Conserving the Fundamentals, Pastor Tom Brown.."Looking at things through the moral lense of biblical Christianity."

Going to Jail

Over the last several months I've had three people who I've ministered to go to jail, and it bothers me. Not that they are bad people, nor have they committed bad crimes, they just got crossways of the system. One man was sent to jail for a second DUI. Another man was sent to jail because he's seriously behind in his child support. Then, the lady was sent to jail also for being behind in her child support. The reason their separate plights bother me is because I thought jail was reserved for people who commit serious crimes, like murder, bank robbery, and grand larceny.

 

 I won't argue that drunk driving is bad. My Mom was hit by a drunk driver and almost died. People shouldn't drink and drive, but at the same time, alcohol is the drug of choice for Americans. While we spend big money touting the evils of smoking and tobacco use, do you ever hear of anyone being sent to jail because they poisoned the air in a public place with their cigarette?

 

 It turns out that most, yes upwards of 50% of all incarcerations involve substance abuse (drugs), domestic violence, and infringements against the state, like failing to pay child support or driving without a license.

 

 In fact, it's getting down right frightening for what you can be sent to jail for doing, and

frankly, I think it's getting way out of hand.

 

Think about it. We don't have a justice system anymore; we have a legal system. This means that anybody can go to jail for anything the law specifies. Jurisprudence is not prudent anymore. Case in point: earlier I had another man in jail for child molestation. Oh wow! Everybody gets all bent when that subject comes up. Well, my friend was a school bus driver, and on his route he'd pick up little kids who obviously had no one at home to care about them. He felt so sorry for them that he'd hug one every now and then. Well, somebody turned him in for "inappropriate touching," which finally was turned into acharge of "child molestation" by the state. He went to jail, and when he got out, he was on probation for six years plus being registered as a child molester.

 

Hey. The guy was innocent! All it takes is for someone to accuse you of just about anything and our legal system says that you're guilty. I thought that we were innocent until proven guilty? Well, evidently not anymore.

 

 Then, once you've gone to jail, they treat you like a dog. In fact, it was observed recently that if we treated dogs like we treat people in jail that the public would be incensed.

 

While these three people were in jail, I tried to visit them as a pastor. Fine. The person in charge of visitation told me on the phone that I'd need to send them "my papers" to verify that I am a pastor of an active church. I did that and waited. Finally after several weeks I called to see if my name was on the list. It wasn't because they couldn't find my paperwork. Well, from that point, it took me another month before I finally talked with "the right person," and I was told that I'd have to take a special class before I could visit in the jail as a pastor, even through the glass! Now, I'm waiting to take that class and wondering what else they'll come up with.

 

In the meantime, both men have been transferred to other institutions. I didn't get to visit them. The lady is still there, and I did get to visit her through the glass as a family member on the specified day within the very narrow time limits.

 

 Here's my advice: Whatever you do, make every effort to keep from going to jail. And by the way, remember that our legal system and law enforcement can arrest you and put in jail for just about anything. So, beware. And by the way, read The Glasshouse by Truman Cappote for a clear take on our bankrupt penal system.   

Pastor Tom Brown 11/17/10

What Am I Thinking?

     I've been reading some other blogs, and it seems that the most of them have some person expounding on their "thinking" and their "ideas" and their life, such as it is. I guess that's what we're supposed to do in "blog writing." On the other hand, I was raised in the old school where you don't talk about yourself. To do so was considered narcissistic and even arrogant. There was the added dimension too that women talk a lot about themselves and their lives, but men don't. Hey...I'm just reporting here.

    So, I have some thoughts, but I'm not sure about writing them into this blog.

    In the past, I've written essays. It's much easier to take a subject and bring an educated discussion to it. That's the way I write my books. Even the novels that I write, even though they have characters and conflict and the characters work out the conflict, the underlying subject is academic, like: "What's going to happen in 2012?" (From First There Was Fire: A Novel of Origins and 2012).

    Well, the other day I happened to be invited to the book signing of a long-time lady friend whose book is all about her in a different culture and environment. She's sold a lot of books. Evidently, people want to read about somebody else's experience and life journey. 

     Somehow (and that's a word you're not supposed to use in a research paper) hearing about another's pain, grief, victories and resolutions must be interesting to others. Can't say it's interesting to me, but maybe that's my problem in this whole blog thing.

     Maybe I need to start writing for the crowd like any of "The Tabloids." You know, "inquiring minds want to know."

     What am I thinking? Well, I really don't want to write about it. Ha.

     Oh all right...here's one thing that I'm thinking: "Why is it, that everyday there's some other Washingtonite saying or doing something that makes me angry?"

      I suppose you could draw together what I'm going to say under the heading of "political debate," but then again, I'm not trying to be journalistic. I’m not trying to be Fox News here. I'm just saying, "Hey, it makes me angry to hear these politicians pontificating on the issues when I know that they're lying through their teeth." 

      I've lost count of times that I've written our senators about issues. At first, they answered with the usual..."Thanks for contacting us, Mr. Brown. Yes, we're working on that problem." But recently, I get no response. Does that tell you something? It does me.

     I feel helpless to change the course of events. I feel like not even our "representative system" is working anymore. I feel like the time has come to "lock and load." Oh my, that sounds like civil war. We can't possibly think that. I'm sorry I said it because now you'll cross me off as a fringe radical. Well, you see what I mean? It doesn't really pay to tell you what I'm thinking.

Pastor Tom Brown…9 10 10

What's Going to Happen?

O boy...if I knew that things would be a lot more comfortable. If there's going to be an up-turn and our economy recovers, or if things get worse, and we fall into a depression, I could better plan. I wouldn't have to live the anxiety of not knowing and scrambling to protect myself.

    But you know...I've had my lifetime to prepare. It's not as if a full pantry and water storage will save me or mine now. No. The real preparation is inside of us. It's in our minds and in our hearts. Jesus told us that. He taught, "Do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing" (Matt. 5.25)?  In other words...get your mind and heart straight...be alive inside, and the outside will take care of itself.

   The classic example of this human failing is seen in looting.

   Things go bad, the grocery stores are cleaned out, and people panic. Is the looter hungry when he rips off a local business? Is he beaten down and incapable of persevering? No. Of course not. He's just ill prepared inside to face hardship. Too many people are ill prepared to face hardship as was amply demonstrated in the wake of hurricane Katrina.

    Paul, writing to the Philippian church, an impoverish congregation, said, "Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am" (Phil. 4.11). How does he do this? He has "the secret," It's faith in Jesus Christ (4.13). Likewise, in the context of this faith, he knows that "my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory...in Christ Jesus" (4.19).

      Is this too ideal for you? Ideals make life rich. Ideals inspire good things. Ideals call us    to be creative and hopeful. If it wasn't for some idealism our ancestors wouldn't have survived The Great Depression. We're not talking about being "ideologues" here. We're not talking about some radical, personal, zealot driven idealism that leads to irrational behavior. No. We're talking about an informed faith that no matter what happens to us, we yet continue to persevere in "all circumstances" because we know the One who gives life and keeps us in the day.       

     Now, if I hold to this inner sense of purpose, will it keep me from being hungry, or thirsty, or will it protect my 401K from devaluation? No. But what it will do is keep me from being a lemming and running over the cliff.

     My faith in God in the Person of Christ will keep me through all manner of harsh circumstances.

     Like Paul writes, "I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned "the secret" of being filled and going hungry, both of have abundance and suffering need" (4.12).

Pastor Tom Brown...Conserving the Fundamentals...8 11 10

Finding God

People are leaving the local church. The main reason given is that the church has become the sanctuary of organized religion and cares more about $$ and business than people. Well, I don't deny that there's a problem there. Yet, this negative has been in the church from the get-go. Why is it suddenly "the major cause" of absence?

 

   What attracts my attention is not the complaint, but rather, where these people are going after they leave the local church.

 

   The level of spiritual need among people has not diminished one iota. These "deserters" are looking for satisfaction now in eastern religions, new age philosophies, gurus like Deepak Chopra, a return to house churches and to paganism as in "mother" worship (the movie Avatar...the old Egyptian god of Isis).

 

   Recent articles, like "Finding God After Leaving Religion" by Steve McSwain a former Baptist minister who's swore off the church and religion, are taking over the spiritual landscape. McSwain says, "People go to church to find God. Instead of finding God, however, followers are often saddened with a catalogue of "do's" and "don'ts" as onerous as the US tax code. They are told what to think, how to believe, as well as how they're supposed to live" (www.hufffingtonpost.com).  

 

    Well, that's not the case in our church. We're non-denominational, and we don't have an ax to grind. But, even if we were denominational, I reject the idea that McSwain's personal experience should become the baseline for what's happening in the church. We're really talking about two different things here which, unfortunately, have co-mingled in some minds to represent a supposed truth.

 

    When we talk about "the church" we're really talking about Jesus. Jesus founded the church (Matt. 16.18). Jesus called the church to unity (John 17). The church is His body (Rom. 12. 3-8; 1 Cor.12.14ff), and the church was brought into existence through the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2.1-4). To reject the church is to reject Jesus. But, one will notice that the deserters don't talk about Jesus; they talk about the "bad" church and "finding God." What God are they looking for? The God of the Bible? I don't think so because they're looking for God aside from God in Christ, who is the biblical God (John 1.18).

 

   The deserters have missed Jesus, and they've missed Him because, either they were never of Him, or they have not been obedient to Him (1 John 2 and 3; John 14.15; 15.14).

 

   Being in the church is like being married. Paul uses that illustration (Ephes. 5.22ff). Why do people get divorced? Irreconcilable differences? Personal needs not being met? Power struggles? Infidelity? Hey...that sounds like the complaints the deserters have about the church. It's my way or the highway. Jesus called us to something higher; He called us to self-sacrifice and service (Matt. 16.24).

 

   People are leaving the church for the same reasons that they're leaving their marriages: self-aggrandizement.

 

   They won't find a new (satisfying mate) until they surrender themselves; in a like manner, they won't find the true God until they surrender to the One already known; Jesus. 

Pastor Tom Brown… 7 28 10.

Living in the Endtimes

   It's the title of a prophecy book that I've written. I wanted to set aside the usual dispensational point of view for a more practical evaluation of what's happening. I drew on many sources to write this piece, not just Bible prophecy. Not that this is a virtue, because I certainly believe in Bible prophecy, but because too much of the Evangelical world's prophetic view has been systematized away from the facts.

    What do I mean? Well, for instance, there's an unjustified feeling among Evangelicals that we're going to be miraculously taken out of the world before unholy tribulation. I call it an "escape hatch" mentality, and the facts don't support it. Christians have suffered great persecution down through history. Bullet dodging is not on God's agenda for those of us who believe. On the contrary, suffering has played a greater role in the purification of the church and the strengthening of the faith then any teaching on escape.

    Therefore, I feel that we are doing God's people a disservice by teaching them that they'll be taken out of here before suffering and persecution fall upon us. We must remember that Jesus taught about "occupying" until He comes again. He taught about "being ready" and "watching." He did not teach an endtime of escape, but rather, an endtime of endurance.

    It's fundamental to the Christian faith that Jesus taught: "But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved" (Matt. 24.13...and 10.22). Jesus also said, "...In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world" (John 16.33).

    Well, needless to say, the idea that believers might have to suffer is very distasteful to American Evangelicals. In fact, the thought drains the value right out of the church for some. Of course, this was no different than in Jesus day. When Jesus gave His large following the facts of personal sacrifice and suffering, "...many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore" (John 6.66). 

    I suppose we could call this "human nature," and write it off as just another example of man's fickle commitment to anything. Yet, I'm concerned that the truth of biblical prophecy is often lost because of idealized rationalizations which leave believers at risk of losing faith.

    Think about all those well-intended souls who followed some "prophetic leader" to a mountain top to await the Lord's return, or worse, have followed the same guy to an untimely death. Why not get it right the first time? Why not look steadily at the Bible, read it, pray over it and understand it free of the manufactured systems of men?

    Living in the endtimes requires spiritual grit, not special knowledge of uncertain foundations. We must understand that as long as there is life and breath, we must occupy. We must be ready in season and out of season to practice an enduring and authentic Christianity devoid of any false hopes for escape.

Pastor Tom Brown ‘Conserving the Fundamentals’ 5 19 10

Civil Rights

Everyone has civil rights. Right? Wrong. Citizens have civil rights, everyone else has human rights. That is, everyone has the right to life, breath, safety, food, water, shelter, work, etc., but just because you're human doesn't mean that you have the rights of an American citizen.

   

 Dr. Martin Luther King, a Christian minister, labored to gain the Constitutional rights of minority American "citizens." I don't recall him speaking about the rights of illegal aliens. It was a brave effort to gain equal rights for all "citizens" regardless of race, creed or culture. It was right. It honored the principles set down in our Constitution, but something happened along the way. "Civil rights" has evolved over the years away from the founding principles into a "socialist's carte blanche dream-world"

   

 Now, if you can get into this country illegally, then you have all the rights of a citizen. Does that make any sense?

 

Look. Let's be frank. Doing business in the world community means that if you cross the North Korean border illegally you get 12 years of hard labor. If you cross the Iranian border illegally (and you aren't shot), you get detained indefinitely in prison. If you cross the "red" Chinese border illegally, you're never heard from again. And, if you cross the Saudi Arabian border illegally, you get automatic jail time. But, if you cross the American border illegally, you're slapped on the wrist and sent home, and if you persist, you'll eventually get all the entitlements of a citizen.

   

Do you realize that right now, along our southern border, there are numerous fellows selling to illegal’s (at high prices) counterfeit driver's licenses, social security numbers, and anything else  they need to deceive employers and the state into believing that they're legal? These false documents also deceive law enforcement, and that's the reason that officers must be able to ask for other documentation.   

   

In our efforts to be kind, and to show respect for our neighbors, the rest of the world thinks we're stupid. It would be good for every American to know this and to hear what they think about us, and in particular, the communities south of our border all the way down to Cape Horn.

   

It's fundamental that civil rights belong to those people who are "civil." The word is derived from the Latin civilis meaning "citizen." And a citizen of a country is one who was born there (or naturalized there), who has a home there, who abides by the laws of the land, who pronounces allegiances to that country, and who pays taxes there, not the least of which is some kind of "income tax."

   

Illegal aliens are not "citizens," and they are not entitled to any of the Constitutional rights of Americans. Although, they are entitled to basic human rights which include life and breath.

   

 We're told there are 20M illegal’s in America right now. You can be sure that most of them are using up the resources set aside for our citizens. The high cost of medical care, and of social/welfare handouts, and schools, and so on, that is bankrupting many states is a reflection of this unwarranted and wrong use. And these people don't pay income, social security, and/or property taxes.

   

What should be done? That's the issue. Well, if the state and Federal authorities will not enforce the law and act responsibly on behalf of our "citizens," then the citizens will take the law into our own hands...and we don't want that...really. Because a "civil war" looms before us.

 

Pastor Tom Brown…’Conserving the Fundamentals’   5/5/10

Spiritual Profiling

We've all heard about "racial profiling," and especially now, with Arizona passing one of the toughest immigration laws in the nation. Some are worried that because the law is focused on our border with Mexico that those of a Latino descent will be targeted before Anglos. The question remains, however, since 98% of illegals are Latinos shouldn't law enforcement suspect that segment of the population before others?

    Well, the debate is on, and it's probably going to get much worse before it gets better.

    The funny thing about all this is that, although "racial profiling" has the limelight, right now, what about "spiritual profiling?" You don't hear much about those of a particular religious persuasion being singled out...unless, of course, you combine race and religion, then the Muslims win. The image of a dark skinned man, with a turban, and wearing a long, white garment is instantly suspect in the minds of most Anglo Americans. Then too, there are the Amish, who unlike the Muslims, are profiled as being eccentric and cultic rather than dangerous.

    Well, it's fundamental to the Christian religion that we've been profiled down through history. It's not because of our race, nor our culture, but sorely because we are followers of the Nazarene.

    We were first called "Christians" at Antioch of Syria (A.D. 40). The city had a large population of Christians, who were in constant contact with a large population of pagans. The pagans called us "Christ-tizers" (Acts11.26). It was a slur against us as "being those (goofy) followers of Christ."

     We were "profiled" because we, like Barnabas, were "good men, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith"(Acts11.24). Now, given a reasonable view to the human situation, it would seem that anyone who is good, spiritual, and faithful should receive the respect and honor of those around him. Not so. Such a person is an irritation. He's "profiled" as a goody-two-shoes who "thinks he's better than everybody else." Well, in fact he is better, that's the reason that they hate him.

    We're not going to see any debate about spiritual profiling, not at least, as it relates only to a man's religion. But, we are going to see, and indeed, we are seeing a mean and growing prejudice against Christians in the world. This should not surprise the believer. After all, the pagan masses treated Jesus the same way. It wasn't the Roman Legion in Jerusalem that was crying out "crucify Him." No. It was the people themselves who said, "Let Him be crucified" (Matt.27.22).

    While Al Sharpton and his liberal cronies are crying "foul" over Arizona's new immigration law, there  will be no out-cry over the way Christians are treated here and abroad. Sharpton, as a Christian minister, should be more concerned about that fact. It is part of the devil's plan to deceive people into thinking that evil is good and good evil. The prophet reminds us of this very fact (Isa. 5.18-23).

     It never ceases to amaze me how people run to evil, even Christian people. Why does our culture lift up and glorify the MTV crowd with "bad girls," "bad boys," and "bad behavior," and then profile people of good character and behavior as being...well, "goofy" and "abnormal?"

 "Yep...watch out for them do-gooder Christians."

 

Pastor Tom Brown ‘Conserving the Fundamentals’ 4/30/10

Just How Important is Behavior?

When I was a boy, growing up, my dad thought that behavior was everything. Bad behavior got the belt, and good behavior got...well, nothing...other than not getting the belt! Ha. Nowadays it seems like everybody wants a pat on the back for doing what they should be doing anyway. My dad would have thought that strange. Perhaps this is the reason we're turning into a welfare state: people have the wrong idea about behavior.

   

Just because we do what's right (designated as right by our culture), doesn't mean that you should be rewarded. Nowhere is it written that we have the right to be affirmed for doing good. Neither does it say anywhere that we have the natural right to rewards, incentives, perks, and so on. The only place that I can recall any stated rights are in The Declaration of Independence where Jefferson wrote: "the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." That's pretty broad. We don't have the right to an education, to a good job, to health benefits, to a retirement. The only real right we have is to...well, do what's right...without any rewards.

    I guess this has gotten out of wack with the whole civil rights/welfare (entitlements) movement. Yeah, I know, I'm headed into controversial territory. The problem is that the moment you teach that everyone has civil rights (and/or entitlements), that's when "they" assume that behavior doesn't matter anymore. Really? Yep, good, bad, or indifferent, the guy's going to get his benefits.

    It's fundamental to reality on planet earth that bad behavior gets the belt and good behavior is its own reward. In other words: there is no "entitlement" for doing good...and there certainly is no justification for rewarding bad behavior...or, "no behavior."

    The Bible teaches: "...I have set before you life and death, the blessing and curse. So choose life in order that you may live..." (Deut.30.19). that’s a mandate for good behavior. This is where a serious error has occurred in American Evangelicalism. Because of Scriptures like Ephesians 2.8 and 9, where the evangelist writes: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of  yourselves, it is a gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast," we've gotten the idea that works don't matter. We're "entitled" to life...to salvation...to rewards because it's a gift. Ahhhhhhhh...wait a minute. On the other hand, James, the Lord Jesus' half brother, writes: "Even so, faith, if it has not works is dead, being by itself" (James 2.17).

   The point is: God's grace is bigger than any human work. God rewards who He will (Consider the story of the Prodigal Son, Luke 15.11ff), but the whole of Scripture favors good behavior, not bad behavior. This is the outworking of grace. When God (or any governing authority) shows us kindness and respect we should want to do what's right. Right?

    Well, unfortunately, the majority of people seem to feel that they're entitled regardless of their behavior. Just consider the mess, wrack and ruin left in the wake of hurricane Katrina when the New Orleans beneficiaries behaved badly.

    Yes, behavior matters. Pastor Tom Brown, Conserving the Fundamentals

Mystery 2012

    I wrote a novel about 2012...First There Was Fire: A Novel of Origins and 2012. You can get a copy off our website @ www.nhcfshowlow.org. I should have shortened the title to 2012 and Origins, since 2012 is the biggy right now, but I didn't. People think the book's about flaming fire.

It's not. It's about the eternal fire of the universe struck at creation which burns through time and space and the affairs of men. 

    The Maya understood this fire. They saw it in the destruction and recreation cycles of time which they captured in their Long Count Calendar. It was one of several calendars which mostly plotted agricultural matters of planting and harvest. The Long Count, however, had a more mysterious purpose. As the Maya looked at the world around them and up into the night sky, they discerned that there were great cycles influencing the affairs of men. Their end date of December 21, 2012, the winter solace, finishes a cycle of 5,126 years. This is one fifth of the earth's precession cycle of 25,630 years, and interestingly enough, may represent part of the cycle our solar system takes as it oscillates up and down through the galactic equator. 

    We know that in 2012 our solar system will indeed cross this equator. Well, actually, we've been crossing it for 20 years, but that year we'll be dead center.

    This is where theories abound. The Discovery and History channels are making hay off the speculations. The note from The Bible Code says "2012 -- Destruction" (or maybe its annihilation...

I can't remember). John Major Jenkins, a self-taught Mayan researcher, takes the other extreme.

He believes that 2012 is a portal into a new, creative age of mankind. You can read about it in his book Maya Cosmogenesis 2012. Then there's everything in between. Some see more destruction, others, like myself, see less or none.

    It's fundamental to human theory that mystery will prevail. Paul, in his efforts to explain the resurrection writes, "I tell you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed"

(1 Cor. 15.51). It's pretty much the same with 2012. Until we get there, it will remain a mystery.

    Even when we have the evidence, like The Shroud of Turin, there is mystery about the resurrection because men cannot agree on what the various pieces of evidence might mean.

    What gets me about all this 2012 hoopla is that it’s akin to hunting for the Bigfoot monster, or, even like UFOlogy. Yeah, there are plenty of witnesses, but there's not a whole lot of evidence, or if there is evidence, it's pretty grainy.

    Am I saying that nothing's going to happen on that well-hyped end date of the Maya Long Count Calendar? Well, yes and no. In my novel I write what seems to be a pretty good guess, at least it satisfied me. Now, you, well you may need to form your own opinion. Nevertheless, nothing is as fitting as living through the date and experiencing what really happens.

     Just remember..."first there was fire"...and in the end "the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up" (2 Pt. 3.10).

    Is 2012 the end, or, is it a new beginning, even a resurrection?

 

Pastor Tom Brown…Conserving the Fundamentals…4 14 10

The Resurrection

    This is holy week. You'll be hearing less about it than ever before. Now, in this dispensation of doom and gloom, people are focused on the media agenda. So, the news networks dictate what we view as important, and for them Easter is out while Obama care and its accompanying political fallout plus jobs and the economy are up front and stage center. Why? Who decides what I think is important news? Is the resurrection more important to me than the latest child murder by some deranged pedophile? Of course it is, but the hope engendered by the resurrection and its triumphal win over the last enemy, death, is too abstract for most moderns. In fact, this is the reason that religion in general is in decline in the west and atheism in particular is on the rise.     

 

    It's worth noting, however, that religion has a restraining and therapeutic effect on society. Social observers like Robert Bellah and the late Joseph Campbell point out that man without religion is man adrift. The "cultural revolution" of Mao Tse-Tung and red China is a classic example of that drift. What's the little red book of Mao saying now? In fact, China today has a growing population of Christians, who find genuine meaning in the resurrection and a good life.

 

    It's fundamental to my faith, my life, and my purpose that good is greater than evil, that life reigns over death, and that being holy is not nerdy, but essential to one's health.

 

    When Mel Gibson produced the film The Passion, he contrasted all of the nastiness of men unleashed upon Christ, with all good manifested in the Person of Jesus. On the third day, the day of the Resurrection, good won over evil, and the viewer is given hope.

 

    So, the media chips away at our sensibilities with murder, rape, carnage, moral failure, war, political skullduggery, and a basket full of other evils, when all along...right in front of us...is holy week. This week doom and gloom met its match. This week good triumphed over evil. This week Jesus Christ's exemplary life of sinless, holy perfection was victorious in the empty tomb.

 

    Don't be cynical. Be historical. There's more evidence for this one event than there's evidence for the existence of Julius Caesar and a whole bunch of other guys, who steal the limelight. Finally, it's the resurrection that makes the greatest difference for good to the greatest number of people...forever.  Pastor Tom Brown…Conserving the Fundamentals…3 29 10