Our Influence

We all have influence over others that we come in contact every day. As a parent, teacher, and youth minister, I have influence over the many youth that I work with each day. I must take this task seriously. I must think of the words that I use and the actions that I take because…

Is Your Marriage Lawful?

Marriage is a beautiful God-ordained union between men and women (Gen. 2:18,23,24). In marriage, there is a solemn vow to maintain faithfulness to one another until death. For this reason, it should never be entered haphazardly (Rom. 7:2; Mat. 19:6). Since God is the originator of marriage, He is the one who has set the…

Please and Thank You

Are basic manners (such as saying, “Please and “Thank you”) old-fashioned and a thing of the past? Why is it that adults have a hard time expressing appreciation for things they have been given? Zig Ziglar (known as “America’s Motivator”) has some interesting thoughts: “Of all the things a parent can teach a child, manners…

Storms of Life

At some point in life most of us face many types of health, financial, family or other serious problem. Recently, it seems that “storm clouds” have encircled many due to lost jobs, poor health and the economic situation in our country. It would be quite easy to begin counting our problems instead of our blessings.…

Mind Your Own Business

A few weeks ago Neil Wheeler gave me a note he had written as the result of our discussion in a Bible class. The note said, we should “Be careful of the dirt you rake up, you never know what nasty things might take root.” We both laughed because the lesson was about tale-bearing and…

I’ve Got to Start…

  [292 words] You may actually know someone who has begun a sentence using the above words. The words that this preacher has heard used most often to complete this sentence are “exercising” and “eating right.” It appears that most of us have a sense of what it will take to improve our health. The…

Man’s Three Needs

“And he (Isaac) builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well” (Genesis 26:25). Much confusion exists in our world regarding the purpose of life. Many people are confused and uncertain about what to do with their lives. This passage,…

Inside-Out Transformation

Christians are being transformed into Christ’s likeness (2 Cor. 3:18). God is trying to press His people into a Christ-shaped mold. But this transformation isn’t an easy process, partly because the world is trying to press us into its own mold. In order to be transformed into the image of Christ we must resist being…

Who Do You Worship?

Henry Ward Beecher, the famous pulpit orator, once had to be absent and his brother was invited to speak for him. The church house was crowded, but when it became evident that the eloquent Henry Beecher was not going to appear, many started to leave. Beecher’s brother was not disturbed. He stood up before the…

Words of Wisdom

A man is only as good as what he loves.All the beautiful sentiments in the world weigh less than a single lovely action.One of the nice things about problems is that a good many of them do not exist except in our imaginations.To err is human; to blame it on someone else is really human.Too…

Father Figure

Why is there so much violence, crime, hostility, anger, hatred, discrimination, disrespect, etc. in our world today? What’s wrong with America? I believe the answer can be summed up in two words: FATHER FIGURE. The ABSENCE of a father figure within the home is reaping havoc on our society. And when I say FATHER FIGURE,…

The Missing Sponge

A surgeon was very selective with the people he wanted to work with. It was the first day on the job for a young nurse and the surgeon decided to issue a test. As the young nurse assisted the surgeon during a procedure, she noticed a problem. “You’ve only removed eleven sponges, doctor,” she said…

Giving Like God

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” John 3:16. There’s a lot of talk about giving this month.  Even the retail stores, who have separated themselves from the “reason for the season,” have not moved away…

Don’t Let the Lights Go Out!

  [246 words] One of my favorite things about this time of the year is experiencing the beauty of Christmas lights. Ordinarily only dimly lit by dull street lamps, towns are now awash in brilliant displays of holiday cheer. So much more joyful than the rest of the year! Eventually, however, those lights will be…

Choose to ‘Do Well’

[284 words] While watching a movie entitled An Old Fashioned Christmas on the Hallmark Channel, I scribbled down an outstanding observation a character made about choosing a path in this world. In this movie, which is based on a story set in the 1880’s by Louisa May Alcott, one young man took a house guest…

The Reason for the Season?

  [317 words] It’s December! For many, especially children, “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” It is also the time of the year when we hear the slogan, “Jesus is the reason for the season.” How do you feel about that slogan? I take issue! Jesus is not “the reason for the season.”…

What We Share

Racism is sinful. Racism is foolish. Racism is illogical. Instead of a discussion of our differences, let us take the time to focus on what all men share. We share a common heritage / ancestry (Genesis 3:20; 9:1). Every man, woman and child on the planet is a genetic relative. We share a common Creator…

Are You On the Lookout?

Back in my high school days, I had some friends who convinced me to be a monitoring judge for a road rally. There was a course set throughout the county for contestants to decipher clues and then drive down certain roads ending up back at a designated place. The judges were strategically placed in secret…

Five Links of Fellowship

1. Gathered TOGETHER (Matt. 18:20). 2. Knit TOGETHER (Col. 2:2). 3. Perfectly Joined TOGETHER (1 Cor. 1:10). 4. Striving TOGETHER (Phil. 1:27). 5. Caught Up TOGETHER (1 Thess. 4:17)…. This content is for Trial, Annual, and Lifetime Members only! Please log in or register to use our free church bulletin resources, or start an Annual

God and You

“On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land” (Acts 27.27). Your attitude and behavior in any and all circumstances ought to be governed by your relationship to God. Paul had been in a ferocious storm on the sea for nearly…

God Cares

When all the world seems to forsake you, And there’s chaos in all your affairs; When you’re blue, disappointed and lonely, Of one thing be certain… God Cares! When your plans and your dreams come to nothing, And your troubles show up in pairs, That’s the time to use your last ounce of faith And…

Faith Comes By Hearing

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). Pertaining to personal salvation, there is no subject more necessary than faith. In Hebrews 11:6 it is written, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He…

No Rules

Have you seen the ads that stress, “No Rules?” I think one ad is for beans and the other is for a steak house. There may be others that I have not seen yet. But think about it just a minute. What kind of world would we have if there were no rules to live…

12 Things Fathers Do Which Provoke Children

“And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). “Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged” (Colossians 3:21). Fathers do you discourage or anger your children? The scriptures clearly reveal God’s warning to fathers of the potential…

Difficult to Keep Up

Just recently someone asked this preacher about a couple of modern speech translations. Friends, there are so many new ones appearing on a regular basis that it is difficult to keep up with each one. Some are good, some are just okay, but some are seriously flawed. The good ones seek to get as close…

Live Now To Secure Forever

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow…” (Matthew 6:34). A person’s life can be divided up into four chunks of time: the past, the present, the future and eternity. The devil draws attention to the past and the future; God draws attention to the present and eternity. Therefore, the devil wants to take our focus off…

It Just Happened!

The story is told of a science professor who constructed a planetarium, a precisely scale model of the universe. A student came into his office and asked him who made it. The professor said, “No one.” The student laughed and asked again, “Come on, who make this fantastic piece of precise work?” The professor replied,…

Maintaining the Connection

Summertime is in full swing, and with it the tendency for families to drift from closeness within the church because of family travel and activities. Here are a few suggestions to help maintain that connec- tion. I will use the term “home church” for convenience and lack of a better one. Resolve that you will…

Our Citizenship is in Heaven

The spiritual nature of the Kingdom of God and of His Christ was never fully comprehended by the Jews. In fact, I seriously doubt if most Christians truly comprehend the depth, richness, vastness and greatness of this everlasting Kingdom. God has always been the Sovereign over His creation and thus Israel needed no “earthly” king.…

The Wrong Kind of Deterrence

Anti-death penalty groups argue that capital punishment does not prevent further crimes. They are wrong. The Bible says the death penalty is a strong deterrent (Deut. 13:6-11; Ecc. 8:11; Rom. 13:4). If anyone thinks fear of reprisal doesn’t work, then let him consider the effect of fear in a different context: the fear of being…

Easy Come, Easy Go

Most of us are astonished at the amounts of money earned by professional athletes. Despite making millions of dollars, many of these famous athletes end up declaring bankruptcy. A 2009 Sports Illustrated documentary concluded that as many as 78 percent of NFL players face financial difficulty within two years of retirement. NBA statistics were as…

Why Go to Church?

A churchgoer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. “I’ve gone for 30 years now,” he wrote, “and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one…

Baptism

A man is stumbling through the woods totally drunk when he comes upon a preacher baptizing people in the river. He proceeds to walk into the water and subsequently bumps into the preacher. The preacher turns around and is almost overcome by the smell of alcohol, whereupon he asks the drunk, “Are you ready to…

We Need Each Other!

  [264 words] There is an indelible and universal truth as it pertains to the church. We need each other. In fact, the Bible is adamantly clear that without the contribution of each member, the church does not properly function. Thus is the substance of Paul’s discussion in 1 Corinthians 12. The church in Corinth…

The Speeding Ticket

Recently, a man in Florida went to great lengths to get out of a simple speeding ticket. When the police officer who pulled him over was out of earshot, the man dialed 911. He told dispatchers that a murder was about to take place. He passionately described how a person was holding a gun and…

Prayer

If Jesus felt the need to pray to the Father, surely we need God’s help in our own lives. God knows our needs even before we ask, but still He wants us to ask (Matt. 6:8); and Jesus tells us “that men always ought to pray” (Luke 18:1). James wrote that the fervent prayer of…

In Him

Ephesians is a book every Christian should lay up in his heart. It is about the tremendous privilege we have as Christians. It is about the great blessings we enjoy as a result of being Christians. It is about the huge challenges we face because we are Christians. And it is about the eager anticipation we…

The Word of God

The empire of Caesar is gone; the legions of Rome are decaying in the dust; the avalanches that Napoleon hurled upon Europe have melted away; the pride of the Pharaohs is fallen; the pyramids they raised to be their tombs are sinking in the desert sands; Tyre is a rock for bleaching fishermen’s nets; Sidon…

Let Go Of The Past

The passenger tapped the cab driver on the shoulder to ask him something. The driver screamed, lost control of the car, nearly hit a bus, went up on the sidewalk, and stopped inches from a department store window. For a second everything went quiet in the cab, then the driver said, “Look mister, don’t ever…

His Truth Marches On!

[246 words] The indictment of Isaiah against his generation, a people who had temporarily succeeded in turning truth upon its head, is no less applicable today: “Woe unto them that call evil good; and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe…