The Pangburn Pulpit

Fear, Uncertainty, and the Future of the Human Race

The world we live in today seems radically different from the world of thousands of years ago. We regularly hear of uprisings, terror, instability, violence, natural disasters, famine, plagues and disease, death, conspiracies, and more. When we look back over time, it seems that so much back then appeared better than the present time, and…

“The Plague Shall Not…Destroy You”

“…the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague [Hebrew meaning: an infliction of disease] shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land…” Exodus 12:13 “I will pass over you.”…

Two Offerings and Two Motives Yield the First Murder

All the way back in the earliest days of creation, there were two brothers, the first sons of Adam and Eve. One was a shepherd and the other a farmer. Both were hard workers and each one put all of his effort into producing the best livestock or crops possible. When the appropriate time which…

Wrestling With the Darkness

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light,…

A House of Prayer or A Den of Thieves? – Part Two

When Jesus came to this planet over two thousand years ago, He encountered a rather mixed environment. Many of the people were open to Him and eager to hear what He had to say. But most of the others, consisting of a mixture of Jewish rulers, lawyers and scribes, despised Him because He taught the…

A House of Prayer or A Den of Thieves? – Part One

The world at the time of Jesus’ birth was a rough place spiritually. There had been no word from God (apart from what was already written in the Old Testament) for over four hundred years. The land of the Jews was under Roman rule and their temple was being rebuilt by King Herod. The Jewish…

The Way to God

Which road of life are you traveling on today? Your life’s journey will end one day, and then you will go into eternity. Is the road you currently are on the right road that God set out for you? Or is it that other, broad road mentioned in the Bible—the one that appears so deceptively…

Take the Slack Out of Your Anchor Line

The shoreline around the bay was littered with all types and sizes of boats, the result of two severe storms that had recently hit the region back to back. As Marco and his friend Lee surveyed the damage, they spotted a sailboat that had slammed up against a large tree not far from them. Marco…

Why Give if You Gripe?

In his much-loved classic, A Christmas Carol, author Charles Dickens portrayed his leading character, Ebenezer Scrooge, as a miserly and uncompassionate old man who focused exclusively on the prosperity of his own business. Permitting his sole employee to add an additional piece of coal for just an ounce of warmth in his office he considered…

First God—Then Ourselves

VS. It is so easy to get our priorities mixed up in this life we live these days. Praying, reading the Bible, and going to church are fine and good—but when we have bills to pay, food to put on the table, and clothes to take care of, then surely God can wait for just…