Articles by Titus West

One of the things I keep thinking and praying about during our associate minister search is whether or not the person we pick will be self-starting & devoted to service in stirring & strengthening the Body. I believe it is important to have a good preacher, but I also believe it is equally important for this next hire to be a man invested in the people at Choctaw. Meaning, we need a man who notice...

We sing a song, I Know Who Holds Tomorrow, written by Ira Stanphill. As I focus on trying to write something that is encouraging and uplifting, these lyrics continually play in my thoughts. So, I would like to share the words of this hymn with you today and I pray they give you encouragement and, if you need it, the peace to keep moving forward. 1 - I don't know about tomorrow, I just live from da...

King Hezekiah was considered in the sight of God. In 2 Kings 20:1-11 we read that the king of Judah had fallen ill and was at the point of death. Isaiah came to the king and told him to get his house in order because he would not recover. Upon hearing this news, Hezekiah turned to the wall, wept bitterly, and prayed this prayer to God: “Now, O LORD, please remember how I have walked before you in ...

When we think of the word ‘obedience,’ we often think of having dominion over something. Like telling a dog to sit or lay down, or leading a horse by nudges and clicks, or even telling our children to do something. The idea we most often think of is, “Do what I say, when I say to do it.” Although this is an accurate representation of a type of obedience, this idea does not cover the full intention...

For the first time in 24 years, The Christian Chronicle has started to re-design it’s newspaper “look”. Some of the changes include taller & thinner pages and new style headline & text fonts. Like anything that introduces change, there are people who do not like the new changes. One such person’s opinion concerning the masthead was featured in the letters to the editor. The gentleman says that he ...

What makes one bold? In my experience, boldness comes from conviction. If I am convicted by something, I am able to be bold about that thing because I not only believe it to be true, but also know morally, it is the right thing. I discipline my children, not because I have to, but because I am convicted in the belief that if they are disciplined properly, they will grow up to be respectful adults....

Have you ever heard anyone say that they hated music? Not a certain type of music, but all music? I don’t think I have, although there are people out there who do not derive any pleasure from it, the numbers of people who have no connection to music is far outweighed by those that do. For so many, music is the thing that moves and touches our inner most being. Music can be the escape we need, a so...

We hear the phrase, “God works in mysterious ways.” all the time. We may even use that phrase ourselves. One of the benefits of having the biblical accounts is that we get to see how God works and His ‘mysteries’ are revealed right before our eyes. Take Saul for instance. A well-educated Pharisee of Roman birth, proficient in the knowledge of the Law of Moses, well spoken, highly thought of, and C...

In Luke 7, Jesus is invited to have a meal with a Pharisee. While Jesus is reclining at the table, a woman who is known in that city as a sinner came to Jesus, fell at his feet weeping and began to wash his feet with her tears. As she is weeping, she cleaned and dried Jesus’ feet with her hair and after they were clean, she kissed and anointed his feet with the perfume from her alabaster flask. It...

This last week, two U.S. men visiting India were arrested and fined for violating their visas. What was this violation? They preached the gospel of Jesus Christ. August of 2023 in Watertown, WI, there was a young man arrested at a pride parade for speaking into his microphone and speaker system. What was he saying? He was reading Galatians 5. A gentleman on the streets of Reading, PA was arrested ...

There is a great divide between our brethren, and I have found it because I have the privilege to stand before the congregation almost every week. Please trust me when I say this, if this issue were as simple as moving the pulpit, that’s what would be done. However, much thought has gone into this as I have, for the last 5 years, looked out over our worship space to see 100 people crammed into the...

What does it mean to glorify God? When I think about this, I almost always think first of my worship to God, and I almost always think next of my actions. When we think of these two things, we are actually combining two different ways in which we glorify God. First is communal glorification and the second is individual glorification. It is important to glorify God through our worship and actions, ...

Have you ever heard someone say, “I’m too far gone to be saved”? It’s almost always an ashamed individual looking over their life and thinking that they have sinned too much. They carry too much baggage for God to handle. They truly believe in their hearts and minds that God could and will never forgive them. One can understand how someone who has lived a particularly sinful life could feel this w...

In the early 2000’s, Christian music was at the forefront of mainstream music. It wasn’t uncommon to turn on the radio to kj103 and hear your favorite Christian band. In 2001, there was a Christian band our youth group liked to listen to called Relient K (yes, like the Chrysler k cars). One of their songs that has stuck with me through years is called Pressing On and these lyrics specifically, “To...

This last weekend, the youth group and several members of the congregation went on a retreat. The theme was from Philippians 1, “To Live Is Christ, To Die Is Gain” and our goal was to focus on what it truly means to live for Christ every day. We had some great lessons and group discissions that I believe were effective, I know they were for me. One particular lesson has stuck with me, and I would ...

In the society we live in, there is this term called ‘cancel culture.’ The term springs from people who have lost jobs, contracts, businesses, future livelihood opportunities and sometimes families for standing up for what they believe to be true. This term has been politically charged in our society and has encouraged people who have the opportunity to stand against evil to do nothing. Like all o...

Ministry is possibly the most important job a person could ever have. If you scroll through the latest reels on your favorite social media platform, you’ll likely come across videos of people in their worship buildings listening to a minister saying something seemingly profound but something that clearly misses the mark. Recently, I came across a video where the man ‘preaching’ said that people wh...

There are at least 46 verses in the bible that contain the word “zeal.” The definition of zeal is, a strong feeling of interest and enthusiasm that makes someone very eager or determined to do something. This word is often used to describe people in the church as well as local churches themselves. One would think that a word like zeal would always be a good thing for the Christian, but that isn’t ...

Jesus said many wonderful and glorious things. He is God in the flesh, after all. To me, there is one statement Jesus makes, that has encouraged me over and over again. A statement many of us know and quote with the idea in mind that Jesus truly is the son of God. However, there is so much more to this statement than its use of proof. This statement is a guide for us in our faith for Jesus says in...

Have you ever felt like you are ‘lesser than?’ Many, if not all of us have. I’ve noticed that people tie significance to recognition. If they are recognized for their efforts, they feel significant. If their efforts go unnoticed, their view of themselves wanes. People measure their self-worth based on how others view them, which isn’t bad if the outside influence is God. Think of Seth in Genesis 4...