Posts from 2024 (Page 4)
SOUND WORDS, JUNE 2, 2024
WHAT IF EVERYONE IN THE LOCAL CHURCH WAS LIKE YOU? People make up local churches. Thus, the stronger the individual Christians are who make up a particular local church, the stronger that church is. What if everyone in the local church was just like you? Would it be a church that is strong or weak? Would it be a church that is pleasing or displeasing to Christ? If everyone in the church was like you, what kind of attendance would…
SOUND WORDS, MAY 26, 2024
GENTLENESS I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Eph 4:1-3) In a world full of annoyances, frustrations, disagreements, misunderstandings, and short tempers, disciples of Jesus have been called to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel.…
SOUND WORDS, MAY 18, 2O24
DEALING WITH OTHERS Dealing with others is not always easy. What should I say? How much should I believe of what I hear? Is there another side to the story I’ve been told? Am I being fair in my dealings with others? These and other questions must be answered. When we deal with others there is always the potential for differences to arise. When those differences come it is easy to forget to use some common sense rules in our…
SOUND WORDS, MAY 11, 2024
WHY DOESN’T THE LOCAL CHURCH CONTRIBUTE TO BUSINESSES THAT HELP PEOPLE? The church we read about in the Bible belongs to God and was planned by Him before the creation of the world (Eph.3:8-11). It was to make known the wisdom of God (3:10). It was built by Jesus Christ, our Lord, (Matt.16:18), who is its foundation (1 Cor.3:11), and was purchased by His precious blood (Acts 20:28). When God raised Christ from the dead, He gave Him all authority…
SOUND WORDS, MAY 5, 2O24
MESSY ACCOMPLISHMENTS I was talking with my infusion nurse this week about difficulties starting IVs on people who are “hard sticks” (like me). She told me a story about when she was new working in the ER and not sure if she was going to make it at the job. One night they were short-staffed, and despite the fact she was inexperienced, she had to start an IV on a particularly hard case, an older lady with no veins to…
SOUND WORDS, APRIL 28, 2024
IF MIRACLES GO, SO DOES NAPOLEON Christianity’s veracity rests on the factuality of certain miraculous happenings. If these happenings didn’t happen, Christianity is worthless (1 Cor. 15.12–19). In the 18th century, a Scottish philosopher by the name of David Hume argued that the miraculous happenings undergirding Christianity didn’t occur. His argument against miracles has persisted, in various forms, to the present. In philosophy books it’s usually found in the chapter on religion to prove that you can’t use miracles to…
SOUND WORDS, APRIL 21, 2024
HOW WILL YOU ANSWER THE QUESTION? “What is your life?” asks James, the Lord’s brother. He then gives his own answer, as one inspired of God to do so: “It is even as a vapor that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away” (4:14). Life is time. Time is life. Nobody knows just how much of it he has. “What is my life?” That is the question. And it’s a question ever man must answer for…
SOUND WORDS, APRIL 14, 2024
TAKE TIME TO BE HOLY Scriptural Text: 1 Peter 1:13-16 As Christians, we are commanded to be holy. To be holy means to belong to God. We are consecrated & separated for the service of God. When we are holy, like God is holy, then we are conforming in all things to the will of the Father in Heaven. Personal holiness is a work of gradual development. We are called to be holy, even in the midst of hindrances. For…