Dr Eckman discusses Peter’s sermon at Pentacost: how proves that what happened is a fulfillment of Joel, and he demonstrates by using the Old Testament that Jesus in the Messiah.

The retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy from the Supreme Court has caused consternation among pro-choice elements in our culture and near euphoria among pro-life elements. Some pro-life folks actually believe that the nomination of Brent Kavanagh to the Court will bring an end to Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Court decision establishing abortion as a Constitutionally protected right. Furthermore, the “zero-tolerance” policy of the Trump administration when it comes to children of illegal immigrants has raised serious questions about what it means to be pro-family.

The Holy Spirit comes over those gathered at Pentacost; Peter addresses the crowd, proclaiming another fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.

Suicide is a tragic, heart-wrenching reality in our world today. It is rarely discussed in church and few pastors know how to address it from the pulpit. Colleges and high schools are facing a growing number of students showing signs of “distress” that often lead to suicide.

The confusion among men within American society is at a point of crisis. The rise of feminism and the abusive behavior of Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby and countless other men have fostered the #MeToo Movement. The LGBTQIA movement has raised questions about what it means to be a male. This identity crisis extends to how men view God and Christianity: American men are twice as likely to call themselves atheists. Columnist Ross Douthat observes that “men who are looking for post-Christian enlightenment seem to gravitate toward secular-religious cults like the New Atheism, or more recently toward toxic forms of alt-right politics. In this sense the post-Christian religious landscape is potentially taking Christianity’s gender gap and widening it, playing its own metaphysical role in the growing divergence and polarization of the sexes.”

Matthias replaces Judas amongst the Apostles; the Holy Spirit comes at Pentacost.

For much of American history, the fault lines of conflict were religious—Catholic, Protestant and Jewish. The theological differences between these three religious groups defined how each focused on the major cultural issues of the day (e.g. Prohibition of the 1920s, public education and its curricula in the 19th century). Protestantism dominated the culture and rather routinely set the culture’s agenda. America was a Protestant nation and that fact defined almost every cultural issue of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. But in the 20th century, that consensus began to shatter.

The Gaza Strip, nestled between Israel and Egypt, is a mess. Recent events have demonstrated the intractable nature of this small strip of land. The Palestinians who live there are in poverty, with high unemployment and constant shortages of food, power and almost everything else. A snaking metal fence that divides the Gaza Strip from Israel has become the focal point of a conflict that stretches back to 1948. In May over 60 Palestinians were killed by Israeli Defense Forces and hundreds more were wounded. Hamas, which rules Gaza, has been organizing a “March of Return” to reclaim the land lost in 1948.

I was recently reviewing some old articles I had stored and found, in the 13 November 2006 issue of Time magazine, a debate between Richard Dawkins, an avowed atheist, and Francis Collins, a Christian who converted from atheism. It is an insightful debate, well worth reading. Dawkins is an Emeritus Fellow of New College at Oxford University in England. His 2006 book, The God Delusion, attacks faith philosophically and historically, using the Darwinian hypothesis for its intellectual support. Collins is Director of the National Institutes of Health. At age 27, he converted from atheism to Christianity. His book, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, was a bestseller.

Dr Eckman begins a new study of the book of Acts. Written by Luke, Acts concerns the very vital period in Christian history between the resurrection of Jesus and the death of the apostle Paul; a time when Christian ideas and beliefs were being formulated and when the organization of the church into a worldwide movement was being developed.