Pastor Clark Cothern tells this story to illustrate how God speaks to us through his Word:

A self-appointed New Age guru glided into our church wearing an outfit that rivaled Merlin the Magician's best duds. It was 10:55 a.m. and I was changing for a baptism, when a couple of deacons popped their heads in and said, "Pastor, I think we have a situation."

After explaining who had just entered the sanctuary, ...

Pastor Steve Yeschek, Crystal Lake, Illinois, lost his sister, Judy, after a five-year battle with cancer. She was a woman who, as Steve described her, was a party animal—a big drinker with a self-contented lifestyle. She was someone everybody loved, because she exuded excitement and a thrill for life.

When Steve tried to share Jesus with her over the years, she would laugh it off and keep partying. ...

Mary Poplin, professor of education and Dean of the School of Educational Studies at Claremont Graduate University, attended a Methodist church as a child, but began searching other spiritual traditions, including Buddhism, Transcendental Meditation, even telepathic attempts to bend spoons. She began teaching at Claremont, where a Christian friend encouraged her spiritual journey. Eventually in 1993, ...

In 2000, an Illinois scientist named William Walsh studied strands of hair from the body of famous classical composer Ludwig Van Beethoven. By studying those strands of hair, Dr. Walsh discovered that Beethoven's body had 100 times the normal amount of lead. He concluded that Beethoven's untimely death at the age of 57 was due to lead poisoning.

What's interesting is that Beethoven's lead poisoning ...

In the fall of 2005, Oprah Winfrey entered her 20th season as the celebrated host of The Oprah Winfrey Show. In those two decades, she has amassed over $1.4 billion, assembled a U.S. television audience of more than 49 million viewers each week (not including her broadcasts in 122 other countries), and informed her viewers on matters ranging from genocide in Rwanda to the best-tasting oatmeal cookies. ...

Ever alert for the hippest new trend, the New York Times recently reported that fasting has become fashionable. Eating in chic restaurants is out. Not eating is in.

According to the Times, people are paying as much as $3,484 a week to visit health spas where they go without food. One spa in Desert Hot Springs, California, is booked through October with a clientele that includes celebrities Ben Affleck ...

There are two sides to Allen Johnson. On the one hand, he is a conservative, evangelical Christian living in the mountains of West Virginia. On the other hand, he is an environmental activist and cofounder of Christians for the Mountains, a group of like-minded stewards that have demonstrated against coal companies and participated in Rainbow Family gatherings.

Does Allen see a contradiction between ...

Now and Then, with Melanie Griffith and Demi Moore, is a coming-of-age movie of four girlfriends who reunite as adults and reminisce about an eventful summer in their lives 20 years ago when they were all about 12. For part of their summer, they became curious about the tombstone of a murdered 12-year-old boy and conducted séances in the cemetery to try to communicate with the boy. The scene begins ...

In her 2005 documentary, I'm Going to Tell You a Secret, international pop star Madonna warned others about the evils and dangers of "the material world…the physical world…the world of illusion that we think is real," noting that, "We live for it; we're enslaved by it. And it will ultimately be our undoing."

The former "Material Girl" turned protective mother and Jewish mystic also declared: ...

According to a June 2005 Gallup poll, about three quarters of Americans believe in the paranormal. The percentage of those who believe in:

Extrasensory perception: 41

Haunted houses: 37

Ghosts: 32

Telepathy: 31

Astrology: 25

Communication with the dead: 21

Reincarnation: 20