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A Hidden Message?
I have had the privilege to be co-coaching our junior high girls at church for Bible Bowl this summer. We have been studying the book of Joshua and recently finished going through the book so we began reviewing. That’s when I noticed something that struck me differently and I wondered if there could be a “hidden message” for us today in some instructions given to the Israelites all those years ago. [Side note and this part is for free: I tell the girls often that these “hidden” gems are part of why I know the Bible is from God. A person can read parts of it for the very first…
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When You Can’t Shake the Dust
It’s happened to me several times, and I would guess it has happened to you also. How do you handle it when you have tried and tried to reach someone with the Gospel or to win someone back to the Lord, but there just seems to be no change–no movement–on their part? When I have struggled with that, people will just say, “You’ve just got to shake the dust off your feet and move on.” I know what they mean. There is just a time to move on and try to reach someone else. I get it. (It’s possible I’ve even given that advice at some point, although I can’t…
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Try to Imagine…
It goes without saying that our world is terribly divided. Nations look with suspicion at one another. The leaders of those nations make threats and take actions that make things worse. Sadly, division is not limited to various nations. Our own society is seemingly hopelessly divided along political, regional, racial, moral, generational, and other lines. At times, the division even exists within families. While all of this is sad to me, the saddest of all of the divisions that exists today is the division that is easily observable among people who call themselves “Christians.” One can drive a street in a town or city of almost any size and find places where people who…
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It’s Sunday Morning; Do You Know Where Your Children Are?
Some of us may remember a message that would appear on our television screens almost every (if not all) evening. As I remember it, just as the 10:00 pm news came on, these words would appear: It’s 10:00. Do you know where your children are? I grew up in a home in which the parents did not need that “little reminder.” I guess that I kind of resented that at the time, but I’m very thankful now that my parents loved me enough to try to make sure they knew the answer to that question. I’ve been doing some thinking lately about another question that might need to be asked. What would your answer…
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Episode 163: Why We’re Excited About PTP [Podcast]
https://media.blubrry.com/faughnfamily/content.blubrry.com/faughnfamily/Legacy_Podcast_163.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS (Player not displaying or working? Click here to listen.) After not being able to have Polishing the Pulpit in 2020 or 2021, this wonderful event is back, and it starts next week. So, to celebrate, Adam and Leah are joined by their children, Mary Carol and Turner, to talk about why each of them is excited about the return of PTP. For more information and to view the full schedule–because it’s not too late to register–visit the PTP website here. Find our podcast on… Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify Stitcher TuneIn Radio RSS
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A Budget Item Every Congregation Should Consider
There are many reasons I love worshiping at Central. To list them would take awhile. Do we have problems at times? Of course! We are people, and people have problems. But this is a loving family and those who worship here see that on display all the time. One reason that is the case is because of our elders. These men are truly shepherds who “feed the flock.” There is not a soul at Central who wonders about our elders’ love for the Truth, and no one questions if they care for each person. Those two things–love for the Truth and love for each member–even show up in our budget.…
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I Think That I Was Better Off In The Dark
I guess that some people would say that I grew up in the dark ages. A new elementary school opened just as I was old enough to attend. I was in the first class to complete eight years in that building. (For those who are familiar with the area around Metropolis, Illinois, I am talking about Franklin Elementary School.) Did you notice that I completed eight years there? At least where I grew up, kindergarten was an idea that apparently had not caught on yet. At the age when children today are attending kindergarten, I guess my biggest concerns were things like how long I would be allowed to stay outside playing, what chores my…
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Episode 162: Before Our Kids Leave… [Podcast]
https://media.blubrry.com/faughnfamily/content.blubrry.com/faughnfamily/Legacy_Podcast_162.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS (Player not displaying or working? Click here to listen.) In our last episode, dealing with family devotionals with teens in the house, we talked about focusing on certain things you want your children to know before they leave the house. This week, we share some of those things–nowhere near all of them–that we would like to focus on in our house. With just 2-3 years before our children are through with high school, what types of things would we most want them to know? Maybe by building this list, you will be encouraged to build your own list and focus on certain…
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Does This Describe You?
In preparing for Polishing the Pulpit I came across a term that intrigued me. The term describes a feeling that has been in our world almost from the beginning of time. Cain suffered from it. Esau had a bad case. David’s brothers had a touch of it. King Saul really had it! I have friends who suffer from it today. I read a little story that talked about a disease called “grudgitis” and gave an example of how one creature dealt with the disease. A grizzly bear lumbered into a clearing where garbage had been dumped. Tourists noticed that there was only one animal the grizzly would permit to eat…
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Slow Down the Scriptures
I was practicing a sermon a few weeks ago. (Yes, I do that…yes, it’s out loud…but, hey, it works!) As I did, there was something I noticed, and it was something that I have worked on before but it obviously needed work again. It is also something I have noticed other preachers doing. At least that means I’m in good company. But, maybe it is not the best practice when delivering a lesson from God’s Word. It is this: when we get to a verse in Scripture to quote (or even read), we put things in about 5th gear and fly through it. Then, when we are done with the…
