November 27, 2019 - Dr. Luke records a story for us in Luke 17 that occurred one day when Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem and was passing through Samaria and Galilee. Jesus was approached by ten lepers, miserable creatures afflicted with a horrific disease.
November 21, 2019 - A preacher one time was asked if a certain man and his wife belonged to the church where he preached. His reply was, “No, they do not belong to the church here. They are members, but they do not belong to the church.”
It’s like this,” the preacher explained. “neither their time, their affection, their energy, their money, nor their influence belong to the church.”
November 14, 2019 - "Ready or not, here I come" was the way we announced to our companions we were coming to hunt for them when we played "hide and seek" as children. Well, as far as the Holidays are concerned, "ready or not, here they come."
I was thinking the other day about the holidays of my youth (yes, it's been a while!) and going to my grandparents home for Thanksgiving. Though we never went over the river and through the woods in a sleaigh, we did over the years make some rather long trips in the Oldsmobile!
November 7, 2019 - Oftentimes we wonder why the church is weak, and why that in a recent nationwide poll, almost 70% of those who claim membership in church never attend services.
We could blame it on our secular-progressive society, and we often do. We could blame it on the godless politics of our nation, organizations like the ACLU and Freedom From Religion Foundation, and they too are often our “whipping boy.” We could even blame it on churches, hypocritical members and uncaring preachers and there are numerous Christians who are doing that also.
October 31, 2019 - Often we hear people talk about “choosing a church” or “looking for a church home” like they were doing their Christmas Shopping or buying a new suit of clothes. I have heard folks say, “I am shopping around for a church and when I find the one I want, I’ll join it”.
October 23, 2019 - When we meet Moses in Exodus chapter 4, he is 80 years old. He has spent 40 years in Egypt, growing up in the household of Pharaoh and 40 years in Midian, herding sheep for his father-in-law on the back side of nowhere.
October 17, 2019 - “Until I went into the sanctuary of God, then I understood.” (Psalms 73:17)
The value of attending the public meetings of the church is a matter of dispute in the minds of many people. There are some folks who go to church regularly while others do not go at all. Then there are those who are in the services occasionally on days like Christmas, Easter and Mother’s Day.
October10, 2019 - King David could not build a temple, but he wrote a psalm! Three temples, one after another, crumbled in the dust, but the psalm lives today in the hearts of millions. Through three thousand years, the Twenty-Third Psalm has been a source of inspiration. It is the Christian’s great symphony, the theme of which is God’s care for His own.
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Or, as Paul says it, “My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
October 3, 2019 - The story is told of a Chinese farmer from a little village in the hills who was blind with cataracts on both eyes. With the help of neighbors, he found his way to a missionary hospital. The physician who examined him said he was not sure, but he thought he could help him see.