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Is 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…
Read MoreGrace and the Self-Defense Debate
by Matthew W. Bassford A few weeks ago, in the wake of the West Freeway shooting, I put up a blog post (Self-Defense and Public Order) that argued that Christians have the right to defend themselves from murderous criminals. To my complete lack of surprise, this proved controversial. Everybody kept their comments civil, so I…
Read MoreThe Merneptah Stele
by David Wheeler Merenptah Stele Archaeology is a very helpful tool in establishing the existence of a place, ruler, or event. It becomes of increased interest to us when these discoveries shed light on a biblical place, figure, or event. The past three articles here have focused on those types of discoveries. The remains of…
Read MoreThe Dark Joy of Schadenfreude
by Wayne Greeson The cartoon shows a man standing before a rack of greeting cards. A sign over the rack reads “Schadenfreude Greeting Cards”. The cards in the rack include “greetings” such as: “Glad you were fired”, “Glad your home was repossessed” and “Glad you got divorced.” Schadenfreude (shaa-duhn-froy-duh) is a German word brought into…
Read MoreA Foolish Consistency
by Ken Green When I first began preaching, I was enamored by religious debates. They were declining in popularity, but there were still a few taking place. They are now extremely rare. Some debates were transcribed and published and I read all of them that I could find. I eventually participated in a number of…
Read MoreInstruments of Music in Worship
by Matthew W. Bassford Photo by Chad Z on Unsplash I think the use of musical instruments in our assemblies is a worthwhile subject for a couple of different reasons. First, it’s something that stands out about our services as compared to church services elsewhere. Visitors to our assemblies are nearly guaranteed to notice that…
Read MoreFrom Bad to Good
by Mike Johnson Text: Philippians 1:12-14 Paul Arrives in Rome in Chains Acts 28:15-16 Paul wrote the book of Philippians while in prison. His trial had probably already taken place, and he seemed to be waiting for the verdict. It appears he expected to be released but was uncertain about it. Paul, no doubt, did…
Read MoreDear Neighbor
Adapted from a flier sent out by the Church of Christ at Appleton, Wisconsin Are you looking for a more genuine relationship with Jesus? Do you long for a deeper sense of peace and hope in your life? Perhaps the Christians at Elm Grove can help. We don’t claim to be perfect or have all…
Read MoreOn Why We Study with Others
by Edwin Crozier Luke 15 shatters a sacred cow. It debunks a myth that I carried with me for a long time and many people I know still hang on to. It is the myth of “Just me and my Bible.” We like to think we just studied the Bible on our own and figured…
Read MoreConfidence in the Canon
by Allen Dvorak “The Lost Books of the Bible! Are you missing books from your Bible?” It is not uncommon to see such advertisements in the supermarket rags or at bookstores. Sometimes they hint at the idea that there has been some deliberate and/or covert effort to exclude certain books from the New Testament. Americans…
Read MoreToday’s Child Experts: “Punishment Does Not Help”
by Mark Roberts Journalist Betsy Flagler writes the syndicated “Parent to Parent” column that asks readers to write in with parenting problems and then tries to get expert help to those troubles. A mother in California recently wrote in that her first-grader has been pushing and hitting, been kicked out of the library, and all…
Read MoreWhy Do We Need Church Creeds?
by Jefferson David Tant Does your denomination have a creed? I suppose most denominations have an official creed outlining the things that distinguish one denomination from another. I have a box full of such books. These include the Catholic New Baltimore Catechism, the Baptist Hiscox Standard Manual for Baptist Churches, the Methodist Discipline, the Book…
Read MoreAn Example of Values Clarification
by Wayne S. Walker Back in 1985, a Trans-World flight from Athens, Greece, to Beirut, Lebanon was hijacked by a group of radical Muslims occurred. This event remained on the minds of many people for quite some time afterward. The majority of United States citizens, as well as those of all civilized, freedom-loving nations, denounce…
Read MoreJesus, the Bible, and History
by Edwin Crozier As Luke digs into the story of who Jesus is, he doesn’t say, “Long ago, in a land far, far away.” He doesn’t say, “Once upon a time.” He gets specific. It was the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar. Pontius Pilate was the governor of Judea. Herod was the…
Read MoreFoundations of Apologetics
by Doy Moyer I have tried, for better or worse, to dedicate myself over the years to the foundations of what it means to defend the reason for our hope (I Peter 3:15). While the study of apologetics (the defense of the faith) has many layers and even more topics, here is, in my experience,…
Read MoreSquirrels and Ostriches
by Doy Moyer We were casually on our way to the meeting house on Sunday morning. As far as I could see, we were the only vehicle on the road, at least for a few turns. Suddenly a squirrel came running out from the left side right toward us, and … well, he didn’t make…
Read MoreThe Point of the Prodigal Son
by Matthew W. Bassford I know that one should not have high expectations of religious memes, but the one below grinds my gears. Every time I saw it, I rolled my eyes a little bit harder, until I knew that either I’d have to write about it, or my eyes would get stuck that way…
Read MoreTrust
by Whit Sasser “If a man gives to his neighbor a donkey or an ox or a sheep or any beast to keep safe, and it dies or is injured or is driven away, without anyone seeing it, an oath by the Lord shall be between them both to see whether or not he has…
Read MoreWhy Did I Become a Preacher?
by Mark Stinnett After having preached full-time for only a few years, a good friend exclaimed excitedly at the end of a worship service, “Now, that is what I call preaching!” A visiting preacher spoke that day. My friend was not intentionally unkind, and I did not take it personally, but it did sting. I…
Read MoreWas Satan Created?
by Doy Moyer Years ago I was asked to teach a class on I Timothy 6 for a congregation that I was visiting. We read of Jesus Christ, “the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see” (I…
Read MoreFeeding the Poor
by Edwin Crozier Where in the Bible did Jesus feed the poor? My only goal is to provoke some intense thinking and searching. I’ll just say at the outset that I know my point here is going to make me an outlier. I know I’m cutting against the grain and swimming upstream and any other…
Read More180 Day Bible Reading Schedule
Start Date: Finish Date: Total Number of Days: All readings should be completed in one sitting. In order to obtain the maximum benefit from your efforts, read out loud and read every day. Day 1: Genesis 1:1-6:8 Day 2: Genesis 6:9-11:26 Day 3: Genesis 11:27-19:38 Day 4: Genesis 20:1-25:11 Day 5: Genesis 25:12-30:43 Day 6:…
Read MoreIt’s Not How You Feel
by Aubrey Belue Does it “feel good?” Does it feel “right?” If so, today’s culture says, “go for it!” Thus, we make “right” what our feelings say it is, rather than what it really is. Somehow, we have reached the point in contemporary reasoning that most say that one can pursue his individual dream without…
Read MoreKicking Against the Goads
by Whit Sasser A goad is an animal prod — a stick that is jabbed into the hind section of, say a plowing ox, to stimulate better forward movement. Almost instinctively, the animal may be aggravated by the prodding goad and kick against it. People can be the same way. In a figurative sense, people…
Read MoreRock Throwers from Way Back
by Warren Berkley If you watched the classic Andy Griffith TV Show, you remember Barney, Thelma Lou, Opie, and Goober. How about Earnest T. Bass? He appeared on several episodes, always in trouble for throwing rocks or bricks. “Bless his heart,” Andy once said, “he’s so ignorant, all he knows to do is throw rocks.”…
Read MoreAbout Church Socials
by Leslie Diestelkamp Two questions have been asked: (1) Why doesn’t the church have more socials? and (2) Why can’t we have parties in the basement of the church building? The New Testament authorizes every act and activity of the church. It provides us with all that pertains to life and godliness (II Peter 1:3).…
Read MoreThe Glory and Kingdom of the Son
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Matthew 16:21-28; Mark 8:31-9:1; Luke 9:21-27 To the dismay of his disciples, Jesus began to speak of his pending death. Peter and the other disciples did not realize the importance of that death in God’s plans. Peter went so far as to declare that God would never allow such a…
Read MoreHow Could a Loving God Send Me to Hell?
by Tanner Campbell The very thought of Hell is terrifying. Such a thought is an intense provoker for many to repent of their sins and revere the word of the Lord. However, others think little of Hell. For example, you may have heard someone say something like “how could a loving, kind, and merciful God…
Read MoreThe New Birth of Water
by James E. Cooper in Biblical Insights, Vol. 5, No. 2, Feb. 2005 Question: “Does ‘born of water’ in John 3:3,5 refer to baptism? Answer: Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God,” and “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom…
Read MoreWhere Is God When Mass Murder Strikes?
by David Dann The psalmist poses the following question: “Why do You stand afar off, O LORD? Why do You hide in times of trouble?” (Psalms 10:1). As he describes the wicked man in the same passage, the inspired writer goes on to say, “He sits in the lurking places of the villages; in the…
Read MoreIs the Bible Sufficient?
by Wayne Chamberlain The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy and said, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (II Timothy 3:16-17). In a word, Paul is saying,…
Read MoreWhy Do Bad Things Happen?
by T. Sean Sullivan How often is your life visited with a bad day or bad news? How often do we suffer in this world? One specific area that I know visits every family at one time or another is sickness. Yes, ailments come and sometimes they bring an end to a loved one’s life.…
Read MoreHave Times Changed?
by Austin Hausner “For the Son of man came to seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10). When we talk with people about Christianity or anything Bible-related we find there are many objections to Christianity. Some of these objections are fairly common. We want to be able to provide a counter-argument to one of the…
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