[NOTE: The following article was written because our Winter Gospel Meeting begins on Sunday. Please know that you are invited! Brother John Pigg will be presenting the lessons and we are looking forward to a great week. The services will be at 9:30 and 10:30 Sunday morning, then at 7:30 PM Sunday night-Wednesday night.]We are looking forward to a great Gospel Meeting this week. Seemingly every part of the year is busy, but our elders continue to set aside these very important weeks for times of special study. Have you made plans to be in attendance? I hope so. But what constitutes a “good” Gospel Meeting? We don’t find that…

“I was hiding, but in plain sight.” Those words are from John Amaechi’s book, set to be released on February 16th. Amaechi, as you have probably heard, is a former NBA player who recently announced he is a homosexual. He is the first NBA player, active or retired, to make such an announcement. ESPN.com was allowed to place excerpts from the book on their website. As you might expect, Amaechi takes the time to talk about the “anti-gay” attitude in the locker room and on trips. He even says that he was traded away from the Utah Jazz to the Houston Rockets late in his career because the Jazz head…

It’s rare that I find a book that I simply can’t put down. I love to read, but I get tired quite quickly, too. Point Man is one of those books, though, that I could not put down. If you ever look to the right-hand side of the page, you’ll notice a list of “what I’m reading.” I try to keep that as up-to-date as possible. Point Man never got to that list because I started reading it Saturday afternoon and finished reading late last night. The book deals with being a better husband and/or father. In fact, the subtitle is How a Man Can Lead His Family. The book…

Today’s Jackson Sun ran a story about the FHU lectureship. Leah and I were interviewed for the story, and we had a family photo taken (the one above, from the Sun, in which I look frightened). You can read the article by clicking here.

What a great day! When I got up this morning there was a certain type of white, flaky precipitation falling from the sky. That’s right–we actually got a few flakes (about an eighth of an inch) of snow here in Alabama. We’ve lived here now for over 5 1/2 years and the total snowfall in all that time is less than 2 inches, but it sure makes it special to see a few flakes. The young people here at 9th Avenue are very special to our family. They are good young people, and we are proud of them. The way they treat Mary Carol is something to behold. They are…

[NOTE: This article was written with young people in mind, but the principles can be applied to any age.]At every worship service, we are blessed to have visitors. Some are visiting family and have come from many miles away. Others are visiting from our town or area. We have been blessed by some young people lately who have visited several times. Some have even come to youth devotionals and other events. We are happy that visitors decide to worship with us. But, how should we treat visitors? First, be friendly, but not fake. In other words, we need to be ourselves. We are not trying to win a popularity contest,…

The 2001 Cold Harbor Road Lectures were dedicated to a study of the family. Now, six years later, there is still no theme that needs to be studied any more than does the family. From pulpits, publications, classrooms, chatrooms and living rooms, the home needs to be studied more and more. We have families, both inside and outside the body of Christ, that are falling apart. Some are growing colder, while others grow more violent. Many children are left to fend for themselves. Husbands and wives don’t care about each other anymore. “Tragic” doesn’t cover it! If you are planning on preaching a series on the home or are planning…

It has been said that one can find whatever he wants on the internet. While I don’t think that’s totally true, it’s not too far from it. Sometimes, though, we come across an absolute treasure. TheBible.net has archived the entire debate between Anthony Flew and Thomas B. Warren in video form. They have even broken the debate into 28 shorter videos, to make it easier for one to watch a piece of the debate, then come back at a later time. Many of you have read the transcript from the famous debate, but have never gotten a chance to see it. With the recent developments in the life of Mr.…

Changes in worship have been happening for centuries. Many have given up hope and have stopped “fighting” against those who would seek to change the worship of God. One of the arguing points for those who try changes is that these innovations draw more people, usually young(er) people. While the goal might be a good one, the method is not. God has told us how He wants to be worshipped, and we are not at liberty to change that! An innovation that is currently becoming quite popular among Episcopal churches is the use of U2 music during the services. Speakers blare out the popular songs and the lyrics are displayed…

It’s been awhile since we had a post about For Youth Ministers, By Youth Ministers. The main reason is that we have not published the newsletter since October. Since that time, we have been working behind the scenes, getting a new format and look together for the free e-newsletter. We think you will like what you see. If you are not familiar with FYMBYM, you may visit http://www.winfieldcofc.org/ymnewsletter.html. The Winfield church of Christ archives all back issues on this page so you can read them or print them out. We appreciate them for doing this. If you would like to recieve the newsletter bi-monthly, email Kurt Hankins at kurt@vernon-churchofchrist.org. Our…