Introduction It all began on a bleak and blustery midwinter night in early 1958. A young preacher in Philipsburg, PA was burning the midnight oil. During a study break he happened to pick up and browse through the current issue of Life magazine that had been buried under a stack of books piled high on

Introduction When we were still living in New Jersey, I read an article in our local newspaper that announced, “New York group struggles to add a little sweetness to the crabby Apple.” It was all about a “courtesy” advertising campaign that was being directed by a group called “New York Pride.” Their message was short

Introduction In the United States physical fitness has become, according to the heading of one magazine article, “a national obsession.” That particular piece, which was published in the June 16, 1986 edition of Time was subtitled, “The U.S. Turns On to Exercise.” It began with these words: At the dawning there were isolated stragglers, determinedly

I introduced the series by explaining the Bible makes it clear that every believer is a builder. Every Christian is a person in construction as well as under construction. In 2 Peter 1:3-11, Peter explains that by our dependence upon Divine heavenly resources (vv 3-4), and by our diligence in the human process (vv 5-7),

Felix was a man of humble beginnings. However, through the influence of an older brother, he was able to rise above his lowly station in life and worm his way into a position of social prestige and political power. In his relentless quest for political and personal advancement, he was willing to resort to adultery,

When Newsweek magazine published an article several years ago lamenting the lack of knowledge among the youth of the United States, there were 1,274 two-year colleges in the United States that collectively enrolled nearly five million students. Dr. James M. O’Neill taught English composition at four of those colleges in two different states. During his

We are living in a world that is becoming increasingly notorious for its moral decadence. As a culture we have become “de-moralized” in the most literal sense of that word. The English historian and philosopher Arnold Toynbee (1889-1975) said that we are the first generation of man to try to build a society without a

During the first year of their marriage, my parents lived on the third floor of Dad’s parents’ three-story farmhouse in Raritan, New Jersey. My paternal grandfather gave them a portion of his land on which to build their first house. Dad did most of the construction himself. He would come home after a long day

It is a cute little Cape Cod with clapboard siding and two eye dormers in the front. It was constructed back in 1950, when that particular style was very popular in this country—at least, it was popular on the east coast. Several years later a detached, two-car garage was added. The house is situated on