Church Life
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When Perception is Not Reality
I’ve seen it many times, both in conversations and in social media posts. Frankly, I am sure that I have been guilty of it myself. In fact, I would guess that each of us has at some point–or many points–in our lives. I saw it again in the relatively recent past and it got the idea for this article started in my mind. I was reading a social media post that was connected to an event that I had at least a connection to. As I read, I was struck by how there were many facts right beside many things that I knew to be false, but that were presented…
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Their Best Customers
I’ve been thinking lately about some businesses/industries which “somehow” fail to use their best customers in their advertising. I’m thinking of two in particular. Some who read this may be old enough to remember commercials on television that advertised products for their brands with catchy slogans “informing” potential customers that their particular product “…tastes good like a cigarette should” or had “less tar – more taste.” Depending on what apparently was the target audience, the actors in the commercials and/or the models in the magazine and newspaper ads were portrayed in such a way as to encourage others to emulate them. One icon of the tobacco industry back then was portrayed…
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Someone’s Confused
Very recently I turned on a news program on TV and, of course, most of the news had to do with the war in Israel. The video, the comments, the sad faces, the rubble, and the commentary on this war were hard to watch and listen to. I did hear one commentator make some statements that caused me to stop and think for a few moments. Now before I tell you what he said (to the best of my memory), I want to tell you that this post has nothing to do with me taking sides in this war. It has nothing to do with the leaders of these nations and…
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Those Kids Need to be There…Always
Recently, I watched a sermon by a friend of mine who is a wonderful Gospel preacher. It was a sermon from a couple of years ago that I was interested in hearing all of, but, as often happens, there was one little statement that was made that just stuck in my mind. In this part of the sermon, he was talking about decisions that elders had to make during the early-to-earlyish days of the pandemic. As elderships were trying to think of the best ways to proceed, they had to balance all sorts of things. He mentioned the eldership where he attends talking through those issues, as I know our…
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Take Heed How You Hear
The words in the title are, of course, used by our Lord (Luke 8:18). When He spoke those words, He was dealing with things that He was teaching. I’m wondering, though, if those words might be good advice in many areas of our lives. I hope that you will continue to read as I try to explain what I am thinking and as I continue to challenge my thinking. Some who read these words may have been watching the television program 60 Minutes on the evening of October 15, 2023. I did not watch it. In fact, I rarely have an opportunity to watch it because I choose to use the…
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Sacrifice of Peace
Often when we consider the sacrifice of our Savior, we focus on the physical sacrifices He made. We even sing, “He left the splendor of heaven knowing His destiny was the lonely hill of Golgotha…” The Bible uses human terms to describe the glories of heaven because it is above human comprehension. And we, as material beings, can conceptualize leaving riches and wealth for poverty and sacrifice. Probably most often when we consider Christ’s sacrifice, we think of the physical agony He suffered. We read of the beatings, scourging, bleeding, and pain and, again as humans, we can relate on some small level. I want you today to think of…
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Something Every Congregation Needs to Consider
At Central, we are so excited about evangelism, and about having every member involved in various aspects of that wonderful work. A few weeks ago, we hosted a “School of Evangelism,” and, while we had been involved in some parts of that model already, the work since then has only grown and excitement is everywhere. With that in mind, our sermons recently have also focused on evangelism. While writing the sermon I preached last Sunday morning (I wrote it a few weeks ago), I was doing some thinking about one particular aspect and wanted to share it on here, because it really is something that every congregation needs to consider.…
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“What Was the First Ever Church Called?”
The title of this post is taken from a portion of a podcast I listened to on September 15, 2023. The name of the podcast is The Briefing and its host is Dr. Albert Mohler. He is well known in some religious circles. This would be especially true among those identified as “evangelical.” In case you are not familiar with Dr. Mohler, the following information is from his website. The information is very basic. but what I’m reproducing here should help you to see how he identifies himself religiously. Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr. serves as president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary – the flagship school of the Southern…
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Friends or Brothers and Sisters?
Jim and I have been traveling quite a bit this last month. Some of it has been for speaking engagements and some of it for relaxation. We love being able to visit with other congregations of the Lord’s church. We almost always see friends we have known for years and sometimes those we have just recently met at Polishing the Pulpit or some other congregation. It is always such joy for us. Just this week we have been able to reconnect with so many friends from the Dexter church of Christ and others from southeast Missouri who have visited the Matthews church of Christ where Jim is preaching in a gospel…
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Is It “Self-Banned” in Your Home?
It’s so-called “Banned Books Week.” The propaganda machine is running hard again to let us know what books have been “banned” here in the United States–despite the fact that you can order any of those books from nearly any bookstore. It’s a publicity stunt, and I hope we see right through it. However, when I saw that this week was upcoming again, it made me think of the one Book that is often not allowed in many places–the Bible. Many of the libraries that are up in arms because a book about gender identity isn’t allowed in an elementary school would not dream of putting the Bible in that same…
