Church Life
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3 Things You Can Do to Make This Next Year Better
Everybody comes to resolution time on January 1, and according to polls recently taken, the same basic resolutions remain the most popular: exercise, eat better, lose weight, quit smoking, get a new job, be happier – et cetera. I guess this goes to show that we struggle in certain areas on a regular basis. But I came across a passage in the Old Testament that I believe can supply an alternative to the typical resolutions we all make. In Leviticus 25 you can read about the “Sabbath year” and the year of Jubilee. The Sabbath year was the 7th year in which the Israelites were to allow the field to…
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What To Do with C.E.O.s
They are called CEOs, but it doesn’t stand for Chief Executive Officers. Instead, among religious people CEOs are “Christmas and Easter Only.” In other words, these are the people who come to worship only on or around those two holidays (and maybe Mother’s Day). The nickname may be slightly humorous, but our attitude needs to be extremely serious in reaching out to these people. After all, if we are not doing what we can to teach and encourage, these folks are lost eternally. While this issue is not going to be solved in one blog post, may I give just a handful of practical ideas that might help encourage those…
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Taking Assessment of Your Life
I’m sentimental and nostalgic by nature. I think about the meaning of life on a regular basis and I tend to look back on everything I have experienced up to this point almost daily. Life is an incredible gift from God and we need to keep that fact at the forefront of our minds. But I suppose that a greater portion of the world’s people come to the end of the year and they celebrate Christmas and New Year’s and quickly just go on to the next thing. After all, this is what we have been programmed to do in this fever-pitched, fast-paced 21st-century world. But I want you to…
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A Different Difference
I woke up early recently thinking about the people with whom I worship. I do that a lot more often than many people might imagine. One reason for that has to do with the gratitude I feel for them for being a real family to us when none of our physical family lived near us. These good people have been with us through many good times and times that were not so good. I also have these people on my mind a great deal of the time because I try to serve as one of our elders. The responsibility that goes with that means that I don’t always get the…
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A Life Lesson from the Man Called “Bear”
These days, it seems that we read and hear more than we would like to read or hear about the misbehavior of athletes and coaches. Some of that goes way beyond misbehavior. It is absolutely immoral and, all too often, illegal. Howell Bigham recently posted the following material on Facebook. I had heard some of this before, but I am reproducing it here in order to “get the story right” and to remind us of a positive life lesson. I am not, in any way, suggesting that all of today’s athletes and coaches are bad people. Neither am I suggesting that all of those who filled these roles years ago (including the one referenced…
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He Was the Patriarch
He had a father. Yet his father was not known as the patriarch. While we don’t know much about Terah, Joshua 24:2 specifically includes him as one of those who “dwelt on the other side of the River in old times; and … served other gods.” On the other hand, Abram, his son, is called “the friend of God” because he “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness” (James 2:23). Throughout the book of Genesis, we read of the faith of Abraham. Not that he was a perfect man, as God lets us see some of his fears (Gen. 12:12) and his mistakes (Gen. 16). However, there is…
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True Leaders are True Servants
It was the night that should have defined his life. In fact, in the eyes of the watching world, it likely did, but even those who were watching may not have realized why. He was already a powerful and influential man, as he served as Vice-President of the United States. But this was–if things went the right way–to be his night. He had campaigned for President and was a favorite to win that highest office. Election returns started coming in that evening and things really were looking his way. Quite early in the evening, it was obvious he was going to be the President-elect and, early the next year, be sworn…
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Keep It To Yourself
This is the time of year for giving. First we give candy, then we give thanks, then we give presents. It’s a strange order if you think about it, but that is just the way things shake out. I guess it is normal at the end of each year to reflect on all we have been blessed with and then to respond by the sharing of our blessings. It was our Lord, after all, who said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). But there are some things we often fail to give. Perhaps it is because we are not sure if anyone else would want…
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A Skill You Can Use to Help Others (and Anyone Can Do It)
Are you a parent who has a desire for your children to have a good life (however you define that term)? If that is the case, what do you think would be one essential skill you need to implement? Maybe you are married and have no children. Maybe you are married and your children are no longer in the house. In either case, your desire is for you and your spouse to have a fulfilling relationship. If that is the case, what do you think would be one essential skill you need to implement? Perhaps you have some sort of supervisory role where you work. You may, in fact, own the company or be at…
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Episode 113: Attacking December Before December Attacks You [Podcast]
https://media.blubrry.com/faughnfamily/content.blubrry.com/faughnfamily/Legacy_Podcast_113.mp3 Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: RSS (Player not displaying or working? Click here to listen.) As December and the Christmas season are drawing near, Adam and Leah take some time to talk about how people–especially families–can keep control of their finances, schedules, and health during this time of year. This is a candid conversation that should help any family realize that they need to exercise self-control, while enjoying so many good things about the season. (And there’s a shout-out to the Cameron Crazies at Duke.) More from A Legacy of Faith To subscribe to A Legacy of Faith by email for free click here. Subscribe to the podcast…
