Church Life
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Billy’s Letter to God
I was going through some old material the other day and found the following “letter.” I do not know if it is an actual letter written by a little boy named Billy or if somebody composed it in order to make a point. Whichever of those two possibilities is the case, it does, indeed, make a point. In fact, the letter makes several points. All of those points, it seems to me, could fall under a general heading that would suggest that parents need to take very seriously their God-given responsibility to “…bring (their children) up in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). It…
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Teenage Girls
I love a room full of teenage girls –a classroom, that is. They are all so different. Some are vibrant and full of life, while others are quiet and seemingly lethargic. Some are tall and nearly fully matured physically, while others still look like younger girls. When they first come into the room, they are usually very quiet and don’t have very much to say – even if they are talkative in any other location. As you might have guessed, I (along with another elder’s wife) teach a Bible class for teenage girls on Sunday morning. We get to our classroom early so we will be there when the girls…
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To Every Youth Leader on Sunday Night
Okay, so I know this is being released on a Wednesday, but I started formulating this post on Sunday night, and the idea has been in my mind for a lot longer than that. I have been a “pulpit minister” for about 12 years now, and I am always tired on Sunday nights. It is (usually) a good kind of tired, but it is still a very tired, emotionally spent, kind of feeling. Prior to being in the pulpit, though, I was a youth minister for almost 10 years. I remember those Sunday nights as well. Even now, as a pulpit guy, I still have been blessed to work closely…
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Practical Ways Church Members Can Love Each Other
Love is not always a feeling. Sometimes it is a choice. I feel very confident that we have often acted in ways that could hinder God from having positive feelings towards us. We crucified his Son. And yet he has always loved us. He chose to love us. He made the commitment. Love does the most for what others need the most. This is Jesus. Now put this in the context of our interpersonal relationships within the church. We have been commanded to love each other with the same love Jesus has for us (John 13:34-35). How do we do that? There are no more crosses to die on. That…
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Has the New Worn Off?
You may be reading these words when 2020 is less than a couple of weeks old. Just a few days ago, we were expressing to others wishes for a “happy new year.” Some of us made a lot of (or a few) resolutions. We somehow tried to convince ourselves that the new year would provide for us new and exciting prospects. Maybe we should know better. Many of us have seen the new wear off before. Less than a month ago, some of us saw children get all excited about some new toy they had received as a present. We’ve also seen that the excitement waned very quickly – sometimes…
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Should We Look Back?
Here we are, still in the early days of a new year. I’m not even going to ask if you’ve kept those resolutions you made looking forward to goals for this year! In fact, in this post, I want to consider looking the other direction: to the past. In a Wednesday night devotional, Jeremiah referenced the account found in Joshua 4 of the Israelites taking stones from the middle of the Jordan to construct a memorial. This was to give their children something to “look back” and have a visual, concrete reminder of God’s leading in their lives. As Jeremiah used the idea of “looking back,” for some reason, my…
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You Are Not Replaceable
Let’s be honest: in many areas of life, you can be replaced. That’s not to say that someone else is just like you, but it is to say that many of our roles in life will eventually be filled by someone else. Don’t believe me? Just quit your job and see if they don’t hire someone else. Even Oscar Meyer’s weinermobile driver can be replaced. In fact, they are currently searching for a new “hotdogger” to drive the famous car all over the place. Know that we are replaceable can be depressing. It certainly is a shot to our ego; that’s for sure. But there are other areas of life–in…
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Under New Management
A preaching friend of mine who lives in Michigan recently told me that he saw a very interesting statement written on the marquis outside a local denominational church. It read, “Under New Management.” In our conversation, he and I were attempting to figure out exactly what that meant. We all understand the concept of new management. When businesses are struggling, sometimes drastic measures need to be taken in order to achieve financial success. We watch college and pro sports programs fire coaches and executives every year when their teams don’t win. We see local restaurants with bad reputations sometimes close and reopen with a new menu – or perhaps they…
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Nonessential Personnel
You’ve heard the announcement before. It usually happens during times when there is severe weather in a particular location. The news reports of these announcements often go something like this: “Governor ______________ has announced that all state offices will be closed. All nonessential personnel are advised to stay at home.“ Have you ever wondered who the “nonessential personnel” are? While I am sure they are happy to have a day off, I’m also wondering how they feel knowing that their position is deemed to be nonessential. I’ve also been wondering about something else. What would happen in a local church if an activity and/or an announcement were designed to exclude all of the nonessential…
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Happy New Day!
No, I didn’t make a mistake in my title. Yes, I know most people are going around saying “happy new year.” Everyone seems to be making their new year’s resolutions once again pharmacom for the year 2020. It seems like a good and logical thing to do. Maybe you plan to lose weight or exercise more. Possibly your resolution involves becoming more spiritually-minded and studying the Bible every day, perhaps even reading it through this year. All of those things are good to think about and try to implement in your life, but who said you would have a whole year? Didn’t Jesus Himself say, “Therefore do not be anxious about…
