Church Life
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The Most Important Thing that Happened to Naaman
Many who read these words will have also read about a man by the name of Naaman. Many of us have read about a dramatic event which is recorded in 2 Kings 5. I’m wondering if we may have missed the most significant thing recorded in that chapter. We may remember that he was a great and powerful man. We may also remember that he was afflicted with the terrible disease of leprosy. We also learn in this chapter of his pride which almost kept him from being healed. The simple suggestion that caused him to do what the messenger of God told him to do is also recorded. The fact that his leprosy disappeared when…
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Is There Water in Your Boat?
One of the things I miss about my dad being gone is fishing. We did a lot of fishing. Some of my best memories were just of me and my dad going to Lake McSwain in California and fishing for trout. I can’t think of a happier time in my life. There was nothing I looked forward to more than fishing with Jim Tatum. Sometimes we fished from the bank, and sometimes we took our little flat bottom boat. If you knew anything about my dad you knew he didn’t spend a lot or have extravagant things. He had purchased this quaint little boat for a couple hundred bucks. One…
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Thank You, Mr. Baker
Recently I saw/listened to a speech made at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. The occasion for the speech was a celebration of what would have been the 107th birthday of President Reagan. The speech was made by James Baker. As some may remember, Mr. Baker served President Reagan as the White House Chief of Staff and, later, as the Secretary of the Treasury. He has also held other positions in Mr. Reagan’s administration and in other administrations. As one might expect, Mr. Baker said some very complimentary things about his former boss and our former president. I found one statement to be of particular interest. In fact, I immediately wrote it down so that…
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Two Simple Steps to Stop Gossip
One of those most dangerous sins is that of gossip. The reason that is true is that it slowly but surely eats away at relationships. But, what exactly is gossip? We often only think of it as one thing: talking about someone behind their back. However, the word actually means something far broader. Interestingly, the English word “gossip” originally came from a positive idea. The Old English word was “godsibb,” and it came from the idea of one who was a godfather or godmother (see it in the word: god-sibbling?). As time went on, then, it came to mean, one in whom you could confide even secret things. Now, you…
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A “Sophomoric” Reason to Consider Christian Education
[Author’s Note] Recently, I received a message from somebody who asked me to send her a copy of something I had written about Christian education. After quite of bit of digging into my old files, I found an article I wrote quite a number of years ago. Because of the passage of time, I’ve had to do some editing. When I wrote the article originally, we were awaiting the birth of our second grandchild. We now have five grandchildren and the one whose birth we were anticipating at the time is now thirteen. After I did my “digging,” I discovered that this particular article was not the one that my friend had in…
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Episode 102: Using Year-Round Lads to Leaders Events in Your Home [Podcast]
https://media.blubrry.com/faughnfamily/content.blubrry.com/faughnfamily/Legacy_Podcast_102.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS(Player not displaying or working? Click here.) Lads to Leaders is a great program, but many families do not realize how many things it offers that can be utilized to help teach your children to learn–and live–the Bible, right in your own home. On this program, Adam and Leah talk about some of the “year-round” events that families can utilize for just this purpose. The events they discuss include Centurion of Scripture, Read the Word, Keepers, Providers, Year Round Bible Reading/Study, Second Language, Bible Bowl, and Year-Round Bulletin Board. More links can be found below. Resources Mentioned in This Episode Lads to Leaders…
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Encouragement…from Satan?
I don’t remember the year, but I remember the thought. At one of the Freed-Hardeman University Lectureships I have been blessed to attend, I remember hearing about how God had placed a protective hedge around Job and his family. I remember someone praying for God to place a hedge around us, His people. And the sentiment stuck with me. Through the years, I have prayed the same idea for my family, especially my children. They are faced with so many challenges in today’s world and I pray that God will protect them from some of those temptations and dangers. Recently, I was trying to encourage one of the young people…
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What Is (and What Should Be) Expected of a Preacher’s Wife
For my entire life, I have been around preachers’ wives. My mom is one. My wife (of course) is one. My sister is one. My wife’s sister-in-law is one. In addition, our family has become good friends with many preacher’s families throughout the years. Also, I have read a great deal written by these sweet ladies and heard many conversations. All that said, one of the common struggles of these godly Christian women is that there are expectations placed upon them by a congregation that are simply not right. Sometimes, those expectations are spoken and overt, while at other times (I believe) people do not even realize what they are…
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Love Never Fails
Will you go on a journey with me for a bit? I’m asking you to leave the things that distract you and get in a quiet place and engage with me for a minute. I want to take you to the center of yourself to help you investigate something you already know. Life is confusing. We have all of these moving parts to deal with in just living it. All of the physical things are but vanity. All of the spiritual things matter but there is much conflict and doubt sometimes about what they all actually mean. We live and we experience things both inside our hearts and outside in…
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When Did I Become a Brand?
By the time one has lived as long as I have, there is an awareness of various phases of life. There are a few of them that I do not remember. I, of course, do not remember my birth. In fact, there is not much about the very early years of my life that I do remember. However, as time went on I picked up a variety of “labels” along the way. In terms of relationships, at various times I’ve been known as things like a son, a bachelor, a husband, a father, and a grandfather (all in that order, by the way). I’ve also been known as a friend, a co-worker, a neighbor, teammate,…
