As the song says: “Fast away the old year passes” and we sit on the doorstep of a brand new year. It is typically — and should be — a time of reflection, and recommitment.
But what kind of commitments (“resolutions” if you want to call them) should we make? There are many areas of our lives which could use improvement. So where do we start?
Psalm 37:27 gives us a good, Biblcial starting point for some commitments for the New Year: Continue reading
Why should we share our prayer requests with other people? The answer may not be what you think. It is not just because “the more who pray, the more powerful the prayers.” As James teaches us, “the effective prayer of A righteous man (ONE!) can accomplish much.” It only takes ONE person praying to see miracles come from the hand of God. As Jonathan told his armor bearer in I Samuel 14:6, “The LORD is not restrained to save by many or by few.” There is no Biblical evidence that the effectiveness of prayer depends on the number of people praying.
So why have many people pray? Continue reading
“Who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (II Corinthians 1:4)
Two of the key words in this verse are: “so that.” They introduce a purpose clause, which means that God comforts us for the purpose — “SO THAT” — we can share the comfort and blessings He has given us, with others. Unfortunately, many of us are too short-sighted to appreciate this. Continue reading
It’s that time of year again! Yes, Christmas, of course, but along with that comes our annual family gingerbread house contest. If you’d like to participate, then peruse the pictures of the entries below, and you can vote via the poll at the end of the article. We’d love to get your input, so please vote for your favorite. The creator of each house, and the overall winner as determined by the voters, will be revealed on Saturday, December 26th. Enjoy!
Entry #1: The Emerald City
Entry #2: IT’S RED!!!
Entry #3: Frankly, My Dear …
Entry #4: A Look Inside
Entry #5: Feliz Tardisdad
“He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth … So He did not open His mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7)
The fact that Jesus did not open His mouth during His sufferings is a rarity among men, and a miracle in itself! How many of us grumble and complain about the sufferings we endure. We just HAVE to give vent to how miserable we are; how oppressed; and how difficult things are for us. When we run out of people nearby to tell, we post it on Facebook and let everyone know about it! Continue reading
Whenever we think of Jesus, and gifts, and Christmas time, most of us probably think of the gifts that the Magi brought Jesus in Matthew 2: “gold, frankincense and myrrh.” In imitation of that, as many of you know, we are encouraging everyone to celebrate Jesus’ birthday by giving to HIM the biggest gifts we give anyone this Christmas time, through the Lottie Moon offering for our missionaries. And yet the truth is that the greatest gifts of Christmas are not those that are brought TO Jesus — by us or even by the Magi — but those that were brought BY Jesus!
This morning, we are finishing our study of “The Christ of Christmas.” We have seen in John 1 over the last couple of weeks that the Christ of Christmas is 100% God, and that without giving up His Deity, He became a 100% flesh and blood man, like us. Now this morning, scattered throughout verses 4-14, we see some of the gifts that Jesus brought to us when He came:
— Verse 4 says “in Him was LIFE, and the life was the LIGHT of men.”
— Verse 12 says “as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God” — so He gave us the gift of RELATIONSHIP in a Heavenly family.
— Then at the end of :14 it says that when He came, He was “full of grace and truth.”
So some of the gifts that Jesus brought us when He came are: life, light, grace, truth, and an eternal family relationship. I would submit to you that “light” and “truth” are basically two words for the same gift, so let’s look together at 4 gifts that Jesus came to bring us: LIFE, LIGHT/TRUTH, AN ETERNAL FAMILY and GRACE: Continue reading
“Depart, depart, go out from there, touch nothing unclean; go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the LORD.” (Isaiah 52:11)
Speaking of the return of the His people from captivity in Babylon, the Lord here admonishes His people not to be contaminated with the ungodly influences of the pagan world around them. He does not want them to adopt their practices, or learn their ungodly ways.
But the word also applies to US as God’s people today. Continue reading
Evidently, someone had been teaching people in the church at Corinth that there was no resurrection from the dead, and most of I Corinthians 15 is a rebuttal of that false teaching. Interestingly, right in the middle of the chapter, we find this admonition in :33, “Do not be deceived: ‘bad company corrupts good morals.'” Continue reading
Would you still be a Christian even if there were no heaven, no eternity, no resurrection? I have heard some people make that claim, but I myself cannot adhere to it. Such people have said, “The Christian life is the best life, even if there were no heaven.” The sentiment is an admirable one — but it doesn’t find much scriptural support, especially in the writings of the Apostle Paul, such as I Corinthians 15:32: Continue reading
A couple of years ago, the President of Ursiline College made headlines when she decided to move into the women’s dorm. So many college professors and administrators are accused of living in their “ivory towers” of academia, removed from what is really going on in the lives of the students. So she decided to do something about it – and moved right in with them! She said at the time that it would either be the best thing she’s ever done, or the most foolish, but at least it would help her to understand her students.
That college president can’t be accused of “staying in an ivory tower” – and neither can our God. God the Son, Jesus Christ, did not stay in His “ivory tower” in heaven; He came to the earth to live with us as a man. That is what Christmas is all about: Jesus is “Emmanuel”– “God with us” as Matthew 1 says. God became a man, and came to save us. As we continue our study “The Christ of Christmas”, from John 1, we saw last week that the baby who was born in that manger, Jesus Christ, was and is God. But John goes on to say that this 100% God became 100% man. Verse 14 of John 1 says, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.” Jesus Christ, perfect God, came “in the flesh” that Christmas and, without giving up His deity, became a man. Continue reading
I'm a retired Southern Baptist pastor of almost 40 years. My wife Cheryl & I moved to Norman, OK in March of 2025. I share a weekly overview for Sunday School teachers of the weekly Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson, as well as texts of my sermons and other articles.
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