5 Requirements to Please the Lord
Lists are helpful ways of keeping ourselves on task. We make to-do lists to manage our workload, grocery lists to help us feed our families, and chore lists to keep our home in order. As it pertains to serving God, the five precepts of Deuteronomy 10:12-13 serve as a kind of list reminding us of His requirements. First, “fear the Lord your God.” Fearing God has to do with reverential awe displayed before an awesome power and presence. It involves…
God’s Part And Man’s Part – B.J. Clarke
Does man contribute to his salvation? Does man have any part to play, any role to fulfill, in the salvation process? Does salvation arise from human activity? Some say no. What saith the Scripture? It is imperative to properly define our terms. Webster defines “contribute” as follows: “1: to give a part to a common fund or store b: to play a significant part in bringing about an end or result.” Among the definitions Webster gives for the word “part”…
Allowing God to Work in Us
In Philippians 2:12-13, we read something that should give Christians great confidence, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you both to will and do for His good pleasure.” We are not alone in our efforts to “work out [our] own salvation.” There is power from God. In Ephesians 1:15-23, this power is something Paul wanted Christians to know. This “power toward us” is “according to the working of His mighty…
Serving Christ with Fear & Trembling
In Philippians 2:12-16, the Apostle Paul commands the brethren in Philippi to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling…” This concept in connection with God is not popular today. People prefer to hear about God’s love and mercy. When we point out God’s righteous wrath, holiness, and justice, people reply, “My God is not like that!” Therefore, let’s consider what it means to serve God with fear and trembling. The word “fear” is often used to describe “respect…
The Greatest Generation
The Greatest Generation could be adequately described in many different ways. Words like courageous, heroic, and hard-working immediately come to mind. But perhaps the word that best describes them would be selflessness. Coming of age during the Great Depression and serving in WWII meant that every one born from 1900-1920 knew what it was to do more with less, lend a helping hand, and work hard for the greater good. They knew much about sacrifice and service. Current and future…
Serving Christ by Working Out Our Own Salvation
In Philippians 2:12-16, the Apostle Paul commands the brethren in Philippi to “work out your own salvation… in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world…” Yet, we should remember that we are “saved by grace through faith, not of works” (Eph. 2:8-9), but as those saved through faith without meritorious works on our part, we have been “created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Eph. 2:10; Tit. 3:1-8). Therefore, how…
Has Man Outgrown the Gospel – Allen Webster
Times change. Today’s “new” is tomorrow’s “old,” this morning’s breakthrough is this afternoon’s castaway, this year’s popular is lost in next year’s “latest.” The up-to-date is soon out-of-date. Truth doesn’t change. It reads the same today as yesterday and as it will tomorrow. It is “once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). Some feel they have outgrown the ancient Gospel. The idea that there is a standard which is absolute is, to them, obsolete. The concepts of sin…
I can Live with your Disapproval – Rick Brumback
I realize that I may have to start doing so simply based upon the title above. It is certainly not meant to be dismissive or cavalier. Nor is it meant to be a disrespectful statement of your relative worth as a fellow human. It is, instead, a considered statement of the value system I embrace and the cost I am willing to bear as I uphold that system. Let me explain. We are to be concerned with the thoughts of…
“ The Decline and Fall of …America?” – Carl B. Garner
Many of us can recall the atmosphere of the late ‘50s and ‘60s. A constant state of fear of atomic warfare permeated our lives. We had seen the devastation of the first bombs over Japan, and we could not get it out of our minds. We can remember the “shoe-pounding” of Nikita Khrushchev in the United Nations. It wasn’t hard to imagine him “pushing the button” that would start a war that might “end all wars.” You could find plenty…
The Wisdom to See the End
Every parent works hard to instill within their children the ability to contemplate the outcomes of their words and actions, but such an effort is not always easy. A father tells his little boy to clean up his toys, tell the truth, and follow the rules but often the little boy just wants to know “why?” Parents have something that their children do not—life experience, and with it, wisdom, and foresight. A child may not understand why Mom and Dad…
The Church Still Stands for Excellence – Don Walker
When Christ promised to build His church, He promised it would be built upon the rock—Peter’s confession, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:13). The church is built upon the solidarity of the Deity and perfection of Jesus Christ. She is a most glorious church because of her relationship with Christ. The value of the church is seen in the fact that Christ purchased the church with His own blood (Acts 20:28). And it is…
From the Director’s Desk (September 2023) – Trent Kennedy
What would the congregation say about their preacher after he left? What would the church say about the missionaries after they returned home? What about area congregations and Christians – how would they characterize the work of certain ministers? What kind of impact do we as preachers leave on people when our time working together comes to an end? When we study 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10, we see the kind of impact that Paul, Silas, and Timothy had on their Macedonian…