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Suicide Is a Very Complicated Issue
by Kevin Rutherford Suicide is a very complicated issue. It is one that we cannot be flippant about and careless with. This discussion should always be accompanied by caution, compassion, and care. If anyone reading this article has come to such a condition that you have had thoughts of suicide, please seek professional and spiritual…
Read MoreThe Judgment that Matters
by Edwin Crozier Text: I Peter 4. In I Peter 3:18, the apostle explained that when Jesus suffered once for sins, He was put to death in the flesh, but was made alive in the Spirit. Men killed Him, but God raised Him. Man’s rejection mattered little to Jesus personally. God’s assessment and acceptance mattered…
Read MoreIslam and Governments
by Larry Rouse Here is the simplest way to explain what makes Islam fundamentally different from every other major religion, and why it is uniquely destabilizing. Judaism, Sikhism, Christianity, and Islam are monotheistic religions, meaning they teach belief in one deity. Islam adds a second, inseparable layer, and that is exactly what makes it problematic.…
Read MoreIf the Devil Wanted to Make a Denomination Out of the Church
by Floyd Chappelear via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 18 No. 2, June 1994 The church of our Lord was fashioned in the mind of God before earth-time began (Ephesians 1:9-10; 3:9-11). It was made according to His purpose and was built by Him after the earthly sojourn of Jesus Christ (Matthew 16:18). Everything about it was perfect…
Read MoreVery Costly Perfume
by Hugh DeLong In chapter 14 of Mark, we are introduced to two different worldviews: what is the most important goal of one’s life, and the resulting use of one’s monetary resources. First, the ‘woman’, identified for us in Matthew 26:6-13 and John 12:1-8, is Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. She takes an…
Read MoreJudah and Jospeh
by Chad Bird Genesis 38 often feels like an unwanted interruption in the Joseph story, a dark and unsettling back-alley detour filled with death, sex, deceit, and judgment. For years, I treated it like a commercial break, impatient to return to Joseph’s story. But that view missed the point. Badly. Genesis 38 is not a…
Read MoreRoots of Repentance
by David Gibson Repentance isn’t easy. Why? Sin is pleasurable. Change is challenging. Confession is humbling. What can prompt a 180°? Fear of punishment Knowing God was about to punish, the Ninevites repented (Jonah 3:4-10). Seeing their penitence, God relented (Jeremiah 18:7-8). Shouldn’t Judgment Day motivate us? “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now…
Read MoreTwo Sons Show Us the Truth
by Terry Wane Benton When we hear those who read the scriptures through Calvinistic lenses tell us that Adam and Eve handed down “Total Depravity” and “Inability”, we turn our attention to two sons, each of whom should have inherited this depraved gene. Cain and Abel show us the opposite. Both brought an offering to…
Read MoreYou Can Be Hurt in the Church—and Still Raise Faithful Children
by Brad Harrub, Ph.D. There are few pains more confusing than being wounded by people who wear the name of Christ. Many parents have sat in pews with a knot in their stomach—betrayed by leadership, ignored in suffering, judged unfairly, or damaged by hypocrisy. Some have endured church splits, public shaming, mishandled discipline, gossip, or…
Read MoreWhat God Does with the Wounded
by Matthew Allan Many are tired. Not just busy, but worn down: disappointment, loss, prayers that feel unanswered, strained relationships, and quiet grief that piles up over time. The Lord is near the brokenhearted; he saves those crushed in spirit (Psalms 34:18). God draws near, not away When people are wounded, they pull back, isolate,…
Read MoreIs Anything Too Hard for the Lord?
by Terry Wane Benton Genesis shows the Lord creating and organizing the entire universe and all manner of life. Once we admit that the creation and life did not form themselves, which is obvious and undeniable science and fact, we have to follow the rest of the testimony given in Genesis that there is nothing…
Read MoreBorderline Christians
by B. C. Goodpasture There is a story of a county Superintendent of Education who received three applications for one vacancy among the school bus drivers. He devised this scheme for selecting the proper man. The superintendent took the first applicant to a sharp curve on a steep grade along the road and asked, “How…
Read MoreWhen Christians Grow Confused About ICE, Borders, and the Bible
by Brad Harrub, Ph.D. Few issues today generate more emotional confusion among Christians than immigration and the role of ICE. Social media has a way of reducing complex biblical questions into shallow slogans: “Jesus would tear down the walls,” or “Borders are unloving.” Those statements may sound compassionate, but they are not grounded in Scripture.…
Read MoreIs God in Control?
by Doy Moyer We often hear that “God is in control” when things in this world aren’t going well. With all the violence and evil, we wonder, how can God be in control? Are we saying that God makes bad people do bad things? Are we saying that God creates the violence and evil? It…
Read MoreBe Sober
by Terry Wane Benton Deuteronomy 29:19 says the drunkard cannot be included with the sober. Christians are commanded to “watch and be sober” (I Thessalonians 5:6). and “let us who are of the day be sober”(I Thessalonians 5:8). Instead of relaxing our minds with a little alcoholic beverage or a little weed, we are commanded…
Read MoreScoffers in the Last Days
by Terry Wane Benton “Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts” (II Peter 3:3). Scoffers are those who would laugh off the pure word of God. For example, they would scoff at the idea of a worldwide flood, Noah, and the animals being saved on an…
Read MoreRich Young Ruler
by Hugh DeLong I find it interesting to see the list of commandments that Jesus quoted to the rich young ruler in Mark 10:19: “You know the commandments: Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not defraud; honor your father and mother.” If you compare this…
Read MoreRaising Doctrinal Concerns the Right Way
by Matthew Allen via From Fear to Faith Truth matters. Scripture never calls God’s people to ignore error. Elders are told to guard the flock, preachers are charged to handle the word accurately, and Christians are warned that some will depart from the faith. But Scripture is equally clear about how concerns are to be…
Read MoreTrusting Self or God
by Doy Moyer Jesus told a parable “to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt” (Luke 18:9). What a statement! Jesus targeted head-on an attitude that was common enough that He wanted this parable to be known by future generations. “Two men went up into the temple to…
Read MoreWhat I Found Out About Preaching
by Clay Gentry Today, as I stepped into the pulpit, I began my 20th year of preaching. Looking back at that second Sunday in January 2007, I realize I’m no longer the “young preacher” in the room. I spent nearly 13 years with the good brethren at Lanton and have been with Jackson Heights for…
Read MoreIs Religion Purely the Product of Social Conditioning?
by Shane Scott via Unmasking Sophistry, Vol. 6 No. 1, January 2026 If you have been following the current series of articles I have been writing, you know that I am responding to some common objections raised against Christianity by unbelievers. There was a time when this sort of study (called apologetics) was a small niche…
Read MoreThe Old Law, Unintentional Sins, and the Christian
by Timothy D. Stringer via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 19 No. 3, September 1993 In Leviticus 4:1-6:7, God, through Moses, gives the Israelite nation provisions for the forgiveness of sins. The priest, the congregation, the leaders, and the common people are given different sacrifices and rituals to perform to receive forgiveness for unintentional sin. (Leviticus 4) For…
Read MoreHeart Set on Pilgrimage
by Terry Wane Benton “Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage” (Psalms 84:5 NKJV). Two things show us a truly “blessed” man. No! It is not his money, his political power, or his fame. A truly blessed man: Finds his strength to keep going in God, and…
Read MoreUnwashed Hands
by Hugh DeLong Somewhere before the time of Jesus, some of the Jewish leaders had taken the instructions for Priests in Num. 18:8-13, where they were to ceremonially ‘wash’ their hands before eating ‘holy’ food which had been offered as a sacrifice, and applied it to ‘ordinary’ food and ‘ordinary’ people. After a short while,…
Read MoreWhy Such a Divide in America?
by Terry Wane Benton There is a huge divide in our country. I look at the huge divide between the right and the left in American politics, to say nothing of the huge divide in religions that claim to believe in Jesus Christ. Why are we so deeply divided? Part of the reason is that…
Read MorePlow to the End of the Row
by Gary Henry via WordPoints “But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God'” (Luke 9:62). Whatever the project, the finish is better than the beginning. Outcomes matter most in life, not just intentions or struggles. To the churches in…
Read MoreDemons Believe and Tremble
by Hugh DeLong Text: Mark 5 Ok, Ok… so I start with a quote from the book of James, but it is apropos as we read about the incident involving Jesus and the demon-possessed man of Gerasenes. Here they are called ‘unclean spirits’ but Matthew calls them demons (Matthew 8:31). Some questions arise in that…
Read MoreWho Is the Holy Spirit? (Campbell)
by Kyle Campbell The Holy Spirit is a distinct member of the “Godhead” (Acts 17:29; Romans 1:20; Colossians 2:9). The Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4), and He is distinct from the Father and the Son (John 14:26; Acts 10:38). He was active in creation (Genesis 1:2, 26-27; Job 26:13; Psalms 104:30). He was given…
Read MoreHow do you know you are in the right church?
Question: Hello there, I am getting on here as I have many questions about God, the church, salvation, and the Bible. I was baptized into Christ just over a year ago, and while I understand that Jesus built one church and when I was baptized the Lord added me to that church, the state of…
Read MoreNot Divorcing
by Zeke Flores The local newspaper, where we used to live, had an interesting column one morning. It was about a married couple, Blanche and Jake, who’d been married for about 50 years. They were quite happy, and at first, I thought it would be a typical love story of two people growing old together.…
Read MoreBeware the Hands of Esau
by William V. Beasley via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 19 No. 3, September 1993 Rebekah and Jacob conspired to deceive Isaac and, thereby, to obtain the blessing intended for Esau (Genesis 27:1-29). God has never tried to whitewash the character of those who serve Him; He presents the bad along with the good. Both Rebekah and Jacob…
Read MoreDoes God pursue those who don’t keep their vows?
Question: Hello, dear pastor, I have a question for you. Today, while I was reading the Bible, I read Deuteronomy 23:21: “You must not delay in repaying your vows to the Lord your God, for the Lord your God will seek you back, and you are guilty if you do not pay them.” As I read…
Read MoreThe Loser’s Limp
by Ron Adams via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 19 No. 3, September 1993 I recall that several years ago, I heard a guest speaker refer to the ’loser’s limp.’ This phrase, he said, described the feigning of a handicap as the reason for not acting appropriately or not performing as required. All of us know when we…
Read MoreSerpent Voice
by Terry Wane Benton It is surprising that the adversary of God and man, Satan, could use a serpent and project words through such a creature, but he had such power to trick Eve (Genesis 3). She was not discerning enough to know that evil was at work, undermining the character of God and the…
Read MoreIt’s a New Day
by Doy Moyer One sobering thought is that children are coming into this world now who will live to see the 22nd century, assuming the Lord does not come first. I had grandparents who were born in the 19th century, and this connects back even further. Not only does time fly, but generations span across…
Read MoreThe Spirit or the Letter?
by Michael Thomas The apostle Paul said he and his fellow apostles were “ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (II Corinthians 3:6). He said this in reference to the work they had been given as gospel preachers, and how…
Read MoreThe Sovereignty of God (Benton)
by Terry Wane Benton I recently saw someone suggest that Calvinists would change John 3:19 to read: “And this is the condemnation, that light has come into the world, but I sovereignly chose not to regenerate them, so they had no choice but to love darkness instead.” This would need to be the reading if…
Read MorePropitiation
by Terry Wane Benton “Propitiation” is not a word used very often anymore, but it has to do with “appeasing” the righteous wrath of someone. In the case of humans who have sinned against the Holy Creator, justice needs to be satisfied, righteous anger appeased. Jesus is the propitiation needed. Notice that the “propitiation” was…
Read MoreFathers Raising Godly Children
by Chad Carter Over the years — now having passed 62 of them — I’ve observed that the men who have raised godly children, though differing widely in personality and disposition, tend to share many of the same traits and practices. The most significant commonality among them is a clear and deliberate intent to raise…
Read MoreSpectators or Worshipers?
by Cleve Stafford It would be in the interest of everyone who requires church to be entertaining to remember the following: God is not interested in spectators. He is not honored by emotional highs that disappear by Monday morning and remain hidden until some band or light show raises them again the following week. He…
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