God and Baal
In the land of Canaan, the land that God gave to Israel, the worship of Baal was very prevalent. The Israelites, ignoring the command of God, left people in the land and idolatrous worship developed. Judges 3:7 reports, “And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forget the Lord […]
The Accomplishments of Jesus
Secularly speaking, there was nothing intrinsically spectacular about the birth of Jesus or His life. Jesus was born in lowly circumstances (Luke 2:7). Jesus never acquired wealth or political power (Matthew 8:20; John 18:36). Jesus possessed no unusual beauty or magnetism (Isaiah 53:2). He made many enemies, some of whom were very influential (Matthew 22:15-16, […]
Sins That Bring Reproach on the Church
Restraining the spread of truth is as serious as rejecting Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Paul wrote, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18). The term “hold” is applied to those who, by their unrighteous conduct, […]
The Suffering Servant
“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.” (Isaiah 53:4) I sometimes wonder if we actually realize what the death of Jesus means. Isaiah put into words one of the most wonderful passages about the work of Christ. This passage forms the […]
Gospel Meetings are Great Opportunities
Our upcoming meeting with Eddie Caskey will give us great opportunities: To Worship God. In addition to our normal assemblies, we will meet every night this week to worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). We will be able to say with David, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us […]
Leaders at Work
One of the jobs a leader faces is handling problems as they come along. One of the problems leaders have is solving difficulties without getting themselves distracted from what God has called them to do. Often leaders can solve problems by doing tasks themselves and robbing time from other important tasks. The apostles solved a […]
Sanctuary Churches
A relatively new phenomenon in our nation is the emergence of what are known as “sanctuary cities” in which people who have committed certain federal crimes are immune to deportation. Needless to say, this has created great controversy among the citizens of our nation. Unfortunately, a similar problem exists among our brethren regarding corrective church […]
What is the Church of Christ?
When Jesus promised to build His church in Matthew 16:18, not everyone realizes what that means. We can understand that Jesus purchased the church (Acts 20:28), and we can understand about the name “church of Christ” (Romans 16:16), but beyond that we’re at a loss. Thankfully, the Bible provides several synonyms that fill in our […]
What Do People Want?
Our congregation is blessed with many visitors. Most are looking for a congregation to attend all the time, but what do they want in a congregation? Some possibilities include close proximity to their home, friendliness, a nursery or “kiddie church,” entertaining services, an impressive building, a large membership, a dynamic preacher, numerous youth activities, or […]
Hometown Hero
You can imagine the surprise of the local people in Nazareth in Luke 4:14-30 when the “boy” they watched grow up came back for a visit to His hometown and presented Himself as a religious teacher and as the Messiah. A lot of people would consider Jesus a “hometown hero.” After all, they had heard […]