The Apostle Paul gave us an important charge. He said: “Always and for everything give thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father” (Ephesians 5:20). This means going to God in prayer and thanking him for what He has given us. And doing this every day. The word “thanksgiving” has…

Christianity as it came from the mind of God is clearly set forth in the New Testament. The four gospel records—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—give us the ac- count of the earthly life of Christ and His ministry, including His death for the sins of all mankind and His burial, resurrection, ascension, and promised second…

The story is told of a farmer who called into a radio station during a contest, and being the fifth caller, he was given an all expense trip paid to New York City. The farmer was absolutely overwhelmed by his trip and the new experiences. A stretch limo picked him up and took him to…

one day a visitor leaned on the fence around the farm while he watched an old farmer plowing with a mule. After a while the visitor said, “I don’t like to tell people how to run their business, but you could save yourself a lot of work by saying ‘Gee’ and ‘Haw” to the mule…

I In a time of great trial an~ ~gony for Jesus, He lacked ort from his closest disciples. Luke records that in supp ” the garden, Jesus prayed earnestly; And when he rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, and He said to them, “Why are you sleeping?…

A Congregation Grows When …. Each member has a deep concern for the lost. Each member enters into the worship service with much feeling and enthusiasm. Each member is interested in an aggressive Bible School program. Each teacher is interested in improving his or her teaching ability. Each elder and deacon is dedicated to the…

Thirty years ago, on a Sunday morning, 1 was in a 15_ passenger v~n with a dea~on of the local congregation picking up kids to bring them to Bible study. I remember it as if it were yesterday. The van was packed to the gills with children, and my job was crowd control. It must…

Retirement is primarily a Western, twentieth-century idea. We’ve promoted the idea that retirement revolves around withdrawing from work in order to enjoy life to the fullest without obligation, commitment, or worry. Secular retirement is a reward for all your hard work in the secular workplace. But the only place in the Bible that mentions anything…

Godly grandparents are an uncommon commodity. They share the one thing that each new generation needs-advice learned through experience. Few parents like to be told how to raise their child, but advice asked for and advice needed is two different things. When it comes to advice needed, godly grandparents need to do three things: remind…

There once was an older man who went out jogging. He was running around a track that circled the high school football field while the team was conducting their practice. When the football players began running their sprints up and down the field, the man said to himself, “I’ll just keep running until they quit.”…