Christians form a great family. We are brothers and sisters with Christ and have the greatest Father, God. We know one another. We care for one another. Some may be “closer” than others, but we are all a close-knit family. Or are we? Can you name the people who sit in the pews around you? How about those who sit across the auditorium or in the balcony? If we don’t even know each other’s names, how can we say we care for one another? Also, why is it that our fellowship meals have had very low attendance lately? I know that some have been away on vacation or visiting family…

1. This psalm, if the superscription is correct, shows us the power of a negative memory. Most scholars believe that the psalm was written after David became king of Israel, but it points back to a time when Saul looked to kill the young man (First Samuel 19). We often have similar “negative flashbacks,” recalling a bad time in our life after we seemingly have moved beyond it. As with many other psalms, David pleads with God to take away his enemies and asks the Lord for deliverance (clearly seen in verse 1). 2. As he has done several times, David again enters a plea of “innocent” (verses 3-4). He…

Until just a couple of years ago, I was a Barry Bonds supporter. While I’m not always the greatest at it, I try to see the best in every person. When Bonds hit 73 home runs in 2001, I was somewhat skeptical, but I still supported him. When he won the batting title the next year, I was totally amazed. When BALCO entered the picture…and stayed in the picture…and stayed… Bonds is now just one swing of the bat away from being alone in first place. But the last few weeks have been fascinating to watch. Fans are booing when Bonds strides to the plate, feeling he has cheated the…

1. Many psalms discuss very similar themes. Psalm 58 discusses a theme that is constant in David’s writings: the fact that evil people lead others and a prayer that those evil leaders be overthrown or even destroyed. 2. David calls these leaders “gods” in verse 1, probably as a stinging rebuke of their arrogance. 3. Verse 2 gives a brief outline of how sin works, especially in those who habitually sin. Their hearts devise evil and then they do it. It simply does not work the other way around. 4. Verse 3, despite what many commentators say, is not teaching that we are sinners from birth. What David is saying…

NOTE from Adam: Several weeks after mentioning the Creation Museum, I received an email from Chris Gentle. He told me that he and his family had planned their vacation to the Cincinnati area in order to visit the museum because of the interest the articles had raised. [Click here for article I, here for article II and here for article III.] I asked him to write an article describing his experience. Has been gracious enough to do so, and to do a great job. At the end of the article is a link to some pictures from his family’s trip. There are about 115! We want to thank Chris for…

1. David ran from King Saul for quite a while, and this psalm was written at a time when it seemed as though David could have been killed. He was in a cave and hiding from the king. From this set of circumstances, David wrote a psalm of lament that still shows his trust in God. 2. Verse 1 is very beautiful when one reflects on the historical circumstance. While David is “taking refuge” in a cave, he knows that God is, in reality, the only refuge one needs. 3. In verse 2, David says that he is going to God, because God can do all things. (The NASB says,…

Today our young people will finish up “Mission: Haleyville VI.” This is an event where we do service project for 2 1/2 days and also have fun activities at night. Coming on the heels of our Vacation Bible School last week, I’m pretty beat. But I can’t quit yet. Why? Because we finish off Mission: Haleyville with a lock-in! The good part is that we are chaperoning in shifts, so I get to be done at 1 AM. Not as bad as being up all night, but…well….tomorrow is still going to be one of those days where I won’t want to do anything. Here are some links for your weekend…

I like stats. We have tried to note different milestones on this blog every so often. You may not care about them, but they are important to us. Today is one of those milestone moments, because this is our 500th post! We’re proud to have brought this many articles, and we look forward to many more. It is also cool that this 500th post gets to take you to a new blog by my dad. He admits that he won’t post stuff as often as I do, but when dad writes something, it is always good. So, I hope you will visit and bookmark Jim’s Gems. You’ll be glad you…

1. Nearly every scholar agrees, and the superscription to the Psalm points out, that the 56th Psalm was written when David had been captured by the Philistines at Gath (First Samuel 21). Because of those circumstances, it is interesting to note the trust that David still shows in his words. 2. Verses 1 and 2 set the stage for David’s thoughts. He is not only defeated, he is weary of fighting. Even in this state, though, he still comes to God with his thoughts and requests. 3. We need to teach verse 3 to our children. “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.” It is true…

The 9th Avenue congregation is blessed to have so many teachers. In preschool through 4th grade, we have approximately 38 different instructors. In our classes for 5th-12th grades, we have around 18. In our adult classes, around 16 different men and women lead students through God’s Word. While some “overlap,” that means that, in the course of a year, about 82 members of the 9th Avenue family are directly involved in teaching. Many also teach in our Vacation Bible School, but some of our VBS teachers are in addition to that number! It is hard to think of another congregation of our size (or even larger) where so many take…