When Obedience is Hard
It has been said, “following the course of least resistance makes men, as well as rivers, crooked.” No doubt, always doing the easy thing is a dangerous way to live, because obeying God sometimes requires doing things that are not easy. In Hebrews 5:8, it is said of our Lord, “though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” Therefore, the test of true faith is whether we obey when it is hard. It…
Owning Our Tongue
Did you know that the tongue is more powerful than a gun? While a gun can only take physical life, the tongue influences eternal destinations. For this reason, God says in Proverbs 18:21, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” So, do we own our tongue or does our tongue own us? Yes, it is challenging to control the tongue, but God teaches that it can and should be done (James 3:8-12). Consider a few points on…
To Sift You as Wheat
The question of suffering is one with which man has wrestled throughout history. Why does it happen? Is there any good to come from it? Luke 22:31-32 contains 3 truths to remember when facing trial and temptation. First, Satan means to destroy you. The word “ask” in the passage carries the sense of “demanding.” It brings to mind the scenes of Job 1:6-12 and 2:1-6 in which Satan demanded to test Job. And the sifting which he has in mind…
Reasons for Personal Evangelism
When Christ gave the great commission to the apostles, he placed upon every Christian the obligation of teaching the gospel to every person (Matt. 28:18-20). This cannot be done by pulpit preaching alone, nor by the preacher alone. This was never God’s intention. Each Christian must contribute (Phil. 2:15-16). Therefore, let’s consider some reasons for personal evangelism. First, every Christian must be a personal evangelist to be like Christ, just as He said, “the Son of Man has come to…
From the Director’s Desk (August 2023) – Trent Kennedy
Each August is exciting at Southwest. As the school prepares to start a new school year, we love seeing our second-year students return from their breaks. We were especially glad to welcome back the Tabora family, who spent a month in Honduras, and Christopher Willcut, who spent the month in South America. Both of these students spent their entire break doing short-term mission work. The other students were busy preaching, reporting, seeing family, and catching up on their studies. In…
Jesus, The Master Teacher – Carl Garner
In the Greek society and culture, no profession was more respected than that of the teacher. One who had information that he was able to impart to another was on the highest rung of their social ladder. To speak of one who was a “Master Teacher” was to describe a person who had the capability of skillfully and interestingly imparting knowledge to others. While it may not always have been so, the term implied that this Master Teacher was careful…
A City Of Truth – Don Walker
“Thus saith the Lord; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of Truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his had for very age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys…
Radical Obedience – Stephen Wiggins
In Luke 16:18 the Bible records Jesus saying, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” Here is an intriguing passage uttered by the Son of God. Anyone interested in spiritual matters will want to explore the meaning of this statement. They will want to know what the verse means in order to avoid the immoral consequences of adultery. The sin of adultery is horrible. It is…
How to Live without Regret
The poet John Greenleaf Whittier said, “For of all the sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: ‘It might have been.” Regret is a bitter fruit which we all taste at some point in life. It’s only natural for us to look back at some time or event in the past and wish we had said or done something different. Some regret is good because it motivates us to be better (cf. 2 Cor. 7:8-10). Some, however,…
The Deity of Christ – Guy N. Woods
The word God is one of the Spirit’s designations for the divine nature. Under the figure of the synecdoche, where a part is made to stand for the whole, or the whole for a part, the word God is used to designate each of the divine Persons constituting deity; and, while there is but one God—one divine nature—the Scriptures clearly teach that there are three distinct personalities possessing this nature. The Father is called God (John 3:16), the Son is called…
Church Growth in the First Century
The growth of the first century church was both spectacular and constant. What caused this tremendous growth? One passage summarizes their success well: ¬“Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied” (Acts 9:31). Brethren, if we are serious about church growth, we will pay close attention to these principles of church growth. First, the church…
As Bold as a Lion
Solomon said, “The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion” (Pro. 28:1). Scripture enjoins and illustrates the practice of boldness in the lives of Christians, but what exactly is it? Thayer defines the term as “freedom in speaking, unreservedness in speech; free and fearless confidence, cheerful courage, boldness, and assurance.” Note some examples of boldness in scripture. Boldness is seen in the courageous way the early church publicly proclaimed the Gospel. Acts 4:31…