By David Phillips
Yesterday morning’s sermon was named after that famous phrase that you hear folks say so often, obviously without really understanding all that it means: Accept Jesus as Your Personal Savior. We noted that it is a good sentiment, but we need to be sure we understand all that is involved. We discussed these 4 things:
By David Phillips
I recall that Brother Joe McCollough would often call attention to a particular word or phrase in conversation, or sometimes from scripture, and then he would usually say, “I am a student of words…” Brother Joe wasn’t highly educated, but he appreciated the scriptures and obviously spent much time with them. We frequently discussed the meaning and origin of particular words from the Bible, and inevitably the conversation would turn to the need to be more grateful for this precious blessing from our Heavenly Father. I sure miss Brother Joe, and 25 or thirty others that I could readily name, who were a crucial part of our congregation, but have now gone on to their heavenly reward. I miss their smiles and encouraging words; I miss their constructive hands and their dedicated hearts. I miss their zeal and their faithfulness and the effect that they had on me, week after week. Surely one of the true joys of Heaven will be the grand reunion we will enjoy there.
By David Phillips
Technology. What did we ever do without it? I’ll be the first to admit that I depend upon it incessantly, and would be very foolish indeed if I refused to acknowledge all the benefits it has brought into my life. It would be difficult indeed to think of a field of endeavor that has not been helped, made faster or in some way streamlined by advances in technology. From widgets to warfare, no matter what we’re into, there’s probably an app for our handheld device that will make it easier to accomplish. But is this really making life better, in all respects? I’m not about to throw mine away, but in the interest of seeing the whole big picture, consider some of the DISADVANTAGES that I believe can be associated with our smart phones and handheld devices. And I’ll freely admit that the following words are directed as much to me as to you. To put it another way, I’m writing not as an innocent bystander, but as a guilty party.
WISDOM
Tom is about to begin a series of Wednesday evening lessons from the book of Proverbs. In connection with that, I’d encourage all of us to do some reading in that book, at least a chapter a day. That way, you’ll be through it in a month. If you’ll do that, you can’t help but notice the frequent mention of the word wisdom as it makes an appearance at least 29 times (KJV) in the first 11 chapters. Must be important, right?
By David Phillips
Everybody knows that Heaven is up, right? While that fact is not exactly stated in Scripture, we generally think of Heaven as being up in the sky. Actually, there is some terminology in the Holy Book that leads us to that general conclusion. For example, note how many times the word “up” occurs or is implied in the record of Acts 1:9-11: And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” On more than one occasion, Bible writers express the prayer for God to look down from Heaven… (Psa.80:14, Isa.63:15). I’m not so sure that God’s word intends to give us a specific location for the Heavenly abode as much as it seeks to impress us with the idea that Heaven is away from this earth.
By David Phillips
“You’re the ones who don’t believe in the Old Testament, aren’t you?” How many times have you heard that unfortunate mischaracterization of the Lord’s church? Usually, the accusation arises whenever we try to teach the fact that the law God gave to His people through Moses is not the law for God’s people to follow today. The New Testament clearly states that the Mosaic covenant has been replaced by the Law of Christ, and even goes so far as to state in Colossians 2:14 that concerning the Mosaic law, Jesus … has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. But we all need to understand that there is far more in the Old Testament than just the Mosaic covenant, often referred to in summary fashion as “The Ten Commandments”. “But”, they say, “it is so old!” Sure, the Old Testament does reach far, far back in time, describing events, people and places that are sometimes strange and far removed from our modern times. So, is there really much value in studying the old volume?
What’s in Your Refrigerator?
Maybe you have a phrase at your house like we do which describes one of those chores that no one looks forward to, but that is periodically necessary: “clean out the refrigerator”. At the Phillips house, it means going through all the stuff that is in the fridge, and getting rid of the too-old-to-eat leftovers, expired milk and near empty salad dressing bottles. Maybe there’s even a jar or two of pickle juice with three or four lonely pickle slices lounging in them, that no one seems to ever want to eat. Anyway, you get the picture. It’s a task that usually doesn’t get done often enough, easily put off, until finally somebody gets grossed out and decides enough is enough, and takes action.
By David Phillips
In each of our lives, events and happenings take place that are so staggering or impactful that they will long occupy a permanent place in our memories, causing us to look back and reflect on them as our lives progress. We just recently passed by the anniversary of a day that had deep and lasting effects on everyone in our nation. Just the mention of the words, September eleventh, brings a chill to most adult minds, though the infamous event happened 19 years ago. The year 2020 has been filled with such startling events, both national and personal, that we’re not likely to forget it anytime soon. And we’re not to the end of it yet. The word, mask will always evoke memories peculiar to this year. COVID is a new word in our vocabularies now, that won’t soon be forgotten. Some of the milestones marking this year were set at the loss of a loved one, a devastating career change, or perhaps a life-altering diagnosis.
By David Phillips
On Wednesday evening, we enjoyed a service of song, scripture and prayer as we typically do at the end of each
Bible Class Quarter. Our theme came from Psalm 1:6 which says, for the Lord knows the way of the
righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. If you missed it, here’s what we covered:
The Way of the Righteous is the way of consecration and devotion. Consecration means solemn dedication to
a special purpose or service. We sometimes us the terms “devoted employee” or “devoted wife…husband”. We
know what devoted means. The Christian life is a life of devotion to God. Paul alludes to this plainly in
Romans 12:1-2 as he tells us that we must present our bodies (lives) as a living sacrifice to God.
By David Phillips
Tom has done a great job leading our study on prayer for the past several Wednesday nights, and I
personally look forward to the study he has in line for us next. Recently, I’ve given more and more
thought to prayers in the Old Testament. To most people’s minds, I think prayer would be a New
Testament subject. It is in the New Testament that we find most of the instruction we have dealing
with prayer. But have you ever considered how many prayers we find mentioned in the OT? What
was the first one? Were they similar in content, conditions and purpose to those recorded in the NT?
To our prayers today? At least 31 specific times, the OT text makes the statement that someone
“…prayed…” In addition to that, there are a number Of prayers that are documented in the text
without that specific terminology. For example, the book of Psalms is literally filled with prayerful
words directed to God, without actually labeling them as such.