Worship
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Property Poor Church Members
I recently came across an article in a religious periodical published in 1918. The title of that article was the same as the title for this post. The article mentions a man who served as an elder in a local congregation who owned a great deal of property. According to a statement he made, the value of his property was $160,000. His weekly contribution to the local congregation of which he was a member was seventy-five cents! When this man was encouraged to increase his contribution, he said that he could not do that because he was “property poor.” He even claimed that his financial “stress” made it necessary for…
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A Spiritual Lesson from a Dying Phone Battery
For some time now, I’ve been dealing with a phone on its last legs. (Update: after brainstorming this article, I was able to get a new phone. Whew.) If you’ve ever had to deal with that, you know that it can be frustrating. The phone would seem to be fine. The battery clipping along near 100%…until it wasn’t. In rapid succession, I’d get a notification that it was at something like 14%, then (one second later) 7%, then…dead. The other issue was that, if it got to zero, it took hours to charge back up. Once it was, I had to keep it basically plugged in non-stop so the battery…
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A Tradition Unlike Any Other
I have a lot of friends who enjoy the game of golf. I am happy for them, but I am not a big fan. I discovered a long time ago that I could get frustrated without spending time and money trying to do something that could not even remotely be described as playing golf. I do know enough about the sport, though, to recognize that there is a tournament that takes place at the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia each spring during the first full week of April. The Masters Tournament has a long history and is considered to be one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world.…
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The Board & The Cross
I remember reading a unique book years ago. Each chapter was written by a person who had left the church that the Lord said that He would build (Matt. 16:18) and was now a member of a church begun by some man, group, and/or “movement.” Because of the passing of time (and my not-so-accurate memory), I have forgotten a lot of what I read. I do remember thinking at the time that most of the contributors to the book had “an axe to grind,” some sort of agenda, or some other reason for writing that I didn’t believe to be valid. Before I get some pushback on that, I fully…
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A Presidential Funeral, John Lennon, and Acts 17
Whenever a United States President dies, it is international news. The funeral services are also an occasion to remember the leader and to show a certain level of unity that is rarely seen in our culture. Such was on display recently when former President Jimmy Carter died at the age of 100. However, at the memorial service in Washington, DC, there was a combination that seemed more at home in ancient Athens. Per the request of Carter (I have read that this request was made a number of years ago), the song “Imagine” by John Lennon was not only played, it was performed live by a couple of music artists.…
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Who Is Like God?
As Moses and the Israelites passed through the Red Sea, they recognized that everything had changed. What had once been an enslaved mass of Abraham’s descendants was now a mighty nation fighting by the power of the God of Abraham. In recognition of their redemption and transformation by God, Moses led the people in a victorious song of praise and adoration to God (Exodus 15:1-18). While there are many expressions within this song that are worthy of a second look, one in particular caught my eye: “Who is like you, O LORD, among the heavens?Who is like you, majestic in holiness,Awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?” These questions (found in…
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A Different Look at Attendance
It would be impossible for me to count how many times I have heard, read, or made the following comparison, but, maybe in this article, we can examine it from a different angle. For years, people have noted that, no matter the weather or almost any other factor, a football stadium on Saturday or Sunday will be filled, yet people will use many factors to not fill a church pew for worship on Sunday. Over the years, I have heard that said (and said it myself) probably hundreds of times. Nearly always, the “reason” given has to do with dedication. We are told that people are more dedicated to their…
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Are You Even Listening?
Jim and I have been traveling lately and that has resulted in us visiting several congregations of the Lord’s church. We love to visit others and usually come away blessed by the worship and fellowship. However, I have been distressed lately about something I have noticed on more than one occasion, both at those congregations and at our home congregation – the lack of listening intentionally to obtain what is being said concerning God’s Word and focusing on offering your worship to God. Oh, I’m way ahead of you. I have a feeling at this point in this post some of you are thinking, how does she know they’re not paying…
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Sometimes, It’s Okay to Just…
This time of year, there are many reminders about gratitude. I think we all know that we need those reminders every so often, because it can become far too easy to slip into complacency and not be grateful. One of those reminders that we often get is the song “Count Your Blessings.” I suppose that, for many people, this hymn is a favorite. I like it a lot, too, and it helps me to think about how much God has done for me. And before going on to the gist of this article, let me say that counting your blessings is a wonderful habit. As the song states, “It will…
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The Most Important Thing I’ve Learned by Preaching Through Mark
It has been quite an odyssey, and Central has been great to be along for the ride. At the beginning of 2023 (notice…not 2024), it was announced that Noah Davis and I would be preaching through the Gospel according to Mark. We made it clear that it would not be every Sunday morning, but that we were going to take two years to go through that book. Now, as November 2024 approaches, we are about to land the plane. Lord willing, the four Sunday mornings of November will be spent bringing this study to a close with sermons on (1) the second part of the crucifixion, (2) the burial, (3)…
