began to read it. And when I got started, I couldn’t stop. Something i…

Oleh webmaster@borntowin.net (Sermon by Ronald L. Dart)

Oleh webmaster@borntowin.net (Sermon by Ronald L. Dart)

The holy days in Israel were prophetic, illustrating God's plan through annual cycles that reflected his work and intentions. Although the people of Old Testament times might not have fully grasped their significance, these holy days carry profound meaning for Christians today. One of these, the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost and was a time to thank G…

The holy days in Israel were prophetic, illustrating God's plan through annual cycles that reflected his work and intentions. Although the people of Old Testament times might not have fully grasped their significance, these holy days carry profound meaning for Christians today. One of these, the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost and was a time to thank G…

This weekend marks one of the most important occasions in the history of the Christian Church. It is the day of Pentecost, and you may not know that it is actually a lot older than the church. Considering what happened on that day, I am surprised that there are so many Christians who know so little about it and what it signifies. Consider one state…

Oleh webmaster@borntowin.net (Sermon by Ronald L. Dart)

Oleh webmaster@borntowin.net (Sermon by Ronald L. Dart)

One week from tomorrow is Pentecost, otherwise known as the Feast of Firstfruits. Traditionally, we have said that Pentecost pictures the receiving of the Holy Spirit. It's not hard to figure out why, because on that first Pentecost of the church (a day often called the birthday of the New Testament church) the Holy Spirit was poured out in incredi…

One week from tomorrow is Pentecost, otherwise known as the Feast of Firstfruits. Traditionally, we have said that Pentecost pictures the receiving of the Holy Spirit. It's not hard to figure out why, because on that first Pentecost of the church (a day often called the birthday of the New Testament church) the Holy Spirit was poured out in incredi…

I had a call recently from a lady who was very complimentary of one of my programs. It seemed what she appreciated most was my honesty with the scriptures. Now, I was flattered by that, but I couldn’t help wondering if honesty with the scriptures was all that unusual. I don’t want to sit in judgment of anyone, but if there is any cause to be less t…

When the last words of the Ten Commandments had rolled down Mount Sinai, and the last echoes had faded away amid the hills and valleys, the people standing at the foot of the mountain were a total wreck. They were shattered. The earth had moved beneath their feet, the mountain had smoked, the air had been split by lightning and peals of thunder, an…

Of all the Ten Commandments, there’s one that can be called the “Peace of Mind Commandment”, or if you prefer, the “Mental Health Commandment”. It is the Tenth Commandment, “Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's house. Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is your…

The very foundation of our legal system is truth. If people can come into court, swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth and then lie through their teeth, justice flies right out the window. No one can get judgment. No one can get justice. It's over! The Old Testament system was a little different from ours, but it was ba…

The last six of the Ten Commandments are said to be summarized by the statement You shall love your neighbor as yourself. And that’s well enough, but I want to take another look at them from the community standpoint. Now we come to commandment number eight. And as I was preparing for this program, for some reason, it really struck me how important …

The days between Passover and Pentecost were heady days for the first disciples. Jesus had been raised from the dead after they thought he was gone forever. They were joyful beyond belief. Down through the generations all sorts of people have tried to duplicate that excitement of the Pentecost. The problem is it's all been artificial, contrived, ma…

The days between Passover and Pentecost were heady days for the first disciples. Jesus had been raised from the dead after they thought he was gone forever. They were joyful beyond belief. Down through the generations all sorts of people have tried to duplicate that excitement of the Pentecost. The problem is it's all been artificial, contrived, ma…

When Israel settled into the promised land, they enjoyed a time of freedom like few people have ever enjoyed in the history of the world. But I don’t think very many people understand or appreciate the foundation of that freedom and what it took to maintain it. It wasn’t just a matter of God handing them everything on a silver platter. They had to …

Did God create sexually-transmitted diseases as a trap for man? Is it a kind of punishment to man for having too much fun? Is that the whole idea—that God created man, and then in a mischievous moment, He said, Let’s put some venereal diseases in the population so that if men sin, we can get them? I don’t think so. That doesn’t sound like the God y…

The defendant is 20 years old, but he looks more like 16. He is wearing blue jeans and a sweater and his hair is neatly cut. He looks for all the world like he should have books under his arm and be headed to class, but the district attorney says, He’s a cold-blooded killer. It seems he held up a convenience store late one night. The clerk offered …

You may have heard of the Ten Commandments. The first four commandments have to do with man’s relationship with God. The last six commandments have to do with man’s relationship with man, and the first commandment in that series (and it should be the first commandment in that series) is this: Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be…

They say that truth is the first casualty in any war, and I have no doubt it is true. First is the deliberate lie, the counterfeit. Adolf Hitler and his gang started lying long before they used murder and lies to get to power. Then there is the confused lie. War and battle generate a lot of confusion and the confusion generates its own set of lies.…

If you could have lived during the time of Christ, would you have wanted to be close to him? Would you have wanted to be with him? I think it's fair to say that, by the time of the 40 days between Christ's resurrection and ascension, his disciples were close to Jesus. After all they had been through, and the experiences they had shared, they had co…

If you could have lived during the time of Christ, would you have wanted to be close to him? Would you have wanted to be with him? I think it's fair to say that, by the time of the 40 days between Christ's resurrection and ascension, his disciples were close to Jesus. After all they had been through, and the experiences they had shared, they had co…

The Sermon on the Mount is easily the best known of all Jesus’ discourses, probably because every beginning preacher is encouraged by his mentor to speak about that sermon. So even if you don’t read the Bible very much, you still would have heard, Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. The sermon is a memorable work, with the poetic…

If you were to take a survey among Christian people you would find that most of them believe in the Ten Commandments. After all, the Ten Commandments are the basis of all morality and the basis for the worship of God. Why is it, then, that the vast majority of Christian people outright ignore one of those commandments? No I don’t mean Thou shalt no…

When you were a kid, did anyone ever make fun of your name? Chances are pretty good they did. Sometimes it was funny. Sometimes it hurt. Of course, it hurts to be made fun of if your nose is too big, your ears look like someone left the doors open on a Chevy pickup. But there is something about your name that makes it a special target. Your name is…