Articles

We have all most likely heard the phrase, “Communication is Key.” It is usually connected to an intimate relationship like a marriage or a friendship. The phrase is also used in most job places. Now that I’m involved in ministry, I realize it applies to the Church as well. My wife and I used to think we were good communicators. We found out we were good “assumers” and it tore us apart. We ended up...

I have been thinking lately about what our individual roles are in the Church. Are we working? I seem to have tunnel vision toward this subject of doing Kingdom works and just regular works that come with being involved in church. What is the need and how do we fulfill it? As I’ve been thinking about ways to get members involved, I’ve started to ask myself, “How can it be made simple?” I mean, wha...

On Sunday, July 7th our new Summer education quarter for adult Bible classes begin.  On Wednesday nights we will have the third edition of “The Main Lesson in____” series with different speakers coming each week to summarize and explain what they believe is the main teaching of each book of the Bible.  We have a great line of speakers beginning with Howard Norton, kicking off the series ...

“The supreme test of any civilization is whether or not it can teach men to be good fathers”- Margaret Meade, cultural anthropologist “Every social ill that we are dealing with is directly or indirectly related to fatherlessness”- Otto Kelly, executive director of Crisis Pregnancy Center, Reno Nevada Do the above quotes reflect the truth?  Consider the statistics below… 1 out of every 3 child...

You won’t see that headline in any news broadcast or newspaper, but Oklahoma has the attention of our nation.  Tragedies normally bring out the best and/or the worst in people.  The recent storms again have shown one of God’s teachings and Oklahoman’s have dazzled the nation with it – “foot washing”! Commentators, reporters, networks continue amazed with the “caring”, “concern” and the n...

Have you ever used a socket wrench? It is a tool of varying lengths and sizes that holds a socket on its end according to your need. Wrenches are pretty standard, but there are many different kinds and styles of sockets because it is imperative to have the correct fit for the job at hand. If the socket is not the correct fit, the job will be much harder to accomplish. Yet, just having the correct ...

Bunker Hill, Fork McHenry, Gettysburg, San Juan Hill, the Argonne Forest, Normandy, Truk, Iwo Jima, Chosin Reservoir, Ia Drang, Fallujah, are just a few of the places where American servicemen have paid the ultimate price for our freedom.  We remember those who’ve fallen this weekend.  That’s what Memorial Day is for. I am convinced, however, that if we could speak with those who have pa...

Today we honor our seniors who are graduating from high school as well as those from our congregation who are graduating from college.  These are men and women who have completed this great task and are now entering into a new phase of their life.  We all have these moments of transition in life.  Sometimes our transitions of life are big but other times they are small.  But re...

“Now the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living”, Genesis 3:20 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you”, Exodus 20:12 “Every one of you shall reverence his mother and his father”, Leviticus 19:3 “Who is like the Lord our God…. He makes the barren woman abide in the house as a joyf...

Ever wonder why God wants us to obey Him?  What exactly does God receive from our faithfulness and obedience?  We say that we want to please God and do so by avoiding sin or making a sacrifice in our service to others but how does our improved morality or increased service advantage God?  He doesn’t need anything nor does our goodness add any advantage to Him—He’s above it all...

I’m going on vacation, to relieve my tired mind,  I can’t wait to start forgetting, all the stuff I’ll leave behind My job with all its stress will be the first thing that will go, and maybe then those constant bills that to my mailbox flow I’ll forget about those people who always bring me strife, their caustic negativity is just a blight on life I’ll turn off tv, twitter & surely facebook t...

Where I grew up, when someone died, older men would simply take off work and younger men would skip a day of school to dig the grave.  It was my privilege to help dig several graves.  Almost all of them were for people I knew. Grave digging starts our relatively easy.  Someone with some know-how and experience marks out the rectangular shape of the grave on the surface in the exact ...

Andrew Connally (as given by his wife, Claudene, in her book, I Walked By His Side, pp.103ff) told of a heart-touching moment, when he stood near Lake Nyasa (Africa) in the midst of “The graves of Bandawe.”              Here were some twenty three missionaries who left Scotland in the 1870’s with a burning desire to establish the Church o...

Almost everyone I know has spent some time in a hospital and for a variety of problems.  Once we have been diagnosed with something, we agree to be admitted to the care of that institution.  There are doctors, nurses, medications, and health equipment to aid our needs.  And even though it greatly affects our routine and our lives, we want it fixed.  We then accept the care and ...

I would like to thank all the teachers, helpers and cooridnators who have served during the winter quarter (January-April).  Our education program is the ministry that requires the most volunteers (of at least 40) and functions year round.    With it we train the young and prepare them to receive the gospel when they are old enough; we strengthen Christian families with our you...

Metaphysics – “1. The branch of philosophy that investigates principles of reality transcending those of any particular science, traditionally including cosmology and ontology  2. All speculative philosophy” – From the Funk & Wagnall’s Standard Desk Dictionary Does it seem odd to you that the metaphysical is relegated simply to the realm of philosophy, even speculative philosophy? I ask this ...

This has become a fairly popular question due to modern denominational teachings.  The question is answered in several passages and in several ways. First we see it in the use of the passive voice.  Active voice in NT Greek as well as in English means that the subject does something.  Passive voice, however, means that something is being done to the subject, with the subject being o...

Jesus healed the sick, made the lame walk, gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf and enabled the mute to speak.  Thousands were fed by this man who carried no stores of food.  He even raised the dead.  What right-thinking being would not want such a beneficial man to live and walk among those they loved? But he was called “ruler of demons” by his enemies; those who had invest...

Oft told is Christ’s story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).  Careful attention and fitting applications have been given to: 1. The robbers, who attacked, beat, stripped his clothing, and left the man “half dead.”  They demonstrate The Iron Rule-”Might makes right.”  It is the selfish, shameful, stronger-than you, bullying, bad guy lifestyle; 2. The priest and Levite, each walk...

No matter what Church people attend, there is usually a time set aside to worship and within the worship, there is a time to sing. We, in the Church of Christ, are especially careful about how we sing together. We do not use musical instruments or dance, but I think we all know that. My question is not how do we sing together but why do we sing together? What is so important about us singing toget...