Author: Pastor Rich Lusk
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Same-Sex Attraction, Sexual Identity, and the Gospel
This essay was originally published in 2018. It is republished on the blog, slightly edited. Re-Thinking “Revoice”:A Biblical Analysis of Same-Sex Attraction Scripture is clear that engaging in homosexual activity is contrary to God’s created design and God’s will for humanity. But what about same-sex attraction? Is sexual desire for someone of the same sex sinful,…
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Is the Bible Color Blind?
Question: Suppose you did not know humans came in different skin colors. Could you figure out that fact just from reading your Bible? I think you’d be hard pressed to discover the fact of varying levels of melanin just from the Scriptures. Yes, Scripture acknowledges different ethnicities, tribes, languages, etc., but it is (oddly, to…
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Death Outwitted
The absurdist Albert Camus once wrote, “Death is philosophy’s only problem.” For Camus death is the ultimate problem because if every human story ends in death, it renders the rest of our lives meaningless. The wise man Solomon expressed a similar concern over death in Ecclesiastes 2:12-17 when he pondered the sobering fact that the…
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The Virtue of the Free Market
I want to challenge an idea that is so common, it goes unnoticed and unchallenged much of the time. It is the idea that capitalism (aka, a free market economy) is built on greed. Many even of those who advocate for some form of capitalism concede this point. Some have even tried to argue that…
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A Culture Worthy of the Gospel
Many Christians today wonder what we can do to make a difference in our world. Of course, there are many good and biblical answers to that question, starting with faithfulness in worship and prayer, spilling over into fellowship/community and mercy ministry towards the poor. But nearly 100 years ago, J. Gresham Machen gave counsel to…
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Why We Need Jane Austen’s Emma Right Now: The Left, the Right, and the Elites Who Rule Us All
Where is Mr. Knightley when you need him? I do not subscribe to the “real men read Austen” philosophy. The only time I have read Austen is when I had to in order to teach the book, and despite having three daughters, I have managed to avoid watching the film adaptations of her works. I can…
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1/24/21 — Worship Exhortation: Pro-life, Pro-family, Pro-forgiveness
We are gathered here today to worship our Creator. God made each of us in his image. Psalm 139 describes him knitting us together in our mothers’ wombs. That same psalm teaches that God knew us, and had a relationship with us, even before we were born. On January 22, 1973, our nation’s Supreme Court…
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What Have the Last Four Years Accomplished? And What Have They Revealed?
“The old alliances are dead.” – Theoden “The world is changed…I feel it in the water…I feel it in the Earth…I smell it in the air…. Much that once was is lost. For none now live who remember it.” …
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The Star of Joy — 1/10/21 Sermon Notes
This post serves as a follow up to my sermon, “The Epiphany Star” on Matthew 2:1-12, preached on January 10, 2021. These notes summarize and supplement the sermon.
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