Church Life
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Making it Personal
Recently, our daughter and her family visited Washington, D.C. During that visit, our son-in-law posted this on Facebook: For me, the highlight of this trip will not be touring the White House, or going to the Capitol building, or seeing the monuments or museums, but right here at the National Archives, where I just looked at the original Declaration, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. I saw those documents and my spirit was moved and I shed tears. These men were traitors, risk takers, and revolutionists. They knew they were going to have to sacrifice all to achieve true freedom. They were wise enough to properly define it. They foresaw what was…
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Personal Get-Back Coach
I don’t know a great deal about the game of football. I can’t name great coaches of the past or even very many of the coaches of today. I don’t know exactly what the positions are called on the field or who plays what position. You’ll understand what I mean when I tell you that while talking with Adam on the phone a couple of years ago I told him that Vermont was playing that day. He delighted in telling me that “VT” stood for Virginia Tech – not Vermont. I do, however, know enough about the game to know what is supposed to happen on the field. The object of the game is…
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Lest We Think God Doesn’t Care about How We Worship
Worship is vital to the church. Reading the New Testament, we find the church coming together for worship each Lord’s day (Acts 20:7) and Christians being encouraged not to fall into a habit of being absent (Hebrews 10:25). We find that worship was regulated and that God, through the inspired writers, gave five avenues of worship: singing, prayer, Bible reading/study, giving, and the Lord’s Supper. But we are living in times when we are told that Christianity is not about what you do on Sundays, but what you do during the week. In fact, we are living in times when many people claim that God does not really care how…
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If a Shooter Came to Church
Tragedy struck again in Texas this week at a small Baptist church in Sutherland Springs. Many people were murdered and injured and there are no human words for any of what took place there that would be sufficient. Before I go on let us stop and pray for the victims of this terrible crime. It is not my desire to dishonor or disrespect any person who has been affected in any way by this tragedy or by any other such occurrence. On the contrary, the purpose of this article is for the sake of preparation, both spiritually and physically, in the event that any of us might ever be in…
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Episode 92: A Candid Conversation about Comparison and Perfectionism [Podcast]
https://media.blubrry.com/faughnfamily/content.blubrry.com/faughnfamily/Legacy_Podcast_093.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS(Player not displaying or working? Click here to listen.) Being a parent is difficult, but being a parent in the social media age leads to all sorts of insecurities about not measuring up. On the podcast this week, Adam and Leah have an unscripted and open conversation about the struggle many feel with comparing to others and the drive for being good enough. Resource “Why I’m No Homeschool Superstar” [Read Aloud Revival] More from A Legacy of Faith To subscribe to A Legacy of Faith by email for free click here. Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes Subscribe via rss Find us on Stitcher…
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Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire…Or Is There?
We have all probably heard and believed the old adage, “where there’s smoke there’s fire.” After all, it is a pretty strong correlation. In fact, just tonight, on our way home from our gospel meeting, my oldest son said, “There’s a fire. I know because I can see the smoke.” We weren’t close enough to see flames, but he assumed the fire based on the evidence of smoke. Sure enough, when we got closer to that section of town, there was a large brush fire from where land is being cleared for a new shopping center. I know that, for myself, I have often applied this rule to people, assuming…
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A Rocky Reminder for Parents
I am in the midst of preaching a series on the Parable of the Sower. The study and preparation for these four lessons is challenging me at a very deep level, as I have been reminded that each of the four types of soil represents people who hear the Word…yes, even the bad soils heard the message! But as I was reflecting recently on the rocky soil, I was also challenged as a parent, and I want to share that challenge to all Christian parents. In Matthew’s account of the parable, that section reads this way: Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and…
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Don’t Let Somebody Else Wear Your Armor
So today this article is releasing on Halloween, and everybody will be wearing a costume in a few hours. We put on the costumes to look like something other than what we are. We take the place of or represent the likeness of another. It’s all in fun and in candy-gathering and all of that…and over the years certain costumes have been quite memorable. It’s not only enjoyable to dress up but it’s also very festive – it completes the purpose and intent of the holiday itself. We wear it temporarily, but the one we represent does not lose their identity. They are the original and true article, and we…
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If It Doesn’t Make Any Difference
It would be difficult to overstate the tremendous blessings that are ours merely because we have the ability to make our own personal choices. It would also be difficult to overstate the amount of responsibility that is ours because of that ability. To state it simply, I must live with the consequences of the choices I make. Sometimes, those consequences are not great. For example, it really does not matter what color or type of vehicle I choose to drive. As long as I can afford it and as long as it meets my needs, it doesn’t really matter if I choose to drive a new car or a used car. I may have a…
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Putting a Hold on Freedom
For many years, the region of Spain known as Catalonia has considered being an independent nation. They have their own language and a fairly bright economy, led by the largest city in the region, Barcelona. Recently, there was actually a vote among the people of that region and they voted for independence (though, admittedly, turnout was quite low). However, after the vote, they then put a hold on independence. Now, this is not meant to be a political post or an article about world cultures. I know little about the Catalonian independence movement and I have no idea if it would be a good thing or bad thing if this…