“Put On Therefore …”
“… as God’s elect, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one another and forgiving each other …” (Col. 3:12f). The apostle’s appeal “put on” is an appeal to dress oneself with the qualities he has named. Peter used the same figure urging elders to “clothe” themselves with humility (1 […]
Put Away Malice
A couple of weeks ago, news outlets reported that a silly high school locker room stunt more than 50 years ago provoked a 73-year-old South Dakota man to fatally shoot his long-ago classmate. Carl Ericsson was sentenced to life in prison. Retired high school teacher and track coach Norman Johnson was shot twice in the […]
Profanity
Why do some people speak with vulgar lips? Does it benefit you as a hearer? Does it benefit the speaker? A child says bad words because they think it makes them appear mature. In reality, when someone uses profanity, it only leaves an impression of lower intelligence, for even the simpleminded can use vulgar language. […]
Press On
The world will tell you that the dominating influence in your life is your past. If you came from a difficult home, that will determine the direction of your life. If your culture was treated unfairly, that will dictate the condition of your life today. If you were hurt or abused or if your youth […]
Leading in Public Worship
Someone has to lead when Christians assemble to worship. Whether one is starting out assisting at the Lord’s table, or using their well-seasoned abilities in song leading or public exhortation, it is a great honor to be called upon to lead the Lord’s church in a certain aspect of the public worship service. However, this […]
Preparing for Worship
Every Sunday morning I go through somewhat of a ritual at my house to get prepared for worship services. I wake up at 6:00 and look over my sermon outline. Then I take a shower, eat breakfast with my family, get dressed, brush my teeth, and out the door I go! I am sure most […]
Four Parables in Matthew 24-25
The Parable of the Thief, The Parable of the Good and Wicked Servants, The Parable of the Ten Virgins, and The Parable of the Talents In Matthew 24 and 25, Jesus is speaking to His disciples about two events: the destruction of Jerusalem and the second coming of the Lord. Jesus uses four parables to […]
Precious Moments
Erma Bombeck wrote a column on what she might do differently were she given the opportunity to live her life over again. Some of the things she included were, “If I had my life to live over again, I would have waxed less and listened more. I would have taken the time to listen to […]
Modest Swimwear
One of the challenges of summer that Christians face is finding clothing that is modest — especially if you plan to participate in any water-related activities. But just what constitutes modest? Several Bible reference works define modest as “restrained by a sense of what is proper … free from anything suggestive of sexual impurity … […]
Prayers
We have been studying pray recently at the Loop 287 Church of Christ, and it has been extremely uplifting. Other than studying God’s word, I don’t believe there’s a better activity in which one can engage. I thought it might be good to quickly share with you three types of prayer that we should imitate. […]