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Checkout Lines and Teaching Values
I stood in the checkout line at Walmart while the clerk finished scanning all of my items. All of the sudden I had a tremendous sinking feeling down in my stomach. For once, it wasn’t caused by watching the grocery bill get larger and larger. The feeling was caused by watching the people behind me in the line. I watched as an old woman rolled up to the line in an electronic riding carts. With her, there were two young women who appeared to be in their twenties, or possibly younger. There were one or two kids with them. Just as they walked up to the counter, a worker brought…
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“Hymns of the Heart” Now Ready to Order!
The book that I have been writing for a long time is now available. We are thrilled to let you know that Hymns of the Heart: Discovering God in the Psalms can now be ordered from our friends at Start2Finish books. The book is not meant to be a verse-by-verse exposition of all 150 of the Psalms. Instead, I chose 35 that I feel help the reader connect more deeply with the Lord, and I tried to write in a fairly conversational style about each of the selected Psalms. Thanks to some amazing editing (which was very needed!), the book is designed to help the reader draw closer to the Lord. From the…
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While Reading the Bible, Did We See Jesus?
He was talking to God’s people. But they did not understand who He was. This must have been frustrating to Jesus. John put it this way, “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:10-11). They did not understand what He was saying. But Jesus kept talking to them anyway. One thing in particular He said to the Jews is very intriguing. In John 5:39 He explained, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify…
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The Church What Helps People
If you were alive and at least somewhat acquainted with the church of Christ prior to 1984, you probably remember a man by the name of Ira North. Brother North was probably best known as the preacher for the Madison (TN) church of Christ. During his thirty-two years there, it grew from about 400 to over 5,000. Along with his normal preaching duties, he also was the speaker for a weekly television program called The Amazing Grace Bible Class. He was also a faculty member at what was then David Lipscomb College (now Lipscomb University). He was an author and served for a time as editor of the Gospel Advocate. While actually doing some…
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5 Things Every Congregation CAN Do to Encourage Families
[Editor’s note: Today’s post comes to us from Dan Jenkins. Dan is a great gospel preacher, and we appreciate him taking the time to write for us. To find out more about Dan, read his information following today’s article.] It is obvious that the strength of the church is found in the homes of those who make up the local congregation. However, we tend to often limit our consideration to those homes and families where there are Christian parents and young children. The reality is this: because of our changing world this is only one kind of family. Remember that there are families in the church where there are single…
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5 Service Projects for Your Kids This Summer
“Yeah, school’s out!” …wait three days… “I’m bored!” First of all, I do not have a problem with kids being bored. It forces them to stretch themselves and use their imaginations to find ways to fill in the time. Not every moment of every day should be go-go-go for any of us. That said, summertime does afford good opportunities for children to give back to others. Because they have a little extra time, it is good for them to use some of that time to serve other people in ways that may take a little time. While there are countless ways kids can do this, today we share 5 that…
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Because I Said So
I read articles from time-to-time that talk about how parents should avoid saying the phrase “because I said so” as a reason for asking their children to do something. The usual line of reasoning is quite simple. It is that children need to be instructed as to why something is necessary, or right, or wrong. The argument then goes that just saying “because I said so” is not instructing children. Some even go so far as to say that using that line is almost dictatorial. To be fair, if “because I said so” is the only reason we ever give to our children for anything we tell them to do, that isn’t right.…
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“Will You Still be My Daddy in Heaven?”
One of the best things about spending time with your kids is being present for their inquisitive moments. The other day my seven-year-old daughter asked me if I would still be her daddy in heaven. This is a pretty good question. It is similar to other questions about eternity that people often have. These questions usually have something to do with comprehending how different is going to be better. We are creatures of habit and therefore norms are safe and comfortable to us. One of the greatest difficulties in understanding the grandeur of heaven involves accepting the fact that the unknowns are superior to the knowns. When your children ask…
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It Was Kind of Short
Recently, I watched what I thought was an enlightening video. It only lasted about ninety seconds. That is a very short time. However, the title for this article did not come from the fact that the video was short. It came from a quote in the video. The video showed part of a birthday celebration. You may have never heard of the person whose birthday was being celebrated. Her name was Misao Okawa. I am using the past tense because she passed from this life on April 1st of this year. Prior to her passing, she was recognized as the world’s oldest living person. The video I watched was recorded last year as she celebrated her…
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When a Loved One Leaves the Faith
[Editor’s Note: Today’s post is a guest article from Kathy Pollard, who recently published the book Return to Me. You can learn more about Kathy and this great book after today’s post. We thank her for sharing today’s article.] “…Fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith” (1 Timothy 1:18,19). Some have rejected the faith and suffered shipwreck. How many? I don’t know. But I do know that for every wayward Christian, there is a bewildered family floundering in the wake. If you have a loved one who has turned away from God, you are not alone. The next time you go…
