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Let it Shine, Let it Shine, Let it Shine . . .
by Edward O. Bragwell Our title is a line from a very familiar song to little folks who participate in Bible classes. Seeing them marching around, holding the imaginary light high with one hand, is a joy. The idea ultimately goes back to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount: “Ye are the light of the world.…
Read MoreThe People Who Get to Understand
by Matthew W. Bassford Classical Calvinism teaches that it is impossible for the unregenerate to understand the word of God. We first must be anointed by the Holy Spirit before we can comprehend it and be saved. At first glance, Matthew 13:11 appears to support this doctrine. Here, Jesus says to His disciples, “Because the…
Read MoreThe Wonder of Hearing
by Whit Sasser God’s design of hearing is such a wonder of the human body and our ears in particular. “The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord has made them both” (Proverbs 20:12). Our world is full of sound—sirens, traffic, thunder…songbirds, music, voices, etc. Thank God, we can hear! I have read that…
Read MoreAre We Trusting God or Testing God?
“Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike…
Read MoreDoes God Create Sinners?
by Jerral Kay Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash Catholics and Protestants teach that God creates sinners. They say that all babies are born totally depraved, wicked from birth. The Bible does not teach this. Jesus was born totally human, coming from a sinful mother, and according to their doctrine, all humans inherit sin from…
Read MoreThe Wonder of Sight
by Whit Sasser God’s design of sight is such a wonder of the human body and our eyes in particular. The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord has made them both (Proverbs 20:12). Charles Darwin struggled with the problem of an organ so complex as the eye evolving via naturalistic processes. In The…
Read MoreSeek the Welfare of the City
by Doy Moyer God’s people had been sent into exile because of their failure to keep the covenant. While in Babylonian exile, what should have been the attitude of the exiles generally? Jeremiah sent a letter to those in exile: “to the surviving elders of the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all…
Read MoreDon’t Pile on Trouble
by Terry Wane Benton Sufficient for today is its own trouble (Matthew 6:34). Deal one day at a time. Don’t fill your day with more than is necessary. Trying to carry worries about today and tomorrow is too much stress for today. Deal with one day at a time. One foot in front of the other,…
Read MoreLord, Lord
by Matthew W. Bassford There are many pointed questions in Scripture, but perhaps the most pointed of them all appears in Luke 6:46. Here, Jesus exposes the great contradiction of (self-described) Christianity—the millions upon millions of people who call Jesus Lord but don’t do what He says to do. It is as though they see…
Read MoreThe Setting for the Lord’s Supper
by Gary P. Eubanks A Practical and Critical Question If a Christian is too sick to attend the Sunday assemblies of a church but is not too sick to eat the Lord’s Supper at home, may, or should, he do so? It is difficult to imagine a more realistic question or even one more critical…
Read MoreJohn and Witnesses
by Matthew W. Bassford Most Christians probably appreciate the significance of Habakkuk 2:4 (“The righteous one will live by his faith.”) to understanding the New Testament, but the significance of Deuteronomy 19:15 often escapes us. It reads, “One witness cannot establish any iniquity or sin against a person, whatever that person has done. A fact…
Read MoreGod, Our Stronghold
by Matthew W. Bassford Never in my lifetime have I seen an event have as significant effect on daily life as the coronavirus epidemic. I remember the fall of the Berlin Wall and 9-11, but in both cases, it was business as usual almost everywhere. Not so with the coronavirus! Indeed, it even has affected…
Read MoreIs it Wrong for Churches to Cancel Services?
by Ken Weliever via The Preacher’s Word This question raised today reminds me of the old joke about the politician who was asked by a reporter his position on a particular issue. “Well, there are two ways to look at it,” he responded. Then launched into a lengthy explanation of both views, giving both the…
Read MoreThe Church Is Still the Church
by Doy Moyer “Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory” (Psalms 63:2). David wrote that while on the run in the wilderness. While the temple had not been built, David would have thought of the tabernacle and perhaps imagined what a future temple would look like. Thinking…
Read MoreA Present Distress
by Doy Moyer “I think that in view of the present distress it is good for a person to remain as he is” (I Corinthians 7:26). Christians faced struggles and persecutions peculiar to their profession as Christians. Paul was dealing with a situation in which there was a “present distress.” We don’t know exactly what…
Read MoreA Godly Man in Wicked Surroundings
by Bill Hall Elijah fed by the ravens I Kings 17:6 Elijah was a man who reached true greatness in the Lord’s service. He was always ready to go where God would send him (I Kings 18:1; 19:15); to pray whenever prayer was needed (I Kings 17:20, 21; 18:36, 37), and to confront evil whenever…
Read MoreLove in the Time of an Epidemic
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton A friend of mine recently posted a passage written by Eusebius, an early historian of the church, which I wish to share with you. At the peak of the Cyprian Plague, which ran from about A.D. 249 to 262, there were as many as 5,000 deaths per day throughout the Roman…
Read MoreFatherhood
by Alex Krutov Becoming a Father This is something, I wanted to write for our son’s 1-month birthday. It is hard to believe that Levi is going to turn 1 month old in a few days. Where did the time go? Yes, many people told us, do not rush the time and enjoy every moment…
Read MoreFrequency of the Lord’s Supper
by Billy Moore As to the frequency of eating the Lord’s Supper, many have wrestled with this question. Since Acts 20:7 is the only reference of disciples coming together to eat the Lord’s Supper, it is the only reference to which we can appeal to establish frequency. We learn “what to eat” and “what to…
Read MoreA Great Evangelistic Tool
by Scott Smelser I think it works better than radio, better than autodialers, better than showings of Jule Miller videos, better than mailing out a bulletin, better than Dial-a-Bible-Reading, better than debates, better than cable TV. What is it? It’s brethren not being conformed to the world. Photo by Ben White on Unsplash If a…
Read MoreThe Handwriting of Requirements Was the Law of Moses
by Terry Wane Benton Photo by Greg Rosenke on Unsplash Paul said the “handwriting of requirements” was “against us” and “was contrary to us” and “He (Jesus) has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14). As a result of this, no one could judge you in food or…
Read MoreLearning the Secret of Contentment
by Ken Green “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content” (Philippians 4:11, ESV). Do you find contentment to be elusive? Be encouraged. Even the apostle Paul realized being content was something he had to learn. If Paul had to pursue contentment,…
Read MoreSins I Do Not See
by Whit Sasser A line of a Christian hymn reads… “Forgive the secret sins I do not see.” The mercy of our God is so great in the forgiveness He grants for sins we are unaware of…the sins we do not even see. Wow! There are sins I do not see due to ignorance…I didn’t…
Read MoreIt’s About Sex, Actually
by Matthew W. Bassford Without a doubt, the greatest marketing campaign of the modern era was (and continues to be) staged by the gay-rights movement. The recent sea change in the national attitude toward same-sex relationships is the result of a brilliant, decades-long initiative in framing and public relations. Though I don’t approve of the…
Read MoreIf HOW We Worship Doesn’t Matter …
by Terry Wane Benton Then it should not have mattered that Cain brought a different offering from Abel as long as he brought something (See Genesis 4). Then it should not have mattered what source of fire that Nadab and Abihu used as long as it was in their heart to offer God something (See…
Read MoreFor God so Loved the World
by Matthew W. Bassford John 3:16 is surely the most well-known verse in the Bible, with even Matthew 7:1 running a close second. Most Christians are aware that the world’s understanding of the latter is dramatically off-base, but I think that even when it comes to the former, we miss the point a little bit.…
Read MoreAre there Contradictions about Jesus’ Burial?
by Edwin Crozier At the end of Luke 23, we learned some women, having seen where Jesus was buried, prepared spices and ointments for His burial. Then in Luke 24:1, they were coming to the tomb early on the first day of the week with those prepared spices, presumably to perform the Jewish burial customs…
Read MoreLoving Enemies
by Doy Moyer The world can see whether or not we love one another (John 13:34-35). The world can see whether or not we are committed to unity (John 17:20-21). The world can also see whether or not we love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48). Photo by Chang Duong on Unsplash Loving enemies is one of…
Read MoreThe Boy Who Didn’t Come Back from Heaven
by Wayne Greeson The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven came out in 2010 and sold more than 1 million copies and spent months on the New York Times’ bestseller list. Kevin Malarkey and his six-year-old son Alex were driving home from church in Huntsville, Ohio, on a Sunday morning in November 2004, when they…
Read MoreSummary of Daniel 11
compiled by Raymond Warfel The Last Vision The Conflict Between Persia and Greece (Daniel 11:1-4) vs 1 – Who strengthened whom? Verse 1 is a continuation of chapter 10, so it is referring to the angel who brings Daniel the message. vs 2 – Three more kings are to come in Persia, then a fourth…
Read MoreMy Personal Insult to God
by Pieter Yoshua Perhaps my understanding will change in the future or I could be wrong, but I want to write this criticism for myself and perhaps it will cause you to think as well. I thought that it is possible for me to be a Christian while living in a way that was insulting God.…
Read MoreYou’re Judging Another Person’s Salvation
By Joe R. Price May we examine a person’s personal belief about their salvation without “judging” them? More specifically, is it possible to identify an unbiblical view a person has about their salvation? Can we use the Scriptures to explain to a lost person he or she is lost? Or, are we judging that person…
Read MoreIs Our Bible Text Reliable?
by Abraham Smith “The Judgements of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward” (Psalms 19:9-11). We all ought to place…
Read MoreWhy Congregations Dwindle
by Connie W. Adams “Empty Pews” by Carol Von Canon on Flickr It is not uncommon to see congregations that once were large and active in the Lord’s work gradually dwindling. The natural question is, “Why?” I believe the following reasons must be considered. People moving away Sometimes workers are transferred, or lose jobs and…
Read MoreDoes Truth Exist?
by Terry Wane Benton Jesus claimed that it does and that it can be known (John 8:30-31). However, others make the claim that truth does not exist and that it is only what each person wants it to be. Some “intellectuals” say, “There is no truth.” But that itself is a truth claim. Is it…
Read MoreGood Credit
by Zeke Flores When I was a much younger man, I wrecked my credit. I made foolish decisions, borrowed more than I should have, and made late payments. Soon, the only ones who would lend me money were the high-rate lenders and even they were wary. It took years to restore my financial good name…
Read MoreThe Lachish Reliefs and Sennacherib’s Annals
by David Wheeler Today we will discuss a rather large archaeological discovery. It is the Lachish Reliefs from the palace of Sennacherib which were unearthed between 1845 and 1847. Sennacherib was the king of Assyria from 705-681 BC and his reign largely overlapped the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah. During this period, the kings…
Read MoreCommenting on the Catholic Church
by Zeke Flores I recently read a shared post on Facebook written by a Catholic priest who is angered by “a sea of stupid articles, idiotic commentary and boneheaded op-eds about the Catholic Church, by people who have no clue what they’re talking about.” He goes on to rant about “the number of misinformed articles…
Read MorePreachers and Their Demise
by Doug Dingley I recently read on a church leadership lectureship flyer that the church is losing approximately 600 preachers per year while replacing only about 300 over that same time span. Although those numbers initially seemed staggering to me (especially when you factor in that in all likelihood, a sizeable percentage of those 300…
Read MoreMary’s Testimony
by Matthew W. Bassford In Luke 1:1-4, Luke claims to be engaged in the practice of inspired history. He hasn’t accumulated his knowledge of Jesus via direct download from the Holy Spirit, nor is he an eyewitness to the events of the gospels. Instead, he has consulted those who were eyewitnesses and pieced their stories…
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