Category: CHURCH & MINISTRY
Leaving Your Church for Another Close By
At least initially, no one who believed and was baptized and came into the membership of the church in Corinth could then leave that church and join another close by. That was not an option since there was only one local church in the area. Every...
An Inspiring Tale About the Public Reading of Scripture and its Effects
Jackson was a newly married young man, converted as a teen and eagerly participating in his local church ever since. One Saturday evening as he and his wife were finishing up a documentary, he got a call from one of his pastors. He asked if Jackson...
The Old Church
There is no shame in getting old — not for you, or for churches. It is a bad mistake to demean a person for it, when you are headed the same direction and neither of you can stop it. It’s a double shame to defame a...
What Insufferable Itches Have to Do With the Advance of the Gospel
When hard times come, what do people hear from your lips? Those who saw Paul in Rome under house arrest awaiting trial (see the end of Acts) probably didn’t think he was doing so well. After all, he was in chains! I can imagine the guards...
Your Very Worst Problem
Death is not the worst thing that can happen to you. The worst thing that can happen to you, or to any human being, is to die on the wrong side of God’s judgment. As Jesus said of Judas after he exposed himself as a greedy...
Pain for Him; Gain for Them
Muslim extremists murdered Ayub’s grandmother on one of the islands of Indonesia. We stayed in the home of this warmhearted Christian leader a few years ago. He serves as an elder for the church meeting in a home nearby. We loved this brother and his wife...
Moses, Joshua, Jesus, and Rest
I’m sure you know the feeling of restlessness. There is a longing deep in our bones that desires rest. No nap can fix this lack of rest. Augustine, a prominent Christian from the third and fourth centuries, knew of this restlessness. He prayed, “You have made...
How To Spot A Fool
They’re everywhere. Foolish people dominate the airwaves and are present in our homes, schools, churches, and workplaces. They can even be right inside our own clothes. Everyone has chosen a foolish path at times. And sadly, some have taken up permanent residence in that destructive...
Should People Feel Badly Before Responding to the Good News?
It seemed as if a wet wool coat of conviction was covering me before I came to Christ. I was weighted down with guilt. It seemed unbearable. Something had to change. My mother faithfully shared good news with me. I had heard it all before, but...
If Many Die at Once: A Brockton Dialogue
A Brockton Dialogue The older, wiser Mr. Brockton: When scores of people lose their lives at one time, it isn’t alarming, but it is tragic. The younger disciple, James: How is it possible not to be alarmed if 5000 die in an earthquake or 10,000 in...
