Church Life
-
The Only Kind She Writes
I know that we live in the digital age. I understand that we can communicate much more quickly with a lot more people via email, social media, etc. than we could just a few years ago. At the same time, I am just old-fashioned enough to believe that there is something to be said for taking the time and making the effort to actually write a note, card, or letter and put it in the mail. There may be some who are reading this who believe I may have another reason to prefer the old-fashioned way. They may think that I get some sort of perverse pleasure from knowing that the recipients…
-
Vacation Bible School
It’s that time of year again – Vacation Bible School time. I have seen so many advertisements and invitations to join with different congregations as they have their VBS. It is finally time for our congregation to host our VBS. Hours and hours of planning, ordering, cutting out, painting, decorating, and praying have gone into this effort. It certainly is a busy, and sometimes, stressful time, but it is also a wonderfully important and happy time for those children who attend. Today’s post will be a short one because much of my time has been spent on the topic for this post – VBS. I hope these thoughts about VBS will help you realize…
-
But What If No One Comes?
Your congregation has planned that special event, and you were part of the group that helped plan it. Maybe it is Vacation Bible School. Maybe it’s a Gospel Meeting. Maybe it’s a special marriage seminar. And then, the event comes, and the attendance is nowhere near what was expected. Now, those of you who planned for the event are down, and maybe you hear that “no one” came (which simply isn’t true). How can we handle those times? Here are a few suggestions for handling an event where “no one” comes. Remember the Purpose. Why did you have the event in the first place? Was there a purpose statement given?…
-
Farewell to One of Life’s Greatest Blessings
Recently, as we were singing a hymn where I worship, I was struck by the meaning of some of the words we were singing. Has that ever happened to you? The words that caught my attention are the final words (at least in our songbooks) of “Sweet Hour of Prayer.” They depict the transition from earth to heaven for the faithful Christian in these words: This robe of flesh I’ll drop and rise To seize the everlasting prize; And shout, while passing through the air, “Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer!” Prayer is viewed by some as only an almost rote religious exercise. Others may view it as only a duty to be…
-
Don’t Forget Your SonScreen
I finally did it! I went to Florida and did not come home with some part of my body blistered or hurting. How did I do that? I actually followed the directions about applying my sunscreen. I did it before I was out in the sun. I made sure I covered everywhere. And I reapplied as needed. Sometimes in the past, I fully deserved to be burned. I just couldn’t be bothered with sunscreen. At least once, I had a spot down by my ankle that somehow I missed when applying the sunscreen and wound up blistered and hurting. Still other times, there were other factors like wind and sand…
-
“He Has Also Set Eternity In Their Hearts…”
Would you believe me if I told you that there is something inside of you that you can’t remove no matter how hard you try? You may be a free moral agent with choices to make and a future to pursue but there is one thing for sure that you have no control over whatsoever. You see, God made you in such a way that you are always going to be searching for or making some kind of effort to define the purpose of your existence. The great and wise Solomon once said, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity in their hearts, except…
-
Who Are the Best Singers?
The thoughts below are over sixteen years old. I recently found them in some older material I was going through. I think that they are just as worthy of our consideration now as they were when they were originally penned. I am indebted to brother Dan Jenkins for what I think are some very insightful observations. Please read them carefully and prayerfully. I am aware of the fact that some who may regularly read these posts are accustomed to having choirs, choruses, praise teams, etc. where they worship. For that reason, they may not understand the concern expressed by brother Jenkins. The reason for his concern (and mine) is that we find any authority…
-
“In a Little While…”
How many times when we were children did we ask our parents when something was going to happen or be over with? “How much longer until we get to grandma and papa’s house?” “How much longer until we eat?” “How much longer do we have to sit here?” “How much longer until we leave?” How much longer do we have to stay at this place?” And we can just hear our mother or father answer back, “Not too much longer. It will all be over in a little while.” As human beings, we are constantly moving to and planning the next thing. We are impatient and we don’t like waiting.…
-
A New Chapter for A Legacy of Faith
I don’t know when these words will appear on the website. I’m not even sure they will appear. I’m not the one responsible for starting the website, nor am the one who schedules when various posts appear. As many of you know, the man behind A Legacy of Faith is our son, Adam Faughn. He will be the one to decide when (or if) you ever read these words. All I know is that they are being written on July 1, 2018. In fact, they are being written fairly early in the morning. I had a little trouble sleeping, so I thought I’d try to share some of my thoughts on this day. This day may…
-
Who is the Greatest?
A little over a year ago, I published my first online post. Until very recently, I had not had any kind of social media (are we sure this guy is 17?), so until last year, I had never put anything of mine on the internet. Last June, though, I decided to make my first post. It was an article, like this one, and at the time I wrote it, I thought I was the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time – there’s the youth lingo). Since then, I have been taught that I was and am not. I already knew that, but events in my life in the past few months…