Articles

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...

Fellowship is the condition of being together or sharing similar interests as do members of a profession, religion, or nationality; companionship. 1. Our fellowship must be with God and Christ (1 John 1:3). As children of God, we have fellowship with those in His family, including the Father and His only begotten Son. 2. God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship w...

Above is the wisdom of Solomon regarding generosity. He says our bread will return to us after many days (Ecclesiastes 11:1). In fact, a dandy bit of “bread” returned to us just this week. We received a very nice card and a generous contribution from a congregation of the Lord’s people in Owatonna, Minnesota. In that card, several members expressed the following sentiments….. “Thank you for your w...

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...

Guest Speaker: Barry Day This morning our guest speaker will be Barry Day. He will be preaching on “Being an Influencer for Christ”. He will also be wrapping up our Wednesday night Summer Series: Bridge Builders with the subject of “Repairing Broken Bridges”. After 40 years of preaching, teaching, and ministry with his wife, Karen, Barry recently stepped down from being the preaching min...

Have you ever faulted yourself for taking something for granted? You might presume, even subconsciously, that your ability to see is a given. You accept the gift of sight without considering the cause behind it. We are taught that such blessings are from God as James wrote: “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no va...

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...

"If you want to experience the life of Jesus, you must adopt the lifestyle of Jesus.” I came across this line in my reading this week and in true preacher fashion I let out an audible, “wow.” It’s obvious, yet I’m not sure I’ve ever thought of it that way. We look at the life of Jesus, see a man who is full of peace, love, mercy, and assurance, and we want that. We see His life bearing fruit in nu...

One of the things about ministry that gives me great joy is showing the love of God and His son, Jesus, to those lost in the world. I remember helping a gentleman who was homeless and not a Christian, and he told me something that stuck with me as we parted ways, “It was nice to be treated like a human being.” In the Wednesday teen class, we have been learning a simple yet powerful statement. “If ...

Remember these lines? “Think about it, there must be a higher love Down in the heart or hidden in the stars above Without it, life is wasted time, Look inside your heart, and I'll look inside mine Things look so bad everywhere, In this whole world, what is fair? We walk the line and try to see, Fallin' behind in what could be” “Worlds are turnin', and we're just hanging on Facing our fear, and sta...

The movie is a true story about human trafficking. It especially addresses the kidnapping of children as objects for sale to assuage the lusts of godless people. It is said that there are more people enslaved today than ever before in human history, and this move shines a great light on this evil. If no one spent a dime on human trafficking, if markets for children as commodities lacked paying cus...

As the associate minister, I am responsible for the adult education here at Choctaw. It’s a role that I believe is crucial for the health and growth of a congregation and I take it very seriously. I want to provide all of you with classes that help you grow more into the image of Jesus. The goal of teaching is not to simply inform you, but transform you! If teaching doesn’t help you change, it isn...

On July fourth, 1776, the Continental Congress of the thirteen American colonies declared their independence from Great Britain. A new nation was born taking upon itself the responsibility for self-government. But the founding fathers, and indeed other national leaders who followed them, understood that without the dependence of individual citizens on Almighty God, our form of government would be ...

From 1995-2005, the Barna Group tracked the views of American on moral relativism. Fewer than 32% of Christian adults believed in a universal truth and only 9% of Christian teens said they believed a universal truth even existed. Unfortunately, this statistic hasn’t changed much since then, even among ‘born-again’ adults. In 2014, Pew Research Center did a study finding that 29% of Americans belie...

The tree pictured is a desert willow, planted many years ago in one of the islands in our parking lot here at the church building. I am amazed it is still in such good shape. More than one ice storm has ravaged its limbs and broken off an uppermost portion of the trunk. I suspect it was some of our little ones who’ve broken off many of the lower limbs from time to time. A large hole was bored into...