I grew up hearing the story of Chicken Little (you know “the sky is falling, the sky is falling") and I know this title sounds a little like that, but there is some reality in what the title means….
Let’s take a few minutes to look at what is becoming a major problem within the church of today, and what the biblical idea can help us to determine “what do we do now?"
Read More“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). One of the great themes of the Bible is God’s loving mercy toward sinful man. As the Apostle Peter noted, if it were not for God’s mercy we would have no hope in this life. Notice some of the great statements about God’s mercy found in the Bible.
Read MoreThe Bible clearly teaches that the Devil is a serious adversary who desires to devour our soul. The Apostle Peter said, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). While the devil is a fearful foe, the good news is we can and must defeat the Devil. Here are three ways we can defeat Satan.
Read More“Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, ‘Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you’" (Acts 24:25). His mind was made up. Paul was going to Rome to appeal to Caesar. Yet, along the way Paul had a once in a lifetime opportunity to speak to such wicked men as Agrippa and Felix. If you could speak to some of the world’s most powerful leaders today about the gospel, what would you say? Let us consider Paul’s three major points to Felix.
Read MoreIt was a very tense moment. You have Jesus of Nazareth standing before the Roman governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate. We read in John’s Gospel account that after a brief recess, Pilate came back into his headquarters and began to question Jesus again…
Read MoreHave you ever wondered how to be successful with Bible studies? While every study cannot end with the desired result, we have to start with the basics. Here are five rules for a prosperous bible study…
Read MoreSome of the most beautiful words of our Lord are recorded in Matthew 11:28-30. Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." This beautiful language encourages our spirits in several ways.
Read MoreLook around and you will see that we live in a world plagued by suffering. The amount of people dying with such dreaded diseases as cancer, and AIDS is at an epidemic high. Many people around the world are literally starving to death right now. Others are in the midst of emotional and psychological turmoil and suffering. As we see the suffering that occurs in our world, we are naturally made to ask the question, “WHY?”. Why does human suffering occur?
Read More“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
Read MoreBeing a Christian is the most blessed life one could ever live! Jesus said, “I came that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). What a true privilege it was to have been called Christians first at Antioch (Acts 11:26). Today, it is not less of a privilege and blessing to be a Christian. Notice a couple of blessings that come from being a Christian.
Read MoreSometimes we get out of bed in the morning and things do not always go according to plan. I saw on social media this morning a woman who complained about the traffic here in town. For many of us, this is a reality. There are other things that could happen to us. It could be that you did not sleep well the night before.
Read More“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous main avails much” (James 5:16). Since prayer is such an important part of the Chrisitan life, it only makes sense the more I know about prayer the more it can benefit me and those in my prayer life. Here are some basic details Paul gives Timothy about prayer in 1 Tim. 2:1ff…
Read MoreMany times, we all may run into someone that we either haven’t seen for a while, or maybe even someone that we don’t actually now well at all and the statement is heard “hey, I know you.” Sometimes we may know them well and just haven’t seen them in a while…or sometimes we really don’t “know” them at all.
Read MoreThe Holy Spirit says, “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins” (Heb. 9:22). The Old Testament Levitical system was a very bloody system (Lev. 1-5). For every sin of every kind there was a blood sacrifice to be offered (Lev. 4:1-12). Yet the Scripture records that the blood of all those bulls and goats could never really take away sin (Heb. 10:3-4). How thankful we should be that Jesus was willing to shed His blood once for all for sin so that the sin problem would have a permanent solution (Heb. 10:12). Notice just how important the blood of Christ is to our salvation.
Read MoreWhen watching television, reading the newspaper, or listening to the radio sometimes it is hard to separate fact from fiction. Of course, the only way to do this is to analyze the facts and the source to ascertain if what is said is true. The same is true four some people’s religion. Some people talk a good talk but do they have true religion. James deals with true religion and teaches us how to separate fact from fiction in James 1:26-27.
Read More“A question was asked recently regarding the loss of several good men who preached the gospel - ‘who is going to fill their shoes...’ It is a valid question. Is your congregation working to be a preacher ‘factory’ or are we lining up for a funeral of the local church?”
Read MoreThe most important question ever asked is “What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30, 2:37). Everyone who believes in God must ask this question at one time in his or her life. Truly, no other source is better able to answer this question than the word of God, for it is able to save and sanctify the souls of men (James 1:21; Jn. 17:17, 8:32). Therefore, what does the Bible teach one must do to be saved?
Read MoreThat’s some pretty serious stuff right there!!! It’s natural…but it can kill ya! That is basically what they are saying here. Why on earth would anyone want to do that?
Read MoreWhen the Son of man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). This question Jesus asked arose from a discussion of persistence in prayer. This question of the Lord is designed to provoke an evaluation of our faith. The Apostle Paul said, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves” (2 Cor. 13:5). How can we make sure the Lord finds faith when he comes?
Read MoreIt was because we did not fit in with the “customs” of the area, or at least what is promoted as the way to have a good time at least. We were different.
Read More
