Understanding a Mother’s Heart
25 And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.” 26 Then the woman whose son was alive said to the king, because her great compassion yearned for her son, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and surely do not put […]
Estate Planning
Gateway Seminary recently received a gift of almost $590,000 from an estate created by a Baptist layman who loved our school and believed in our mission. Leo Rollins could be described as an everyday believer. He was not a prominent leader; nor was he a wealthy man. Because he managed his resources wisely and owned […]
Relationships Matter: Confirmed Again
The Harvard Study of Adult Development, the longest in-depth study of human life ever done, started in 1938 by following the lives of 724 participants. The study later expanded to include more than 1,300 of their descendants. The researchers have used various tools to isolate factors which contributed to longevity, overall health, and quality of […]
A Guide to Food in the Inland Empire
For those visiting Gateway Seminary for one of our various events, the Inland Empire offers amazing SoCal flavors and culture that we would like to share with you! We’ve listed our top recommendations of restaurants in the Inland Empire, all within a 15 minute drive of the Ontario campus. We hope this gives you a […]
Christmas Tradition
Christmas Traditions One of our favorite Christmas traditions is listening to Christmas music. During the holiday season, we enjoy a remarkable Christmas program at our church, hymn singing in worship services at our church, some Christmas musicals on television, downloads of Christmas albums by favorite artists, and satellite radio songs of the season as we […]
Free Resource
Baptists are more liturgical than we claim to be. Just change the order of worship in a church and the complaint level will reveal how committed we are to doing things the “right” way—week in, week out. Our liturgy appears informal, but only because we base it more on tradition and feel than on prescribed […]
Contentment
Ambition and contentment seem like incompatible tensions in character development. Phrases like get ahead, do your best, make something of yourself, and pursue excellence are cultural mandates describing ambition. Even the Bible affirms ambition with encouragement to maximize our gifts, commit to global impact, and aspire to leadership roles (1 Tim. 3:1). In contrast, one […]
Intersect 2022
Truth is supposed to be defined as what is true—always, all the time, in every situation and context. Today, truth is a malleable concept—a Gumby-like collection of whatever a person perceives or wants to be factual or accurate. The phrase “my truth” best describes the modern understanding of truth—meaning whatever a person claims to be […]
A Liberating Message
The recent political turmoil surrounding the Los Angeles city council has opened old wounds, exacerbated racial divisions, and revealed destructive attitudes motivating political decisions. It has also underscored a sad reality so few people seem to realize. Racism is not confined to any one group nor expressed exclusively between any two groups. Racism is a […]
50 Cents
Southwinds Church in Tracy, California (founded as First Southern Baptist Church, Tracy) is celebrating its 75th anniversary this Fall. It was my privilege to preach there as part of the festivities. In researching their history, they discovered hand-written minutes of their first business meeting on September 27, 1947 in which they determined how to distribute […]