Church Life
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Give Me the Bible
I am part of a ladies’ Bible class that I love. If you are around me for very long and in our area, I will be inviting you to be part of that class. It has enriched my life in so many ways because we really study the Bible. I mean, we really study the Bible. We don’t use any class book, not because we don’t believe in them or can’t find a good one (I know there are lots of good ones out there), but because we see a need to just study God’s word in depth. I was thinking about a song we sometimes sing at our congregation. The title of the song…
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Some Thoughts on “Equipping the Saints”
The older I get, the more time I have found myself spending in Ephesians 4. Not only have the first several verses of that chapter become a favorite part of the Bible for me, but I continue to see how their practical application would solve so many issues congregations face. In verse 11 of that chapter, Paul writes that there are different leadership roles in the congregation. Following up on that, he writes the purpose of these roles: “To equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” If you continue reading (verses 13-16), you will see the result, and it is nothing short…
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Casting the First Stone
Perhaps one of the most well-known events in the life of Christ is recorded by John the apostle in the eighth chapter of his gospel account. Though this passage is questioned by some textual critics regarding its inclusion, we read of a woman who was caught in adultery and brought before Jesus. The mob was ready to stone her, but the question about what should be done was posed to our Savior as a test. You can just see in your mind the image of this woman pushed down into the dust at the feet of the Lord. Perhaps that is why he stooped down and wrote something on the…
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What Else Went Up in 1964
1964 was an election year. For those of us who lived at that time, we probably remember the victory that Lyndon Johnson achieved over Barry Goldwater in the presidential election that year. It was decidedly one-sided (486-52 electoral votes; 61.1%-38.5% popular votes). When the dust settled, the Democratic Party had sixty-eight of the one hundred Senate seats and 295 of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives. Many factors played into all of that. I will leave it to the historians and experts on presidential elections to discuss and debate those things. Other than the fact that there was an election in 1964, that year was probably a fairly typical one…
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Episode 89: The “Profit” of Biblical Parenting, Pew Packers Resources…and More! [Podcast]
https://media.blubrry.com/faughnfamily/content.blubrry.com/faughnfamily/Legacy_Podcast_089.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS(Player not displaying or working? Click here.) In this week’s podcast, Adam and Leah share a fantastic quote from Gregory Tidwell about the need to focus on Biblical parenting. Then, to help families do just that, they share a free resource from the blog to help children memorize basic Bible facts, memory verses, and more. Links below! Resources Quote from Gregory Tidwell on parenting [Facebook] Pew Packers Resource homepage [A Legacy of Faith] More from A Legacy of Faith To subscribe to A Legacy of Faith by email for free click here. Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes Subscribe via rss Find us on…
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The Difference a Few Days Can Make
Ask the people of Texas. Or those in Florida. Or the ones in all the areas of the raging wildfires. How long, how many days did it take before their lives were changed? I would suggest that the answer could even be shorter than days – maybe hours or even minutes. Sunday morning, my son, Daniel, pointed out an instance in the life of one of Christ’s disciples where things changed in short order. In Matthew 16, we read of the great confession Peter made of Jesus being the Christ, “the Son of the living God” (verse 16). For that confession, Peter was praised and given a new name. But…
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Reading that Reminds Us of Real Pain
If you know me at all, you know I like to read. Other than my daily Bible reading, I try to have two or three books going all the time. [If you want to see a list of all the books I have read so far this year, here’s a link.] As with anything else, however, it can become easy to read in an “echo chamber.” In other words, we may be reading good material, but, too often, we only read things that we already agree with or that we know are going to make us feel good and uplift us. Recently, however, I have finished two books that truly…
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Does God Execute Judgment with Earthquakes and Hurricanes?
Recently we have been witnessing some incredibly impressive events in our natural world. Hurricanes and earthquakes and floods, oh, and I also heard something about an eclipse happening somewhere. With these events, there has also been some conversation through the media and other channels concerning their occurrence and what part God might possibly play in it all. Have you heard anything like this before?… “Well, New Orleans got hit with Katrina because God was cleaning up all the sin down there…” “God is punishing Texas with Harvey because they voted for Trump…” And let’s not forget this one, though not associated within anything weather related – “9-11 happened because God…
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The Rains Have Stopped but the Flooding Has Not
I am typing these words on September 5, 2017. I thought I would provide that information for a couple of reasons. Neither of those reasons has anything to do with the fact that this particular date has any monumental significance. First, since I do not know when this will actually appear online, I thought it would be appropriate to provide a kind of “time stamp” for my thoughts. I also provided that date because, as I type these words, Hurricane Harvey is beginning to “do a slow fade” from the news headlines. That “slow fade” has actually taken place in a relatively short time. It has only been eleven days since Harvey hit the…
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Teach Me, Lord, to Wait
Teach me Lord to wait down on my knees, Till in Your own good time You answer my pleas; Teach me not to rely on what others do, But to wait in prayer for an answer from You. Teach me Lord to wait while hearts are aflame, Let me humble my pride and call on Your name. Keep my faith renewed, my eyes on Thee, Let me be on this earth what You want me to be. “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” Teach me…
