Truth Be Told: A Blog by Pastor Bill Alderson

We have been celebrating the life of Martin Luther King on a national level since Congress passed a bill recognizing his birthday, January 15 th , as a national holiday in 1983. It is appropriate that America recognize and remember the man and his accomplishments, especially as they relate to civil rights. From this celebration, Americans have come to know some of his most famous speeches, many of which are referenced on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington DC. Since MLK was also a Baptist minister, many of his sermons have also been memorialized. One of these messages was preached in Atlanta at Ebenezer Baptist Church on February 4, 1968, two months to the day before his death.   King’s sermon was an adaptation of the 1952 homily “Drum-Major Instincts” by J. Wallace Hamilton, a well-known, liberal, white Methodist preacher. Both men tell the biblical story of James and John, who ask Jesus for the most prominent seats in heaven in Mark 10:35-45:   James and J...

He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, Guarding the paths of justice, and He preserves the way of His godly ones .         Proverbs 2:7-8   When I moved to Northeast Ohio to plant a church in 1998, we ended up locating it at a senior center in Mentor, Ohio. It turns out that building was right around the corner from the presidential library of James Garfield, who lived in Mentor when he was elected the twentieth President of the United States. A few years later, they tore down the senior center building and we had to move and located our church at a meeting hall that had been Garfield’s church while living in Mentor. He was an impressive man and the video that is played at his welcome center suggests that he was the most prepared man we’ve ever had to be president.   Garfield was born November 19, 1831, in a log cabin near the town of Orange in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. He was the fourth and...

  You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy ; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever .                    Psalm 16:11 An important book that addresses a Christian’s daily relationship with God was written more than 300 years ago by a man we have come to known as Brother Lawrence. The book was written posthumously and captured the essence of his pursuit of a joyous walk with God. That book was “The Practice of the Presence of the Lord – The Best Rule of Holy Life” and that relationship centered on the recognition of God’s personal love for him. He began life as Nicholas Herman, born to peasant parents in Lorraine, France (1611-1691). As a young man, his poverty forced him into joining the army, and thus he was guaranteed meals and a small stipend. During this period, Herman had an experience that set him on a unique spiritual journey; it wasn't...

  Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness [asthenos – without strength, powerless] of God is stronger than men       1 Corinthians 1:20-25 In the above passage, Paul tries to get the Corinthians to understand that the avenue to comprehending the highest priorities of God does not take one through the wisdom of the world. In fact, he says that salvation has been removed from the plane of ...

  Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness [ moeros – silly, stupid, foolish] of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men .     1 Corinthians 1:20-25   In the above passage, Paul tries to get the Corinthians to understand that the avenue to comprehending the highest priorities of God does not take one through the wisdom of the world. In fact, he says that salvation has been removed from the plane o...