Articles
It’s the holiday season again! It’s that time of year when we are supposed to be joyous and thankful. Unfortunately, that is not always a realistic view. Despite what we are told through the radio, tv, and other media, there is no holiday magic cure when we are not able to be joyous or thankful. We still take advantage of each other. We argue with each other. We insult and kill each other no matte...
Do you ever find yourself wanting to ask God for something but believe that it is too small or insignificant to “bother” him about? I know I do. But I’ve been a dad long enough to know how pleased I am when one of my children asks for my input about anything in their lives; even when they think they need to apologize about its seeming insignificance. Our sun is approximately 864,938 miles in diame...
Even though Paul was a prisoner, had been in a shipwreck, and had been bitten by a snake, when he saw those brethren from the Market of Appius and The Three Taverns “he thanked God and took courage” (Acts 28:15). The Choctaw congregation at the service of the Lord’s Day, November 3, was able to greet Mary and Geoffrey Kirima (whom we support to share the Gospel in Kenya), and to hear brother Jean-...
It is believed that most of the ideas behind the night we now call “Halloween” originated with the Celtic religion of Druidism which flourished for around 300-350 years between the second centuries BC and AD. For the Druids, this night meant that the “lighter” part of the year was coming to an end and the “darker” part was beginning. They further believed that on this night the veil between the li...
The serpent said to the woman, ‘You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil’”, Genesis 3:4-5 The above reveals for us the most profound struggle of our own existence; which is our desire to govern ourselves as though we are our own god. Intellectually, it makes no sense. We know that we did not cre...
Most people who have listened to sermons have heard the Bible called, at one time or another, the “Living Word.” Have you ever wondered what that means? Surely it does not mean that your Bible comes to life and goes from being an inanimate object to an animate object that lives, breathes and needs nourishment. It can be a difficult concept to grasp that words live. So, how can we better understand...
Sunday, November 24 2019, has been designated by the shepherds here at Choctaw as “Every Member Present Sunday”. That’s what’s up ahead! On a given Lord’s day, folks will be absent from our assembly for any number of reasons. Kids get sick, work schedules interfere, vacations come along, and well, you know. It is difficult to get everyone together at the same time; but how neat would it be if we d...
My thanks to the Competitive Enterprise Institute for a compilation of news articles predicting dooms of various types. Below are some of the foreboding conclusions reached by scientists in the recent past that were noted in their piece. 17 November 1967 – The Salt Lake Tribune published an article by George Getze, a writer for the Los Angeles Times, with the headline, “Dire Famine Forecast by ‘75...
The most important information the church could provide is how to be eternally saved from your sins through Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches that we are all created in God’s image, but that through our own sins we have fallen short of His glory and become separated from Him. Since the penalty for sin is death, Jesus took on flesh so that He could die in our place, paying that penalty for each of us...
The “Step Up In September” plea was a genuine, sincere effort by the elders to overcome—”bridge the gap”—between the Sunday morning and Sunday evening —Wednesday evening attendance numbers. The imposed Divine obligation for the elders “to feed the church of the Lord” (Acts 20:28 AS) automatically imposes a Divine obligation for members of the church “to be fed!” Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and...
I am constantly telling my daughter, “Share with your sister.” or “Share with your cousin.” I don’t often hear adults saying that phrase to each other, yet we all make sure to instill the idea of sharing into our children. Why is that? Do we realize exactly what we are doing when we share? Hebrews 13:16 says, “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing t...
All too often I hear of someone tragically taking their own life. Having presided over funerals for such folks and having attempted to comfort survivors, I want to put something out there again, to encourage anyone who may be considering suicide to reconsider. Please, reconsider. I haven’t been where you are, so I don’t pretend to understand all you are going through. I would like to hear your sid...
Three things I read recently with which I absolutely concur: “Children died in the great flood of Noah’s day because their parents failed to get them on the ark”“If our children have to ask us if we are going to church, we are doing it wrong”“Christians should not have to be badgered into attending Bible classes and worship” Ouch! Those hurt! Well, only if they are true. Truth is, living as a Chri...
Technology is improving. More and more jobs that once were done by humans are now being done by machines. Some are even speculating that robots will soon be able to function much like living beings. As a matter of fact, in October of 2017, a robot named “Sophia” was granted citizenship in Saudi Arabia. Can we legitimately give such status to a machine? The biggest question to me ...
The Step Up in September campaign is a plan to encourage every one in this church family to make a special effort to attend all Bible classes and worship services each week for the month of September. There may be some who cannot be present for all of the classes/worship because of work, or health, etc., but please come when you can. Additionally we are trying to encourage parents to see tha...
Man sets foot on the surface of the moon! Apollo 11, July 20, 1969. Twenty-one years old, along with 94% of Americans, I watched on black & white TV, Neil Armstrong stepping onto lunar soil. "One small step for man, One giant leap for Mankind." Before that, because it was Sunday when they landed, Buzz Aldrin brought along communion. The first thing eaten on the moon was the Lords' Supp...
V.E. Howard, well known preacher for the International Gospel Hour, who preached on the radio for fifty years, punctuated his sermons with the sobering question, “Are You Listening?” Despite the reputation he gained for that preaching pattern, have we appreciated the appropriateness and pertinence of what he was doing? In Jeremiah 7, God “rejected and abandoned “ His people (v.29), men...
Of course it was part of God’s great plan to redeem man, but how was it that people came to hate him so much that they begged the Romans to crucify him? Simply put, Jesus made people uncomfortable, because he told the truth. In a world that hates truth, truth is hate. Folks were told that believing Jesus would get them thrown out of the synagogue (John 9:22 & 12:42). Those who loved the appr...
The first question people ask when they find out that I’m a minister is the name of the church that I preach for and then, without fail, follow up with the query, “How big is your congregation?” It seems as if there is something about the size of the congregation I serve that somehow gives them insight into who I am and probably my abilities as a minister. When it comes to judging the value of any...
Think for a moment...Have you ever had a child say or do something in a public surrounding that made you want to dig a hole and pull the ground in over you? It could be your child, or grandchild, cousin, some relative or maybe someone unrelated to you at all. The words or actions at that moment may come from an innocent child, but we, with our extreme maturity, don't know how to ...