Church Blog (Page 24)

Church Blog (Page 24)

Church Candle in Candlestick Burning in Dark

Light in a Dark World – Troy Spradlin

The disciples of Jesus Christ are described in various ways throughout the New Testament through the use of analogies and metaphors. Some of these include words like, “sheep,” “little children,” and “saints.” The purpose of these terms is to provide depictive imagery concerning how a Christian should live. Perhaps, one of the most descriptive metaphors is the term, “light.” For example, in Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus said “You are the light of the world. … Let your light so shine before…
Bible on pulpit in church, with light coming in through the front door

We Preach Christ – John Haffner

What a glorious work and high responsibility—to preach Christ Jesus! We proclaim the good news of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord (1 Cor. 15:1-5). We announce the message of the gospel, God’s power to salvation (Rom. 1:16). Sadly, many reject the preaching of Jesus Christ. Paul recorded how preaching Christ presented a stumbling block for the Jews and appeared to be foolishness to the Greeks (1 Cor. 1:22-24). The Jews only wanted signs and often asked for them…
The cross on the hill, Jesus Christ from the Bible. Easter, Religion. Salvation of sins, sacrifice

“Glorify Your Son” – John Baker

As He contemplated His impending trial and execution, Jesus prayed to His Heavenly Father: “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you” (John 17:1). Later the same night He prayed again, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will” (Matt. 26:39). These two prayers remind us of, “the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that would follow” (1 Pet. 1:11).…
Sunrise on the clouds in Thailand

Highly Exalted (Phil. 2:5-11)

Within the heart of one of Scripture’s most beloved books lies one of the most exalted, challenging, and thought-provoking passages in the entirety of God’s Word. Philippians emphasizes the priority of the gospel (1:27). Paul was in chains because of the gospel yet he used his difficult circumstances as an avenue to proclaim the gospel and exhorted the Philippian saints to do the same (cf. Phil. 1). But the message of the gospel cannot exist without it’s Person and primary…
K-199-teddy-0122wf

You Are Worthy: Revelation 5 – Kevin Cauley

Revelation 4 pictures God on His throne. The four living creatures cry out, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.” Revelation 5:1-7 occur in the same setting. And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the back, close sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a great voice, Who is worthy…

Beloved, Believe Not Every Spirit… (Part 2)

The meat of John’s admonition is found in two present tense imperatives. First, John says, “believe not every spirit.” Second, “try the spirits.” In the first century the Holy Spirit miraculously inspired men to preach and teach the word of God (c.f. 1 Cor. 12-14). Unfortunately, there were many who tried to take advantage of that by falsely claiming inspiration in order to deceive God’s people into believing a lie (Eph. 4:14). Therefore, Christians were commanded not to continually believe…

Beloved, Believe Not Every Spirit… (Part 1)

It is a sad but true fact that God’s people have always had to deal with false teachers and false teaching. Moses warned of false prophets who would speak that which would not come to pass (Deut. 18:21-22). Jeremiah wrote of those who prophesied for dishonest gain (Jer. 6:13-14), and whose message originated from within their own hearts (Jer. 23:16). The New Testament speaks of “false Christs” (Matt. 24:24); “false teachers” (2 Pet. 2:1); “false apostles” (2 Cor. 11:13); and…

The Wicked are like the Chaff

The Bible is full truths that fly square in the face of typical human thinking. Scripture’s description of a blessed and happy life stands as a perfect example. Man seeks blessing in wickedness. For many, life is about self-actualization and fulfilling the desires of the flesh. Psalm 1 teaches us that such a life is destined for ruin. The Psalmist said the ungodly “are like the chaff which the wind drives away.” The ancients brought their grain to the threshing…

To Envy a Bird in God’s House

Birds are fascinating creatures. One could argue that they possess more freedom than anything else God has created. A bird is not contained to any one area, he can fly wherever he wishes. Yet, wherever a bird goes he eventually finds a place to settle and nest. The sons of Korah were servants in the house of God and undoubtedly watched birds of all kinds and numbers settle into comfortable nests throughout the temple complex. The Psalmist’s desire to be…

Why Doctrine Matters

History is an unending cycle. Buried within the pages of the past are previews of the problems of the present. Humanity’s desires and needs, joys and struggles never change. Consider the problem of unhealthy teaching in the early church. This was one of Paul’s primary concerns in his first letter to Timothy and thus correct doctrine is an emphasis throughout the book. If Paul were writing today, he would write the same thing. The church still needs to be reminded…
Stress management

The Lord’s Anger – G.K. Wallace

Jesus became angry (Mark 3:5). We usually think of anger as a vice and not a virtue, and yet Jesus became angry. We usually regard anger as littleness and not bigness, but Jesus became angry. The angry man is the likely man to sin. Anger is strictly forbidden in God’s Word. In Psalm 37:8 the writer says, “Cease from anger, and forsake wrath.” The teacher of old said, “He that is slow to anger appeaseth wrath,” and we are exhorted,…
Crowd of fans

Respect of Life – Tom Moore

For us to properly respect life we must ask: “Who am I?” The question “Who am I?” is a very important question for every human being to consider. It is difficult to overestimate how powerfully we are affected by the way we think about ourselves: our self-concept, our sense of personal identity. This has a huge impact on our view of life. The reason our nation has such a low view of life is their failure to understand who humans…