Articles

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 ...

The worst thing you can do in the Lord’s church is to cause division. Solomon made it clear 3,000 years ago that God specifically hates one who causes strife between brothers (Proverbs 6:16-19). Don’t be that guy! He’s the worst. Jesus prayed for unity among his disciples (John’s gospel 17:20-23). Don’t fly in the face of his prayer. That’s the worst! Imagine being thrown into the deepest part of ...

Jesus prayed that all of those who believed in him would be united as one: “I am not asking on behalf of these alone (the apostles), but also for those who believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. - John 17:20-22 When Jesus says, “…so that the world may ...

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...

I have been told many times throughout my life that I’m aging more quickly than the average person. Family, friends, and even doctors have told me this. At the youthful age of 39: arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, chronic pain, high blood pressure, obesity, and an uncontrollable desire to use coupons whenever possible. Most of my hair is gone, and what remains is rapidly turning whiter than Frost...

Do you ever get frustrated with yourself because you believe your faith is small? If so, you are in good company. Jesus repeatedly told the apostles that he would be killed and then raise from the dead on the third day. He preached this openly saying, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up."- John 2:19 Mark records at least nine times when Jesus told his disciples abou...

If you don’t already have a Bible you really enjoy, why not begin the New Year with one that you do? A disciple of Jesus is a constant student of his word, and I am confident that you want to make your study as efficient and effective as possible. What to look for: · Get a Bible you enjoy seeing and handling. Color, texture, size & shape are all important to its appeal. · The print must be easy fo...

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, ...

As a babe he came and in a manger lay, to ease our burden and light our way. “Emmanuel”, he would be called, God with us in an animals’ stall. “House of bread” was the name of the town, where Mary lay her baby down. Apropos is the name indeed for with the bread of life this babe does feed, the souls of men who hunger and thirst for the righteousness we are led to seek first. It is not just a story...

So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard about it, and all the nations surrounding us saw it, they lost their confidence; for they realized that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.” (Nehemiah 6:15-16) These brief verses describe the completion of the repairs made to the wall surrounding the city of Jerusale...

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...

Faith is trusting God about what he has said. Faith is believe believing in Jesus, even though you weren’t there when he walked the earth. You did not see his cross, but you believe he was crucified in your place. Your voice was not heard outside the empty tomb, but you will say with everything in you that you believe he stepped out of it fully alive. You haven’t seen heaven where your name is wri...

Jesus asked a woman for a drink of water. She responded by asking him why a Jew would ask a Samaritan woman (which she was) for a drink, since Jews and Samaritans were not known to get along. Leaving her question hanging, he went on to make a much more profound point. He said, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would hav...

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...

A carpenter would never complain about hammer because it wouldn’t cut wood. A cook would not throw away a wooden spoon because they can’t boil an egg in it. These may seem like pointless observations, but consider how we often diminish our value because we can’t do what some others can. Hammers and wooden spoons have specific purposes. So do you. Do you know what you’ve been designed and gifted 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 ...

I love this time of year. There are pros to every season, but fall is my personal favorite. We get football, playoff baseball, and a new basketball season all at once. We can start to make those food dishes for warm weather we don’t crave in the heat (I’m looking at you chili - and yes, with beans). Pull out your hoodies, sweatpants, and beanies, fall is here! Oklahoma is emotional and we don’t kn...

(a question much too complex for a bulletin article cover) No other people are as uniquely related to God as the Jews. He specifically called Abraham to create through him a nation that would bring his son and therefore eternal life to the entire world. The message of John 3:16 makes it succinctly clear that God’s eternal focus was never on one nation, but on the coming of his Son for the world. A...

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...