Everything doesn't happen for a reason, if by this we mean evil is a part of God's plan. But God does ensure that evil will not prevail and that light will always, ultimately, overcome the darkness. If we follow God's lead, our work is to push back the darkness.

Adam Hamilton

Categorized in : Work God Darkness Light

As a pastor, I have a deep desire to lead people to God and encourage people to pray, read the Bible, and carry their faith into every part of their lives.

Adam Hamilton

praying desire people

God seeks to influence humanity. This is at the heart of the Christmas story. It is the story of light coming into the darkness, of a Savior to show us the way, of light overcoming the darkness, of God's work to save the world.

Adam Hamilton

christmas light heart

Husband, when you tell your wife to go for counseling alone (because you think going to see a counselor is a sign you have failed) is like having a car you love overheat and deciding it's not manly to take it to the mechanic. You can keep on driving it but eventually you will ruin the engine.

Adam Hamilton

marriage husband love

Jesus' own witness of sacrificial love and forgiveness, and his work to heal the sick and care for those in need, represent God's ways and vision for us.

Adam Hamilton

vision sick jesus

Hope is a decision we make, a choice to believe that God can take the adversity, the disappointment, the heartache, and the pain of our journeys and use these to accomplish his purposes.

Adam Hamilton

pain disappointment believe

As I've taught our congregation, within the Christian faith the question of homosexuality is not a question of biblical authority, but biblical interpretation.

Adam Hamilton

taught biblical christian

We live in bodies that are fearfully and wonderfully made, yet they are not immune to illness and pain. We have hearts that are capable of experiencing great love, but sometimes they get broken.

Adam Hamilton

great-love pain heart

I suspect that here theists and atheists would agree: Human beings have within them the ability to choose evil or good. We wake up each day facing the age-old struggle of good and evil. In some situations mental illness clouds our judgment.

Adam Hamilton

atheist struggle clouds

If 'everything happens for a reason,' then every act of evil is ultimately God's doing.

Adam Hamilton

everything-happens-for-a-reason ifs evil

The Bible calls us to love our neighbors, and to do justice and love kindness, not to indiscriminately kill one another.

Adam Hamilton

and-love kindness justice

I am a pastor, and I teach and preach the Bible to my congregation every week. But the Bible is not a manufacturer's handbook. Neither is it a science textbook nor a guidebook for public policy.

Adam Hamilton

pastor week textbooks

While some misuse their freedom to perpetrate evil, millions respond by feeling compelled to use their freedom to do good.

Adam Hamilton

use evil feelings

Learning to read the Bible in the light of the times in which it was written is critical.

Adam Hamilton

learning-to-read critical light

Christians believe that God is everywhere and is involved in our lives at every moment, whether we publicly acknowledge God or not.

Adam Hamilton

moments christian believe

I'm convinced many of America's heroes are public school teachers and administrators. Many of these people do what they do because of their faith.

Adam Hamilton

hero teacher school

In America our public schools are intended to be religiously neutral. Our teachers and schools are neither to endorse nor to inhibit religion. I believe this is a very good thing.

Adam Hamilton

teacher believe school

I love the Bible. I read it every day. I spend 10 hours a week studying it. It has affected my life in profound ways. I am inspired when I read it.

Adam Hamilton

study profound way

Well ultimately pay it, but we want to show that this is the impact if our churches leave.

Adam Hamilton

Theres a sense that some conservatives have been wanting to leave for a long time, theyre tired of fighting about it.

Adam Hamilton

Why did the earthquake and tsunami occur in Japan? Was it the act of an angry God? No, it was the result of the movement and collision of the earth's tectonic plates - a process driven by the earth's need to regulate its own internal temperature. Without the process that creates earthquake, our planet could not sustain life.

Adam Hamilton

result angry god life