Can You Legislate Morality?

Dr. John Hawkins
3 Jul 2012
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You cannot legislate morality. Have you ever heard that thought expressed by someone? What do they mean? They can mean one of two things. One is that you cannot pass a law that will force a person to be moral. Morality is a matter of the heart or conscience. The other thing they could mean is that the government has no business telling people what is right or wrong. The first position is true morality, an inside job. The second position shows a lack of understanding of where laws come from. All law has some moral base. It is just […]

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The Myth of Happily Ever After

Dr. John Hawkins
5 Jun 2012
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Fairy tales, bedtime stories, romance novels and romantic comedies – why are they so popular? It is because they strike a cord in the human heart. We all have the need to be loved, accepted, attached and to belong. For men, it is about being the hero, saving the day and for women it is about having their knight in shining armor rescue them. Myths often have a basis in reality. So the myth starts like this, “Once upon a time,” and it ends with, “They lived happily ever after.” In between is a villain, challenge or conflict to overcome. […]

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Me Obey Him – Are You Kidding?

Dr. John Hawkins
25 May 2012
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Remember the traditional wedding vows when the preacher asks the bride, “Will you love, honor, and obey?” “Me obey him – are you kidding?” is not an unusual response in today’s culture. If the pastor quotes from Ephesians 5:22-23, which states, “Wives be subject to your own husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body” (NASB), you can almost feel the hair start to stand up on the back of many a woman’s neck. The reality is you […]

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Divorce – God’s View

Dr. John Hawkins
25 Apr 2012
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The subject of divorce can be a controversial issue in the church. Bring it up in a Bible study and you can get into some heated debates. There are various views on this subject from “divorce is always wrong” to “it is no big deal” and everything in between. A person’s marital or divorced status can determine what positions they can hold and where they can serve in the church. It causes many Christians to feel like second-class citizens or stigmatized in the church. At the same time if the church does not uphold the sanctity and permanence of marriage […]

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The Real Christmas Story

Dr. John Hawkins
23 Dec 2011
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Like most kids, Christmas was my favorite holiday. One reason was because of the long school vacation but the most important reason was the gifts. Christmas Eve was the longest night of the year. My brothers and I usually started about four in the morning asking mom and dad, “Can we get up now.” Only to hear dad yell, “Get back to bed.” Through my elementary years I had some of the greatest memories of that time of year. However, as great as that time was I never really understood the real meaning of Christmas. The Christmas story is told […]

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The Making of a Nation

Dr. John Hawkins
3 Nov 2011
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Can you remember sitting in school and asking the question, “Why do I have to take this course?” History is one of those courses about which you should never have those thoughts. It has been said that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. America has been a unique and great nation in the annals of history. It has not been a perfect nation – however, America has done a lot of good in this world. More importantly, it has played an important role in furthering God’s kingdom on earth. America was founded upon spiritual […]

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Be A Hero – Reasons You Should Adopt An Orphan

Dr. John Hawkins
2 Nov 2011
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4KIDS of South Florida has launched an innovative video project called Undercover Heroes that allows South Floridians to walk in a vulnerable child’s shoes and glimpse into a world they’ve never imagined. Doug Sauder, president of 4KIDS, says their goal is to take people behind the veil and have them experience the world of the new American orphan. This 30-minute documentary will air on prime time on local television stations during the month of November and be available on DVD. “We hope to educate people about the foster kids in our own backyard and partner with 1,000 sponsors to help […]

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To Celebrate Halloween or Not

Dr. John Hawkins
30 Sep 2011
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In addition to Christmas, Halloween is one of the oldest and most popular holidays our culture celebrates. Every year Christians, families and churches face the following question – “Should we celebrate Halloween or not?” There are great differences of opinion on this subject in the Christian community. Halloween can be the source of controversy and even division in churches. One thing we know for sure is that Halloween is not going to go away anytime soon. A major reason for this is money; Halloween will bring in 3.3 billion dollars to merchants. One thing we should not allow Halloween to […]

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Can A Believer Be Demon Possessed?

Dr. John Hawkins
7 Sep 2011
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Have you ever dealt with a demon-possessed person? This is a question that I have been asked on occasion. My answer is no, not that I know of. I have dealt with many people who have acted like the devil. I have met people in other countries whose pastor said they had been demon possessed. But I cannot recall an encounter with anyone that I could definitely say was demon possessed. I have never cast a demon out of anyone – however – this does not mean that I don’t believe in the reality of demons and their role in […]

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A World Without God

Dr. John Hawkins
2 Aug 2011
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It was Friedrich Nietzsche, in The Gay Science (1882), who had his character the madman declare, “God is dead.” The point Nietzsche seemed to be making toward the end of the 19th century was that the Christian idea of God was dead. The cultural forces at work in the Western world at this time seemed to be leading people to this conclusion. This was the century that gave birth to the rise of Secular Humanism (man is the center of all things). This really was not a new philosophy; it was as old as the Tower of Babel. These same […]

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