God is Involved: Lessons from Esther, by Edwin Crozier (02/07/10)

The Psychology of the Human Heart

Before we get to this post, I need to explain that we had a bit of a flub last week. I scheduled my article to show up on the web, but somehow the e-mail to Richard Terry, who prints our weekly bulletin, didn't get to him. So, he ran this article in the bulletin. My article intended for last week should be running in today's bulletin (January 31, 2010). So, for those who get our bulletin and keep up with the website, hopefully this will explain the confusion. Now, on to Richard's article and a special thanks to him for stepping ...

Negate Negativity

In our country, we seem to be in the grasp of a culture of negativity. We are discontented about nearly everything. We have two major political parties who seem to be more interested in opposing the other’s agenda than doing what is right for the country. If they are for it, I have to be against it. In the sports world, if a team has one bad season, the boosters begin to complain and seek a quick dismissal of the coach. They do this by grumbling among themselves then to the management or school administrators until the negativity grows, and ...

Summary of Ephesians, by Phil Barnes (01/24/10)

Can a Church Buy a First Aid Kit?

Questions of authority for congregational action are important. We must not simply dismiss them with a wave of the hand because we don’t want to think about them or we just can’t imagine why something is wrong. When someone asks if a church can do something, we should pause, reflect, and look to the Scriptures. Usually, when we ask what the church can do, it comes down to what can the church spend money from its collection on. I’ve heard questions about buildings, song books, and a myriad of things. I’ve recently heard a new one. Can a church buy a ...

Praying Like the Psalmists: Have the Same Goal, by Edwin Crozier (01/17/10)

Accepting Healthy Help from Our Brethren

We have a tendency to live in extremes. We sometimes have a hard time walking down a middle path. For instance, some of us who have had trouble with our eating, have lived as if what we ate didn’t matter. We didn’t worry about any of the consequences. Then the New Year rolls around and we decide to drop a few pounds. We put ourselves on such a strict and controlling diet that we never get to enjoy anything. Usually, that doesn’t work and end up going right back to eating like it doesn’t matter. Some of us have spent ...

Balanced Teaching of God’s Whole Counsel

When I attended worship services in the fifties and sixties, 95% of sermons preached were negative. By that I mean that the preacher covered a myriad of things we could not do. To illustrate this point, they would say you can’t pitch a song with a pitch pipe, because that is a type of musical instrument, and we cannot use musical instruments in our worship services. You cannot attend movies, they are of the devil. (Note that movies in the fifties had no profane words, no sex or nudity, very little violence. There was not a system to rate movies, ...

Lust is the Problem

I don't know how many times I've read Matthew 5:27-30 and I've always seen it as a simple condemnation of sexual lust. I wonder if there isn't something more here as well. You have heard that it was said, "You shall not commit adultery." But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into ...

God Wants What’s First, by Edwin Crozier (01/10/10)