Church Life
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Could You Be Wrong about Your Religion?
Saul was wrong about Christianity. Peter was wrong about the Gentiles. James and John were wrong about discipleship. Thomas was wrong about faith. We could go on and on but the point is that even sincerely religious people are going to be wrong about what they believe and practice sometimes. This is why we have the Bible. This is why it is the supreme authority on all religious matters. Some people believe in the wrong God. There is only one God, Jehovah (Deut. 6:4). Yet we have Allah, Buddha, the gods of Hinduism, or the other various false gods created by man. People believe in these gods and stake their…
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A Lump in a Shoe : An Illustration of Love
Years ago, a good brother shared a story with me that I would like to share with you. I hope that it will have the same impact on you that it did (and does) on me. He told me about a mother who asked her young son to shine her slippers. He worked very carefully. He did a wonderful job. She was so impressed that she gave her son a quarter. (Remember, this was years ago.) The next time she wore those shoes, she felt a lump in one of them. She pulled the shoe off and found a quarter with a piece of paper wrapped around it. On the paper, in her son’s boyhood scrawl, were…
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Preachers’ Wives’ Retreat
This may sound like an odd topic for a Legacy of Faith post. You may also think it is only for a very limited audience, but I hope you’ll take the time to read this post. While doing a lesson for preachers’ wives at Polishing the Pulpit several years ago I made some comments about this role that touched the hearts of several people. One lady in particular, Carrie Voss, came up to me and said, “We need to have a retreat for preachers’ wives and you need to speak at it.” I agreed that it would be helpful for ladies in the same role to gather in one place, and I agreed…
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Your Day Has Not Been Wasted
…if you have reached out to someone with the Gospel of Jesus, the only message that can save their soul. …if you have encouraged someone who is downtrodden. …if you have been faithful to your spouse and shown that you would marry him or her all over again. …if you have told your children you love them and spent time pouring into their lives. …if you have drunk deeply from the Word of God and drawn ever closer to Him. Then, no matter what else you might not have gotten done, or what you feel a failure for, your day has not been wasted. To Receive Every Post from A…
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You Say You Want to Go to Heaven, but You Really Don’t…
Take a poll of any cross section of people and ask them if they want to go to heaven. Most would reply with a resounding, “Yes!” Now take another poll asking the same question to only Christians. Your positive answer to heaven should be near 100%. But it is time for a Christian reality check. Because while your words say you want to go to heaven your actions clearly state that you don’t. 1. If you really wanted to go to heaven, you would talk about it more! Now that summer is approaching everybody is talking about their plans. They boast of vacations to the beach and treks all over…
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Motivated by What?
Recently, I was preaching in another community. During my time there I saw something that I thought was worthy of some consideration. What I saw was a church sign. That’s not really all that remarkable. I have seen more church signs than I can remember. We even have one where I preach! Most church signs inform those who pass by about the identity of the group that meets inside that particular building. Other information that is deemed pertinent is usually included on those signs (schedule and times of classes and services, phone number for the office, etc.). Sometimes some of those signs have other messages. The message may change from time to time. One of my tasks…
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Soren Keirkegaard on Why We Treat the Bible As Difficult [Quote]
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The End is Near!
“The end is near!” How do those words make you feel? Well, if you are like most people, it probably depends on the context. Right now, those words sound glorious to me because I thought of them in reference to the fact that school ends for the year in just 2 days. Summertime, here we come!!! As I thought about what those words mean to me right now, it made me consider how they make me feel in a spiritual context. How do I (or you) feel when I think “the end is near” in reference to my earthly life as a whole? James 4:14 tells us that our lives…
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About Video Games in Worship
I see it virtually everywhere I preach, both at 9th Avenue as well as in various guest speaking opportunities. It is a trend that is disheartening to me, not just as a preacher of the Gospel, but also just one who loves the hearts of children and who wants to see them grow to love God and His Word. It is kids playing video games during worship. They bring their iPad, tablet, or phone and while many of us are singing “I Surrender All,” they are striving for a high score. While we are praying to God, they are playing baseball. While we are mining the depths of God’s Word, they…
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Dry Places
Jesus once healed a man that had been mute and demon-possessed. The multitudes marveled, saying, “It was never seen like this in Israel” (Matt. 9:33). The Pharisees, however, were not so thoroughly convinced. They claimed that Jesus had cast out demons by Beelzebub, ruler of the demons (Luke 11:15). In Luke’s account, Jesus answered their challenge by appealing to the nature of any kingdom – “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls (Luke 11:17, NKJV). Jesus went on to explain that it would make no sense for Beelzebub to cast out his own (Luke 11:18-19). He testified that His casting…
