Tommy Mann

Baptism is an important ordinance in the church, but it is often misunderstood. Many people view it as a religious relic or superstition, treating it like a lucky rabbit's foot. I have seen quite a few videos on social media of celebrities getting baptized, including athletes at their team practices. While I hope these are sincere, part of me wonders how many players hope the baptism will help them score touchdowns, and how many celebrities hope the baptism will further their career.  Baptism is not something we do to hedge our bets, like Pascal's wager (if the Christian is wrong, no harm done, but if the atheist is wrong, heaven and hell hang in the balance; therefore, trust in God). Neither is baptism something we do in hopes that God will bless us. Baptism is a picture of what a person professes to believe. When the Ethiopian eunuch believed, he was baptized on the spot. Baptism publicly proclaims the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus as the candidate goes under the w...

Christians should be joyful people. Unfortunately we often present ourselves to the world as angry or sourpusses, and the world understandably will not find our faith attractive.  We should be joyful because God has been good to us. We will certainly face hardships just like everyone else, but God has supplied us with eternal blessings. On our worst day we still have our sins forgiven, God's Holy Spirit within us, and a future home with the Lord.  So we should be joyful. And if we are joyful, we should make a noise. Psalm 100 begins with these words: "Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!" We typically associate this "noise" with singing.  Some people act as if the instruction is to make a solemn noise to the Lord. Church, they say, is a place of quiet reverence. No instruments, no clapping, no raising of the hands. But the Bible frequently tells us to praise God with shouts, with clapping, and with instruments (even percussion!). Around God's thro...

Although we don’t know the date that Jesus was born, December 25 th is when we celebrate the event, where God came near in order to make salvation available. In Matthew 1:21 an angel visited Joseph and told him, “[Mary] will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Christmas is a big deal. Without it there would be no Calvary, no empty tomb, and no hope of heaven. It is great news for us. We have everything to gain because of Christmas. It is the celebration of the incarnation—where God put on flesh and made His dwelling among us. It is Immanuel—God with us. Salvation is a free gift to us, but it cost Jesus tremendously. Think about the cost of Christmas, what Jesus gave up in order to come save His people from their sins.   He traded the comfort of angels for the company of animals He traded the dignity of heaven for the drabness of earth He traded splendor for squalor   He went from adore to abhor He went from being served...

 I found an app called We Croak. It is not a game, a platform, or any kind of useful tool. We Croak is an app that reminds you that you are going to die.  For those interested, this app will send you five notifications throughout the day reminding you that everyone dies ("We croak," it says). With each alert comes a quote from a poet or philosopher with some allegedly profound thought to accompany this invited reminder of mortality.  I downloaded the app out of morbid curiosity, but I uninstalled it when I realized it costs $19.99 a year. People are actually paying twenty bucks for their phone to interrupt them five times a day telling them they will die. I tried to find the positive element in this, so I will offer two. One, if you are not ready to die, this can be a good reminder to make any changes you need to make before it is too late. But don't wait for the next notification. They just become white noise after so long. If you do not know that heaven would be your ho...

I remember watching a Florida Gators football game on TV when I was a child, and the running back broke through the line and was headed for the end zone. He blew right through the defense, and there was no one in between him and six points. As he was sprinting forward one of the defenders was closing the gap. My dad began to yell at the television (because that's what we do when we watch sports), "Don't look back! Don't look back! Don't look back!" Sure enough, the ball carrier looked over his shoulder to see where the defensive player was, and he stumbled ever so slightly, allowing himself to be tackled just shy of scoring a touchdown.  There is no reason for a player to look back. He had already passed everyone, so he only needed to worry about what was in front of him. Paul used a similar analogy in his instructions to the church at Philippi. In Philippians 3:13-14 he spoke about someone running a race: "...But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behi...

There is a greeting in the Bible that gives me goosebumps every time I read it. It is found in Acts 9 during the conversion of Saul of Tarsus (also known as the Apostle Paul). Saul had been blinded by the light when the Lord appeared to him, and he was led to a certain house in Damascus. While that was unfolding, God spoke to a man named Ananias and told him to go to that house and pray over Saul. In v.17 we read the greeting: "So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, 'Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.'” Brother Saul? This gives me goosebumps when I remember who Saul was. Essentially a terrorist, Saul gave his approval for the martyrdom of Stephen. This same Saul obtained letters from the high priest to round up and imprison anyone who followed Jesus. Acts 8:1 says he was "ravaging" the church, and 9...