Articles

Solomon said it was.  In Ecclesiastes 3:4 he said that there is an appointed season to weep and a season to mourn.    Later in chapter seven he wrote that it was better to go to a house of mourning than to a house of feasting.  His reasoning was that it would put us in mind of our own mortality and we would take it to heart.  Solomon then said that sorrow is bett...

As you know, we are presently looking for a man to serve the Canyon View congregation as Youth and Family Minister. Although many will, in the weeks to come, call about the position, few will actually be interviewed and only one will be chosen.The reason for the slowness of the process is that not many applicants can demonstrate the qualifications that we desire for this position. In order to help...

This is my 50th Christmas without my father. I thought of him recently while I browned some meatballs for  a spaghetti sauce we were cooking up for guests over the holidays. This was his recipe. One handed down from his father and passed on to me by my mother years after he passed away.  The pungent smell of the garlic and Romano cheese filled the kitchen and flashed back ...

The general pattern of brethren assembling relates to 4 hours of the 168 hours of a week. Considering traveling time, the gathering times would likely require another 5 hours. This article, therefore, relates to some 9 hours of the 168 hours each member needs to consider per week. Note the ways brethren relate to these moments of assembling. Brethren respond in some 4 different groups: 1. Some do ...

 I believe Martha's gotten a bad rap as far as Bible characters go. The most quoted reference about Martha is where Jesus gently admonishes her concerning this good woman's frustration at not receiving help from her sister, Mary, in serving their guests. This story recorded in Luke 10:40-41 has become, for many, the defining image of this woman, a worrier, a person consumed with tasks, and a ...

All my life I have heard people use excuses not to go to church services.   "Those people 'pretend' to be religious, but they're just hypocrites!"   "It's just full of gossips and people who are worse sinners than I am!”   "I messed up so bad even God wouldn't want me."   There are many more excuses, which are supposed to be valid reason...

God did not design us for violence. Sin, however, changed everything and it became the responsibility of righteous people to take violent situations in hand.  As soon as Noah stepped off of the ark God instructed him that any man or beast who took the life of another man was to be put to death, Genesis 9:5-6. God had noted for us in Genesis 6:5 & 11 & 13 that mankind ha...

'Church' these days has been turned into a show by many in the religious world. Worship is for them a big production that is performance oriented and entertainment driven. Such assemblies beg for applause and they get plenty of it. It seems to me that it is a lot of hype with very little of God in any of this. But getting back to the question about applauding at a baptism, or some g...

There has been much talk concerning Social Security that has a lot of folks in a lather. The government is suggesting a variety of ways to save it or make it more viable. Some groups want to abolish it in favor of private plans, others suggest delaying retirement or having part of the S.S. payments put into private funds. With the bulk of the population rapidly approaching retirement, it...

God said it.  He said it to Joshua.  He said it three times (Joshua 1:6, 7, 9 & 18). The third time God told Joshua to be strong and courageous, He also asked him, “Have I not commanded you?”   Doesn’t that sound to you like God wanted Joshua to understand that since He had commanded him to act, that there was no reason to be timid or afraid?  Go...

When do we have the right to become children of God?   John 1:12 states “But as many as received Him to them He gave the right to become children of God even to those who believed in His name.” This verse indicates the point in time in which we have the right to become children of God. It is when we receive Him (Jesus Christ) and believe that He is the Son of God. C...

“Sticks and Stones may break my bones…but words can never hurt me!”   Remember learning that? How’s it workin’ out for you?  This was the tool I was told to use when people called me names, made fun of me, or insulted me.  It certainly has never worked for me.  It never fixed anything nor did it make me feel any better.  Nothing can...

God teaches us that it is right to punish those who do wrong. When He or those authorized by Him (see Romans 13:1-5) punish evil as He designed, it is justice. When individuals take things into their own hands, however, it is usually for revenge. Justice is a matter of comparing one’s behavior with a recognized code of behavior or law. When the law is broken, justice demands a fitting punish...

September 11th is “Grandparents Day” according to the flower and gift industry. Certainly grandparents are worthy of a bouquet or an outing at the Golden Corral but if we really want to please them, how about some things that would truly make a difference in their lives? Staying in touch and visiting on a regular basis would be nice. Cards and flowers on one day without an on-going presence only h...

These words are surely addressed to praying people-like yourself. The Apostles were praying people, who upon hearing Jesus pray, still said:“Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). Would you like to improve your prayer life? G. Ashton Oldham might help our prayer life, when he wrote: “Prayer is the chief agency and activity whereby men align themselves with God’s purpose. Pray...

Jesus said the above in John 7:24. We usually hear people claiming that the Bible says not to judge and they are usually making this claim having judged someone for having supposedly judged someone else. They seldom catch themselves, however. Actually, the title quote above is incomplete. Jesus’ full statement was, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgmen...

“For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.” Romans 7:19 What evil do you want to do? I have mine. You have yours. Even the apostle who wrote the above had his. Need a list? Just off the top of my head I can think of gluttony, envy, arrogance, drunkenness, promiscuity, vulgarity, adultery, physical and/or mental abuse, theft, dishonesty, bul...

I cannot recall what it was like to be in my mother’s womb. Of course at that point I was incapable of understanding any of the wonders of the created universe into which I would eventually be born. But having been born, I would never go back. As children, we always looked to the next “phase” of our lives. We wanted to play with the big kids, to go to school, to go to the next gr...

Seems like I spend an awful lot of time driving. I’m picking up kids, going to the store, running errands…how about you? Most of the time my mind is running in different directions and everything is on autopilot, and my random thoughts flash in and out of my head (most I can’t remember and count as “senior moments”). But, the other day a stop sign caught my eye. STOP...

Discouragement is something that we all, from time-to-time, face. In fact it may be all around us. At times we are faced with challenges that seem impossible, or work that can never get finished or we have too many factors against us. It might be times of indecision, financial burdens, family conflicts or the loss of our job. We may be in times when our faith in the Lord seems to be drifting away ...