Are Your Words Helping the Church?
Words are the most powerful weapon known to man. With them we can lift the spirits of the downtrodden, make someone feel loved and appreciated, or start wars and destroy relationships. Our words have a powerful impact on the church. Congregations can be torn apart by slanderous and vindictive speech and built up by words of encouragement and appreciation. This is behind Paul’s command in Ephesians 4:29 to let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is…
The Fields are White… are You Ready to Harvest?
The latest estimates are that the world’s population is approximately 7.8 billion. That is 7.8 billion souls who face the ultimate reality of sin and its consequences (Rom. 3:23; 6:23). 7 billion souls who will one day face the Lord in judgment (Heb. 9:27); 7 billion souls who are precious in the sight of God (2 Pet. 3:9) and stand in need of the soul-saving message of the gospel. What are you doing to reach them? Romans chapter 10 teaches…
A Call to Maturity – Clay Bond
Throughout the Scriptures, the call to spiritual maturity is expressed in various ways. For example, in Philippians 3:12-16, Paul used an athletic metaphor to illustrate the need for spiritual growth. If we are to mature spiritually, we must have the attitude of an athlete pursuing a prize. It is not enough to encourage people to study and know their Bibles without teaching them why they should grow! We are to study and know our Bibles because the Bible teaches us…
“And Rejoice in Hope” – Bryan Hodge
What is hope? Biblical hope is more than a mere wish or desire. It is “favorable and confident expectation” (Vine’s). Our hope is based on Jehovah God (Ps. 31:24; 39:7; 71:5; 1 Pet. 1:21), God’s word (Ps. 119:49-50, 81-82, 114; 130:5; Rom. 15:4; Tit. 1:2), and Jesus Christ (1 Tim. 1:1; Tit. 2:11-13; Heb. 6:19-20; 1 Pet. 1:3, 15). Think of the words of the song we sing, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness!”…
Some Things Never Change – Ronnie Scherffius
The headline read: A SOCIETY LIKE NO OTHER. The article depicted society in a state of near-total depravity. Political corruption was beyond description. From the highest office in the land to the meanest local official, oppression was the norm. Justice and equality were strangers. Society at large, like its governing bodies, had spiraled out of control. Violence, murderer, and rioting in the streets were so common in metropolitan cities they were no longer considered “news-worthy.” Immorality raged — drunkenness, public…
Shame on Us
Over the last several months I’ve had many conversations with friends from different parts of the country. Not surprisingly, the primary topic of discussion has been COVID and how it has affected the church. Sadly, there are places where the virus has hit the church very hard. Not because Christians have caught it but because they are fighting about it. Particularly, about how the church should handle it. I have heard many reports of elders resigning, members arguing and leaving their…
The Pursuit of Happiness – Steven Lloyd
She was twenty-five. Her live-in boyfriend came home from work, said he did not love her anymore, and left. She was devastated. Her mother believed she might be suicidal and asked if I would speak with her. An hour later, we were in her mother’s living room. I asked her to tell me her story—how she got to this place in her life. She left church and home when her father died. She moved in with the man of her…
This is Not a Time to Give Up
Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith (Acts 6:7). And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord (Acts 11:21). But the word of God grew and multiplied (Acts 12:24). These passages, and others like them, in the book of Acts highlight the tenacious evangelistic commitment of the first…
Love Your Enemies
Jesus said, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:18-19). How should we deal with those who hate and fight against us? Two passages from the Sermon on the Mount are worthy of our consideration. First, consider Matthew…
Therefore, I Will Look to the Lord
It is difficult to study the Minor Prophets and not see America because the similarities between ancient Israel and the current state of affairs jump off the page. Consider for example, Micah 7:2: “The faithful man has perished from the earth and there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; every man hunts his brother with a net.” Micah lamented the fact that there were seemingly no righteous people to be found. Instead, people…
Making Worship Count
Of all the responsibilities that accompany New Testament Christianity, worshiping God in spirit and in truth can be one of our more challenging endeavors (John 4:23-24). If we are honest with ourselves we will admit that we sometimes struggle to worship God the way we should. Just because your body is in the pew does not mean you are worshiping in spirit and in truth. We can be present at the assembly, but be spiritually absent. Our unwillingness to admit…
Sin Distancing
The emergence of the COVID-19 Corona virus has changed our world in a number of ways. Though hard to believe, wearing masks, standing in line to enter the grocery store, and toilet paper at a premium have all become part of daily American life. Part of this great change is the practice of social distancing. Health officials tell us that we can prevent contracting and spreading the virus by maintaining a distance of 6 feet from each other, refraining from…