Category: Church Life

Let Brotherly Love Continue . . . and Increase!

Brotherly love (meaning the love Christians have and express for other believers) heads the list of characteristics that ultimately distinguish real Christians from those who falsely profess to follow Christ. Also residing in this list, of course, are belief in biblical truth and rejection of error,...

There’s a Place for You in the Church: The Story of a Boy Who Couldn’t Learn

Don McClure was a missionary in Eastern Africa from 1928 until 1977, when he was shot and killed by militants in eastern Ethiopia. While living in one particular village, he and his wife, Lyda, provided schooling and housing for boys. One year, they were expecting 80,...

The Church Commute: Why Where You Live Matters

A nose hopped into his car and pulled out of his driveway this last Sunday at 9 am. At the same time about 20 miles away, a mouth was talking to his family in a minivan as it got onto the highway. Approximately 13 miles away...

Nations in Our Neighborhoods

Have you ever felt like an outsider? I vividly remember a certain experience from my time living in another country. As my wife and I looked for a place to eat a picnic, we wandered into an area that was somewhat unsafe due to political tensions....

Bearing with the Failings of the Weak

A confident man once invited the most inexperienced person in the church out for evangelism at a local park. On the drive over, they prayed and strategized a few conversation starters. The inexperienced member remained a bit fuzzy on what passages of Scripture to reference, and...

A Tale of Choosing Between Two Churches

Stu and his family moved to a new city one summer. His company transferred him unexpectedly, so he either had to relocate or find another job. He chose to go, but had little time to research good churches before they arrived. Thankfully, he knew a couple...

Talk about Others the Way You Want Others to Talk about You

A friend and her husband recently told me the story of how they met and married. One day, sometime before they moved into a serious relationship, he called her about something completely unrelated. The phone picked up, but he soon realized that it had answered by...

Praying Specifically

My dad tells a story about an old deacon who was asked to pray during a church meeting. The man stood up and after other typical worn out phrases said, “Lord, we pray for all those for whom it is our duty to pray. Amen.” I...

When You’re Called On to Read the Bible Publicly

Have you ever been asked to read Scripture during the main church meeting on Sunday? Have you been asked to read Scripture in a Sunday School class or other Bible study? How did it go? How should it go? How should a person read the Bible...

Love is Dangerous

“And I will gladly spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved” (2 Cor. 12:15). These are the words of the apostle Paul spoken to the church at Corinth, a church which he had founded...