No Greater Gift

By Fenter Northern

“Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” ~ Acts 2:38

Only God could know how many times the above text has been quoted in gospel meetings as well as on other occasions in the Lord’s church. It is not heard as much anymore. Think of yourself as well as your loved ones who upon hearing that preached placed themselves under Jesus’ Lordship and trusted in the promise to receive into their hearts the Holy Spirit. This means God’s Holy Spirit took residence in the inner man, the most stupendous gift, awesome honor, and magnificent grace that could ever happen to a person.

Continue reading→

Just Two Bags

By Dick Brant

A family had been faithful to the Lord for over fifty years. They had raised faithful children and had faithful grandchildren. When the father and grandfather of the family died at the age of 83, the mother moved in with one of the children. I was involved in helping with the move, and as you might expect it took a lot of sorting out, still there were a lot of things and a lot of memories in each box.

Continue reading→

In His Own Eyes

By David Phillips

The last verse in the book of Judges states, In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes (21:25). These words, also previously stated in 17:6 remind us of the selfish nature of mankind to do whatever he can get away with. That certainly seems to have been the case in the days of the Judges and for many, even now.

Continue reading→

Why is Gambling Sinful?

By Jimmy Gee

GAMBLING VIOLATES THE WORK ETHIC. – Eph. 4:28; 1 Thess. 4:9-11
GAMBLING VIOLATES THE STEWARDSHIP ETHIC. – 1 Chron. 29:13- 14

THE MOTIVATION TO GAMBLE IS SINFUL…

  • Greed – 1 Tim. 6:9-10
  • Covetousness – Eph. 5:3-7; Col. 3:5-6.
  • The desire to be rich – 1 Tim. 6:11

Continue reading→

By Whose Authority? Does any Man Change it?

By Dan Jenkins

Last article we noticed the impact of the question the Jewish council asked the apostles in Acts 4. “By what power or what name have you done this?” They understood that religious acts could not be done without God’s authority. Today we make application of this question by asking several questions.

Continue reading→

By Whose Authority

By Dan Jenkins

The religious leaders in the first century left much to be desired in their lives, but shortly after the church was established, they asked a question which I wish the world today would ask. Christianity was new, and the apostles called upon men to forsake their religious heritage and become part of the amazing kingdom Jesus had established. The Jewish council arrested the apostles and put them on trial.

Continue reading→

Age of The Earth

by David Phillips

Many scientists today tell us that the Earth is 4.543 billion years old, and they say that without batting an eye. But if you examine their arguments, you’ll find that conclusion to be based on evolutionary oriented assumptions. Evolutionists believe that early life evolved from nonliving chemicals 4 to 5 billion years ago and gradually developed over “geologic ages”. They say man (in one form or another) came on the scene about 1 or 2 million years ago. On the other hand, the Biblical record plainly indicates that living things were placed on the newly created Earth during the 6-day creative process that took place around 6 thousand years ago. Obviously, the Biblical timetable is about a million times shorter than the evolutionary one.

Continue reading→

A Day is A Day

by David Phillips

In addition to the “Gap Theory”, which we discussed in the last bulletin, we should note that there is significant controversy over how long the days of creation were. In an attempt to compromise with evolutionary thought, some have insisted on the possibility that each day of the Creation period was an age of millions of years.

Continue reading→

Music or Music?

by David Phillips

Recently, Jimmy Gee challenged us to recognize the importance of the instruction from Colossians 3 regarding the matter of music in worship. Clearly, verses 16-17 furnish us with the authority for vocal music in worship (16) and also remind us that we are to do only that which is authorized by the Lord (17 …in the name of the Lord Jesus).

However, a point that some seem to be confused on is the distinction between vocal music and instrumental music. The confusion is often evident in a statement like this: “But the musical instrument helps us to sing better and makes our singing more beautiful.” This statement may even be true, if “better” and “more beautiful” are to be judged in human terms. But the fact is, human pleasure and enjoyment are not the primary aims of worship music. Worship is offered to God.

Continue reading→

Who’s Worth the Most?

by David Phillips

One of the reasons the radical feminist movement has gained such headway in their attack on the Biblical model for the home and family can be seen in their mischaracterization of Christian teaching.

For decades now, those who advocate the rejection of the Biblical model for family have convinced people that Scripture teaches that females are second class citizens, with neither rights nor respect, compared to males. On this basis, they claim the Bible should be rejected. Is this a fair representation of Christian doctrine?

Continue reading→