By Jeff Larson, The Back Pew “All of this anxiety about the coronavirus seems over the top for me. I don’t deny the reality of the illness. It’s just our hypersensitivity to it makes me think of the hypochondriac who was quite fanatical in following every cure that he could find in books and magazines. […]
Jeff Larson
Meet John the ‘Non-Denominational’
By Jeff Larson, The Back Pew “The late evangelist Billy Sunday used to tell this story to audiences of various denominations. He said that he was in Duluth, Minnesota, when a Jewish man was run over in an iron mine. They rushed him to a Catholic hospital where an Episcopalian surgeon amputated his leg. A […]
The Woman Helps Keep Him in Line
By Jeff Larson, The Back Pew “It may sound silly to some, but a fundamental purpose for marriage is to domesticate or civilize men. You may not know, but unmarried men cause society more trouble than married men. It’s not likely that you’ll see many, if any, married men roving the neighborhood in a street […]
A Nation with Lots of ‘gods’
By Jeff Larson, The Back Pew “How many people today want to say, ‘Well, all religions are basically the same.’ There is a theological term for that idea. It is called ‘hogwash.’ That’s a direct translation from the Greek, and it only reveals the ignorance of the person who makes that statement. Gautama Buddha died […]
The Tattered States of America
By Jeff Larson, The Back Pew “Our forefathers came to certain conclusions and decided upon certain courses of action which have been a great blessing to the world…They were a people who came under the influence of a great spiritual development and acquired a great moral power. No other theory is adequate to explain or […]
If This World Hates You, It Hated Jesus First
Jeff Larson, The Back Pew “This world hates Christianity. We see many examples of that today. How Christians are suffering in various parts of the world where once they seemed to have a welcome!.. [T]hey know that Christianity is the very antithesis of the theories that they are advocating, and by which they hope to […]
What if God…
By Jeff Larson, The Back Pew “I only have one problem with Progressive Theology; its contentions remind me too much of the devil using Scripture as he did with Jesus during his temptation in the wilderness. Each argument made from the passage selected is usually, if not exclusively, removed from its context, misapplied, and manipulative […]
Sharing the Gospel ‘In and Out of Season’
By Jeff Larson, The Back Pew “I always assumed that the passage in 2 Timothy 4:2 that admonishes us to share the Gospel ‘in and out of season’ was about preaching the gospel whether it’s a favorable time or not. I still believe that’s correct. But interestingly, Oswald Chambers brings out another aspect, saying: “’The […]
COVID 19 Hymn
By Jeff Larson, The Back Pew “When I was a pastor (20-year tenure), after inviting a prospective member to the church, sometimes the person would say, “Well, pastor, I believe I can worship just as well by watching a service on television or hearing a minister preach on the radio.” I would respond, “Going to […]
The 2020 Socially Distanced Easter
By Jeff Larson, The Back Pew A preacher was visiting with his congregation after the Sunday morning service when a determined-looking woman approached him. Obviously displeased, she said, “Pastor, as a member of the pulpit committee, I was hoping that your sermons would excite our congregation.” The new pastor replied, “You’re right, I did say […]