Posts from 2024
From the Director’s Desk (November 2024) – Trent Kennedy
Preachers, do you ever find yourself having the congregation turn to the same book or passages over and over again? Do the same four or five Scriptures always seem to be part of your sermons, week in and week out? Is this type of preaching keeping you and your audience from growing? I think many of us revert back to our “comfort Scriptures” that we have memorized, preached, and know so well. However, when we carefully examine our preaching, it…
In My Love – Curtis Scherffius
Love is one of the strongest things in this world. As a member of the Body of Christ this fact is no different. One of the most important commands that we have is to love. In the book of Deuteronomy, we see that God commands His people to “love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deut 6:5). The Bible shows the importance of love by stating that “…everyone who…
In My Disagreements – Dave Rogers
How can there be “beauty” in disagreement? Disagreement is unpleasant; it disrupts harmony among brethren, disturbs peace of mind between neighbors, and distresses our spirits. David wrote of “…how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity” (Ps. 133:1) — so how can we find “beauty” in disagreements? Human revulsion at the prospect of conflict springs from our familiarity with the rejection, anger, hurt, disappointment, acrimony, and resentment that flourish when seeds of disagreement are…
In My Speech – Wade Webster
The song that serves as the central thought of this lesson contains both direct and indirect references to our speech. In the fourth verse the song speaks of letting the beauty of Jesus be seen in all that we say and to keep sweet. In the third verse, the song speaks of remembering how Jesus was treated when someone speaks some word that pierces us through. Clearly, the implication is that we should show the same restraint that Jesus showed in…
In My Priorities – John Haffner
As modern society seems to be constantly pulling us in different directions, the task of sorting out our priorities is essential. What is important? What is urgent? What should be given the most attention? Examining the life of Jesus, we find a man whose priorities were unwavering and were always aligned with God’s will. As members of His church, we have been called to match our priorities to Christ’s, and must ensure that our lives reflect the mission, values, and…
The Beauty of Jesus – Cody Westbrook
“Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me!” A familiar refrain from the hymn written by Albert Orsborn. In what way can Jesus be described as “beautiful?” Interestingly, Scripture discusses the topic from two different points of view. On the one hand there are passages like Isaiah 4:2 which describe His beauty–“In that day the Branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious.” On the other hand, Isaiah 53:2 states, “He has no form or comeliness; and when…
Faithfulness and Thanksgiving
“Show me a person who is thankful and I’ll show you a person who is faithful.” I heard this sentiment offered by a speaker at a lectureship several years ago, and it really struck home. Americans on the whole are the most materially blessed people in the world. This can certainly be a good thing for God’s people if we use the things God has provided in a responsible, godly way (cf. Luke 16:1-13). However, far too often our material…
Busy Doing Good!
Today the average American lives 78.8 years. That averages out to approximately 945 months, 4,111 weeks, 28,781 days, or 690,746 hours. On the surface that certainly seems to be a long, long time. But, really it is not. Ask someone who has lived for 80 years how quickly their life has progressed and it is almost guaranteed they will say that is has absolutely flown by! The Bible says the same. “Man that is born of a woman is of…
How to Get Going Again
Have you ever found yourself feeling like you’re stuck in a rut that you just cannot dig out of? We all feel that way at some point in our lives. In those times it seems no matter how hard we fight and scratch and claw, getting back on our feet feels hopeless. But “let not your heart be troubled.” Our God is a compassionate God “who comforts us in all our tribulation” (2 Cor. 1:4). He has given us a…
From the Director’s Desk (October 2024) – Trent Kennedy
It is amazing what a little understanding of the textual background (history, context, and geography) can do to help us see the Word of God with more clarity. One example of this is found in the famous Old Testament passage of Joshua 24:15. “And if it seem evil unto you to serve Jehovah, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in…
The Book of Malachi – Bryan Hodge
Malachi is a post-exilic book (Mal. 1:3 cf. Jer. 49:7-22; Eze. 25:12-14). The children of Israel have returned from captivity. The temple has been rebuilt (Mal. 1:6-ff). Time has passed, perhaps 100 years. Problems existed. Certain issues in this book seem to line up with the book of Nehemiah, e.g. marriage (Mal. 2:10-11, cf. Neh. 13:23ff), care of the poor (Mal. 3:5, cf. Neh. 5:1ff), and giving (Mal. 3:8; Neh. 10:32-39; 13:10ff). The book of Malachi is written to motivate…
The Book of Haggai – Jordan Moore
As the short, two-chapter book of Haggai opens, we don’t read of God’s people being condemned for worshipping false gods. Nor do we read of them being given over to sexual deviance, intermarrying with foreign nations, or casually practicing divorce. Still yet, they aren’t found to be committing heinous crimes against one another, stealing from one another, or even so much as just being generally unkind to one another. No – after Cyrus, King of Persia, had declared that the…