In the last article I addressed the matter of laying up treasures upon earth. The Lord Jesus Christ exhorted His disciples not to focus upon the physical—that is, the temporal. The person whose life is consumed with the things of this earth will be greatly disappointed. Even King Solomon admitted in Ecclesiastes 2:11, “Then I…
Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament written about 435 B.C. It would be over 400 years before God would speak again from heaven by sending his Son, Jesus, to be born of the virgin, Mary. It is not insignificant that the Old Testament closes with the word “curse.” Malachi writes, “Behold, I…
RIP … you see this attached to a social media post almost every day. The sentiment is there, but do we really know what RIP means? Do we know what we are saying? What’s its origin? Is it a blanket statement for all deaths? Wikipedia says, “’Rest in peace’ (Latin: Requiescat in pace) is a…
As young people and old across our nation “ink up,” this has become a burning question among many young (and not so young) Christians. After all, a lot of Christians do not want to be left out of the latest crazes if they do not have to. As with many ethical queries, the question itself…
Today1 we begin a new series on the last book of the Bible. The Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ reveals mysteries and miseries in the light of Christ’s majesty. It begins and ends with wonderful blessings for the wise but reveals how God deals with the wicked boastings of men. It is a…
One of the best books I’ve read in a long time comes to us as a reprint of an 1880 revision of a book first published in 1848. Smith, James. The Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul: With Dissertations on the Life and Writings of St. Luke, and the Ships and Navigation of the Ancients.…
There are several factors that affect how a pastor views, and therefore goes about, his work. Most would readily agree the pastoral office is a vocation (from Latin, vox, voice) and thus a calling. But a calling to what? Many answers are offered to that question and, in turn, result in widely different ways of…
The mission field is already at our doorstep. That presents challenges in reaching our communities for Christ. While Spanish ministry has been a mainstay in our community, we now have a need to reach people who speak Romanian, Arabic, Russian, and other languages. Many of these people have difficulty understanding messages in English but are…
Our Lord declared to His disciples in Matthew 6:19, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.” In this passage the Lord taught His disciples not to make it their goal to amass wealth for themselves. Again He declared in Luke 12:15,…
Several years ago, a couple attended the services of our church, but after a few months they stopped coming. They told me I said something in a sermon with which they strongly disagreed. What did I say that they found so troubling? I said that repentance was necessary for salvation. How is that problematic? Did…