by Cory Waddell

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:23 (ESV)

Several years ago, I saw a man walking down the street with a big wooden cross on his shoulder, positioned in the way we often see depicted in movies of Jesus on the road to his crucifixion. No doubt the man’s goal was to make a point about faithfulness to Christ by literally “taking up his cross.” Perhaps he desired to inspire people through his sacrificial gesture of publicly bearing this load of a religious symbol through the streets of the city. It inspired me, but not in the way he may have anticipated.

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By Brad Harrub

Dear friend, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you smile. Oh, I see you “smiling” in social media posts, but there is a distinct difference in your smile today, versus 2-3 years ago. You’ve lost that spark that used to light up your entire face. There is a bitterness and hardness in your posts that makes me sad. It seems that you have gone off to college and have been “enlightened” by professors who want you to have a more open mind, and in the process, you have turned your back on almost everything you were taught when you were younger. And that “enlightenment” has brought with it a dark cloud that hovers over you.

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By Kevin Cauley

Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter (1 Peter 4:16). The word “Christian” was first used in Antioch (Acts 11:26). The word means one who follows Christ. First Peter 4:16 implies that some used it as an insult. Perhaps this is the way that Agrippa meant it in Acts 26:28 when he told the apostle Paul, You almost persuade me to become a Christian. Peter says that the person who is called by such a name not be ashamed of it at all, but rather, glorify God.

The word “Christian” contains the word “christ.” “Christ is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word “messiah.” Both words mean “anointed one” and come from the tradition of anointing with oil leaders in the ancient world. The Hebrew word “messiah” is used in the Old Testament a total of 39 times. Thirty-seven times it is translated “anointed,” and it usually refers to one of the kings of Israel. The translators chose to translate with the English word “Messiah” twice in the New King James Version in Daniel 9:25-26.

Having studied the book of Daniel extensively, the Jews of the New Testament were expecting God’s Messiah, His Anointed One, to arrive. Jesus fulfilled all prophecies of the Anointed One in the Old Testament. Therefore, He was the Messiah. In the New Testament, the word “christ,” (Greek for “anointed one”) is used almost exclusively to refer to Jesus. Christians are followers of the Anointed One, Jesus, and the word “Christ” is a title, not Jesus’ last name. What an honor it is, then, to share the title “Christ” with Jesus as “Christians.” This was Peter’s point.

By Doug Dingley

We know and understand that God both can and does bring good out of even the worst of circumstances (Gen. 50:20; Lk. 24:44-47; Rom. 8:28), and this Coronavirus is certainly no exception. Hopefully, one of the greatest things to come out of this current pandemic will be people’s honest realization of just how quickly all the things they once thought were so essential and indispensable to them and their lives, can be so suddenly and completely taken from them. How the pursuits and activities that once consumed so much of our time, effort, energy, and finances — and which we had somehow convinced ourselves were so critically important to us – can be so swiftly and suddenly… just taken away from us.

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By Batsell Barrett Baxter

Robert G. Ingersoll (1833-1899) was an American lawyer, politician and writer who often lectured on his creed of agnosticism, and in other ways displayed animosity toward orthodox Christian beliefs.

While traveling in England, he was staying in a small hotel at the same time as a noted denominational preacher who had often written him. The preacher asked for an interview and sat down to talk with the unbeliever. The preacher asked, “Mr. Ingersoll, some months ago I wrote to challenge you to a debate concerning the truthfulness of the Bible. Why did you not respond?”

Ingersoll asked, “I heard you in a debate one time, and I now ask you if you believe that baptism is necessary for salvation?” The preacher replied that he did not believe it was required. Mr. Ingersoll asked for the preacher’s own copy of the Bible and opened it to Mark 16:16, and read, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”

Mr. Ingersoll then explained, “Why should I debate the Bible with you? You don’t believe it either.”                                                                                         

It is interesting that an antagonistic, non-believer can see the necessity of a believer believing and obeying ALL the commands of God, when so many so-called believers cannot see the same thing.

By David Sproule

How many friends have I had over the years who denied the essentiality of baptism for salvation by claiming that whoever “believes” has “everlasting life” in John 3:16, and baptism is not even mentioned?  Numerous.  And, on the one hand, such an argument may seem legitimate, as the verse certain says, “whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life,” and baptism isn’t there.  But, does that really prove that baptism is not essential?

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By Jack Wilkie

We all get caught going through the motions sometimes. We all know that our God deserves more, though, and we know that the more we put in the more we’ll get out. Here are 11 things you can do to better engage your heart in worship, particularly on Sunday.

1. Pray before you go. There are so many things we can pray for to get our minds in the right place. Give thanks for the blessings of the week to get the mind focused on why we worship. Pray for those leading worship. Pray that the cares and distractions of the world would be taken away. Pray for an open heart and mind.

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By Cory Waddell

No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins-and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.
Mark 2:21-22 (ESV)

To modern Americans these illustrations may seem a bit strange. However, the first century audiences understood them clearly. It is impractical and unhelpful to mesh something brand new with something that is worn out because the new substance will destroy the old. They are incompatible with one another.

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by Corey Waddell

[Recently] we observed how easy it is to become dulled to the world around us and the damage such desensitization can do to us. However, it is not sufficient to just acknowledge the undesirable. We must also work proactively to make ourselves better. This week we will explore some suggestions of how we can do more than just avoid being dulled. How can we sharpen our spiritual senses in an era of constant exposure to undesirable things?

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(You’ve likely heard some of this terminology that refers to generational age groups – Millennials are young people born from 1981 to 1996. Gen Z includes those born from 1997 to around 2015. A lot has been said about the different thought processes and value systems of the younger generations. Brother Harrub addresses
very well. Read it through to the end, and give it fair consideration. jdp)

by Brad Harrub

Thank you for opening our eyes to some serious needs to change. I know that may not be what you were expecting to hear. I know your generation has taken a beating in the media (and even in church). I am more than familiar with the Millennial stereotype. But the reality is, your generation has pointed out some things that past generations really need to hear. So I begin by offering my sincere thanks.

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