I thought we might begin the blog year with some trustworthy sayings. To what do I refer? Paul the apostle, of course! Five times the inspired missionary-writer says “This is a trustworthy saying!” and then he says it. Each time the saying or the “word”…
NOTE: Hey church! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas eve and day with family and friends this week! A brother of ours in Christ, Keith Stranglin, published just today an article that I found not only rich in thought but also of rich potential…
How about those wise guys? Umm, men. The wise men. How about them? They enter the story of Jesus in Matthew chapter 2. Who were they? They came from the East, probably the land of Persia. They were pagans. …
A Christmas Poem
(by Daniel McCoy of Renew.org)
What’s the most wonderful time of the year?
Ask…
As a follow-up to my last post on “Why I Am Not ‘The Pastor’”, I wanted to relay a wonderful portion of writing from Alexander Strauch’s “Biblical Eldership,” page 302-303, footnote #7 to chapter 5 (“Servant Leadership”). Strauch’s book is a masterful study of what the Bible…
I am not the pastor of the church. Now, when I am called such, I do not throw a fit or raise a big stink. There are worse errors. However, it is an error, and so there is a good reason I assert that…
A very brief blog today, but hopefully, an impactful thought.
When Peter preached his great gospel sermon on the Day of Pentecost, more than 3,000 responded in faith and were baptized into Christ. Acts chapter 2.
When Stephen preached his great sermon, the listeners picked up rocks and…
I saw these excellent thoughts from Nathan at Renew.org. I hope they challenge you, and if need be, motivate you! – MEM
7 Reasons to Arrive Early to Church - Nathan…
I was blessed with wonderful, believing parents, who loved me and were there for me as I was growing up. Not perfect people, but very good people. Godly people. I am so thankful to God for their blessing of my life.
God is love.
God is a consuming fire.
Both are true.
How to understand and appreciate these…
I was richly blessed with all of my Bible education, undergraduate, graduate, continuing, etc. But never once did I receive a course that taught me how to pray, or the deep importance of prayer to the…
Jesus was a man of peace, the Prince of Peace, in fact (Isaiah 9:6). He lived in a time of war, a culture of war. He was perfect love in the flesh, but people hated him. Read 1 Peter 2:21-25. Obviously,…
We usually think of sin in terms of acts of commission, that is, things we do – we commit sin. But there are also acts of omission, things we fail to do, that can be just as sinful. Have you ever…
Recently I had the privilege of hosting our church teens in our home and leading them in a devotional thought. I decided to have them think for a few minutes about famous teens in the Bible. We mentioned and discussed Joseph…
The story of the churches that pioneered on the Western Reserve is full of human interest and fascinating characters. Let me give one example this week that comes from Amos Hayden’s magisterial Early History of the Disciples in the Western Reserve. …