John Woodward

When I was 19, my friend Andy and I couldn’t resist climbing a hill. We were in California on tour with our Christian music group. The family who put us up for a day lived next to a hill that beckoned us to explore it. After climbing to the top, we we were awed by…

On Mothers day our church choir sang an old hymn with this refrain: If I could hear my mother pray again, If I could hear her tender voice as then! So glad I’d be, ‘twould mean so much to me, If I could hear my mother pray again.[1] I agree … and so did devotional…

I recently went through a seminar called Redeeming Darwin: The Intelligent Design Controversy.[1] The four sessions give a clear analysis of the problems of the Neo-Darwinian model of explaining the universe, and summarize the case for Intelligent Design (ID). The latter is a research model on the obvious design and engineering that is evident in…

The issue of authority played out one night in the following way: The captain of the ship looked into the dark night and saw faint lights in the distance. Immediately he told his signalman to send a message” “Alter your course 10 degrees south.” Promptly a return message was received: “Alter your course 10 degrees…

“Obedience” is the key word in the current Missions emphasis in our local church … and denomination. It’s not surprising since this theme is central to the Great Commission: “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of…

The story is told of a child’s sincere faith: A nurse on the pediatric ward, before listening to the little ones’ chests, would plug the stethoscope into their ears and let them listen to their own hearts. Their eyes would always light up with awe, but she never got a response equal to four-year-old David’s…

I once heard a silly story of two prison inmates who were trying to devise an escape plan. One got a brilliant idea and exclaimed to his friend, “I know, I’ll turn on this flashlight and point the beam over the wall, and you escape by climbing up the beam!” “How stupid,” his friend replied,…

This brief scriptural outline shows the benefits of staying “tuned in to the grace channel.” 1. Setting your mind is vital to focusing your attention on grace and truth. a. This is essential for daily abiding in Christ. “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh,…