Christian Life

Christian Life

It Will Be Alright By and By

All of us at some time or another get depressed and discouraged. Sometimes we just want to give up and quit. In the heat of a moment, we’ll say, “That’s it, I’m quitting this job.” Or, “I’m going to leave this town and never look back.” Or even, “I’m done with the church – they’ll never miss me.” How often have we felt that life was seemingly stacked against us? That the harder we try, the worse things get? That…
Mix of work tools

How Useful Are We?

Someone once said, “Our duty is to be useful, not according to our desires, but according to our capacities.”  We can all see the truth in that statement when it comes to serving the Lord. When God told Jonah to go and preach in the city of Nineveh, Jonah did not care to go. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, hated enemies of Israel; he did not want those people to repent!  So he decided quite literally to travel in…

Work in the Vineyard Today

On the first day of the week before the Passover, Jesus arrived in Jerusalem in what has come to be known as the Triumphal Entry. He was greeted by crowds of people shouting Hosanna to the son of David – essentially, “God save the King” – and waving palm branches (Matt 21:8-9). In other words, he was greeted as a ruler. That did not sit well with the Jewish elites. The situation intensified when Jesus entered the Temple and drove…

Living Until We Die

On Friday evening, a memorial service was held for Ronnie Rubit in this building. I never had the pleasure of meeting Ronnie. But I know that many of you were close to him, and, not only in the church but out in the community, numerous people have told me what an inspirational figure he was. It reminds me again that we have experienced a great deal of loss recently in this church. It’s difficult sometimes in such situations to know…

The Tragedy of Racism

This article, by Wayne Jackson, was shared with me this week. I thank God that this congregation has members from diverseethnic backgrounds. But this continues to be a pervasive problem in society, and I found his direct confrontation of it timely and touching, so I wanted to share it with you. It originally appeared in Christian Courier right here. BP No one with a modicum of awareness will deny that racism—the inclination to judge a person solely on the basis of…

What Must I Know?

Baptism is a tremendously significant event. In baptism, God promises to extend his grace to the penitent believer, and we appropriate all the blessings associated with the saving work of Jesus Christ. We have had 3 baptisms in recent weeks. We rejoice that these young people made the commitment to follow Jesus, had their sins washed away, and were added to his church. Now, baptism is more than just experiencing any sort of rite involving water. For one thing, the…

Refresher Course

In AD 64, a great fire engulfed the city of Rome. It burned unchecked for nearly a week, driving innumerable people from their homes and devastating a vast swath of the city. Of the 14 districts of Rome, 3 were virtually destroyed, and a further 7 were reduced to a handful of scorched ruins. Only 4 completely escaped damage. In the aftermath, a rumor started that Nero, the emperor, had started the fire to clear land for his massive new…

Valuing Small Things

As difficult to believe as it is, this is the final Sunday of 2018. Tomorrow, we will close the book on this year and then embark on 2019. We are probably all focused on the challenges of the coming year, the changes we would like to make, the improvement we would like to see. As we think about that as it relates to the church here in Liberty, our desire for growth and development both numerical and spiritual, I am…

Silent Night

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”(Luke 2:13-14) Joseph Mohr was born in Salzburg, Austria in 1792. In 1815, he was ordained to the priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church and served in a number of parishes in the Salzburg area. As of Christmas 1818, he was the assistant priest at St. Nicholas church in the…

The Church of Football

We are just into the beginning of another football season. NFL teams play their third game today, and most high schools and colleges are 3 or 4 games into their seasons, so the shape of most teams is starting to come into focus. Depending on your level of fandom, and what team(s) you follow, you are either eagerly anticipating the next few months or bracing yourself for a long season. You won’t find many bigger football fans than me. I…

Help Wanted

I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down.  Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man. (Proverbs 24:30-34) Tomorrow is Labor Day. Scripture has a great…

The Church is on Fire!

If you have listened to enough sermons over the years, you might have realized that you often hear different preachers using the same illustrations. My dad has always referred to those as “Preaching 101” stories. One of them concerns a church building in a certain community that was on fire. Naturally, that kind of news spreads fast, and the entire community rushed out to see the excitement and watch as the firemen fought the flames. Among those drawn to the…
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