At the church I pastor in Garnet Valley, we preached through books of the Bible section by section (you can hear sermon audio on our website). Currently, we’re at the end of the apostle Paul's letter to the Galatians. It's a fascinating work that was written only 15 years after the events of Christ's life, death, and resurrection. Today, I have the privilege of teaching…
Scientific America, Business Insider, and the Harvard Business Review, all confirm that flattery works. Through extensive research, it has been proved that people respond to flattery even when they know it's insincere. For example, a car salesman might tell the customer that she looks fantastic in a new sports car and that it makes her look 10 years younger. The consumer knows that the salesman…
In the second book of the Bible, called Exodus, the people of Israel are fleeing Pharaoh. God is doing the "impossible-according-man" so that "[his] name may be proclaimed in all the earth” (Exodus 9:16). Despite God's display of power and love, the people are facing two terrifying prospects. In one direction, they see the menacing horde of Pharaoh bearing down on them. In the other…
If you are skeptical about the truth claims of Christianity, I wonder if you associate Christianity with freedom. Probably not. You may associate Christianity with giving up freedom. You believe that Christians only want to tell you who you can sleep with or what you should do with your wallet. So, what does Christianity teach about freedom? In Galatians chapter 2, the Apostle Paul describes…
Have you ever noticed that history classes seem to focus almost exclusively on war? Yet we could never list every war in human history because there are simply too many. Violence and conflict have characterized humanity since the beginning. For this reason, peace has been called “humanity’s eternal, elusive dream.” We see this “eternal, elusive dream” in the Bible’s storyline as well. You can read…
My name is Will Stern. I’m the pastor of Hope Presbyterian, a new church launching regular services this Easter at the Darlington Arts Center in Garnet Valley. I could tell you about myself or our new church, but today, I would like to discuss three reasons you may not be interested in visiting a new church. 1: “I don't want to be the new person.”…