Signs & Wonders Blog

The Bible tells us many times to sing to the Lord a new song. However, we should be cautious of hymns with unscriptural lyrics. Last year, I briefly visited a church where the praise and worship band promoted sin consciousness instead of who we are in Christ. When one of their songs repeated the line “our sins are many”, I quietly slipped out of the sanctuary. Last week while watching a minister’s conference streamed from The River, Rodney Howard-Browne talked about green activism invading the church. He read the lyrics to “The Climate is Changing.” This “hymn-prayer” uses music from a traditional Welsh hymn. New lyrics written by Presbyterian pastor Carolyn Winfrey Gillette are “to support efforts to counter climate change.” Let's examine some of these lyrics and compare them with Scripture... We pray for the animals here in our midst who cannot defend their own right to exist. Immediately, I thought of Romans 1:25, which warns of people worshipping the creature rather than...

Some people think being a Christian is defined by doing certain things. Two weeks ago, my hometown newspaper published an article about a former USDA employee who’s also the lay leader of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Phyllis Johnson claimed that addressing climate change is the “Christian thing to do.” I feel a need to respond to that exhortation. Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” That would include feeding the hungry and looking out for our neighbors as Johnson pointed out. I also agree we should be good stewards of this planet’s resources. However, the fear-mongering over climate change can be disputed both logically and biblically.  Over 40 years ago there were news reports of a coming ice age. Then there were worries about global warming. Some environmentalists talk about rising sea levels. If the latter is happening, then why aren’t masses of people moving away from coastal cities like New York, Miami, Los Angeles, an...