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Faithful to the Finish
Peter's final call to a young and growing church
Grace and Glory
A short series through the highlights of 1 Peter
Entrusted
Gifts, risk, and the return of the King
ALEC SHEAR Alec Shear has spent the last twenty-five years of his life collecting stuff. He has 6 stars and stripes lunch boxes, 400 transistor radios that look like name brand products, 10,000 match books, and countless other items of vintage Americana. When his wife divorced him over his ...read more
Tags: Materialism
LOVE IS NOT SELF-SEEKING I read a beautiful story that illustrates this truth. In December of 1971 the Daily News of Maryville, Tennessee, ran a brief story about a nine-year-old boy who did an inspiring and self-giving act. He loved his mother, who had been widowed, and wanted to buy her a ...read more
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:5
Tags: Christian Love
WHAT THE FLOCK NEEDS FROM THEIR PASTOR The breadth of my ministry is determined by the depth of my relationship with Jesus, "the most important thing that your people need from you is your personal holiness" --Dr. Bill Bennett, SEBTS Pastoral Ministry class "Take heed to yourselves, lest you ...read more
Scripture: Romans 6:15-23
Tags: Holiness
Battle Dress for Spiritual Warfare Marine recruits were each issued a service bag filled with clothing, in addition to a rifle, a cartridge belt, a bayonet, and a heavy steel helmet. Since those just arriving on base did not know how to care for themselves, recruits were also issued basic supplies ...read more
Scripture: Ephesians 6:13-18
Tags: Spiritual Warfare, War
WHEN TO RELAX AND WHEN TO STRUGGLE Author Sam Keen, in his provocative little book called Apology for Wonder, tells us the lesson he learned as young boy swimming in the Indian River inlet on the Delaware coast. Keen says that swimming there was very tricky, because the outgoing waters from the ...read more
Scripture: Luke 10:38-42
Tags: Anxiety
Bride-to-Be Hosts a Banquet for Homeless Philip Yancey told the story of the woman who was getting married and planned a huge wedding banquet. It was going to held at the Hyatt Hotel and cost $13,000. After everything had been planned and paid for the groom dumped her. When she tried to cancel she ...read more
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
Tags: Compassion
Mosquito Repellent Hides a Person from the Insects Sensors In Hebrew the word ñÈúÇø (say’-ther) literally means “a hiding place - to cover, to hide covertly or secretly”. In fact Psalm 32:7 it is translated as “hiding place” - “You are my hiding place: you will protect me from trouble and surround ...read more
Scripture: Psalm 91:1-16
Tags: God's Provision
Leeches in Burma Fall Off Traveler in Herbal Bath William Arnot wrote this: "A traveler in Burma, after fording a certain river, found his body covered all over by a swarm of small leeches, busily sucking his blood. His first impulse was to tear them from his flesh: but his servant warned him that ...read more
Scripture: Matthew 18:21-35
Tags: Forgiveness, Forgiveness In Jesus
Minister Runs Ad in Local Paper to Invite Straying Sheep Back into the Fold A few years ago I was reading a book by Stephen Gaukroger. He tells the story of a New York Methodist minister who saw the need to bring his ‘ninety nine righteous’ sheep back into the fold. He put an advert in the local ...read more
Scripture: John 10:1-18
Tags: Parable Lost Sheep
The Goal of Bible Study J. Robertson McQuilkin said, "The goal of all Bible study is to apply the truth of Scripture to life. If that application is not made, all the work put into making sure of the author’s intended meaning will have gone for naught. In fact, to know and not do, doubles the ...read more
Scripture: Psalm 119:18
Tags: Bible Study
FASTING TOGETHER: THE MINNESOTA GRASSHOPPER SWARM In Minnesota, during the summer of 1876, there was a swarm of grasshoppers destroying the crops. There was a fear that the grasshoppers would return, so Governor John S. Pillsbury proclaimed a day of prayer and fasting on April 26, 1877, urging ...read more
Scripture: Isaiah 58:1-14
Tags: Fast
A Student Conquers the Temptation to Cheat A Struggle with Temptation” At school Joe was good in arithmetic but poor in spelling. Mabel was a fine speller and sat opposite him. On examination day Joe forgot many words, and the tempter said, ‘Look on Mabel’s paper; she has them right!” So Joe ...read more
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:13
Tags: Temptation Resisting
CLINKER BRICKS Although at times it seems as though the church is in ruin and rubble, God sees it as a beautiful building. Clinker bricks are bricks that did not quite make it. For some reason or another, they come out of the kiln misshapen or deformed. I read about a Presbyterian Church in New ...read more
Scripture: Ephesians 2:19-21
Tags: Atonement, Redemption, New Life, Born Again, Church Body Of Christ (view more) (view less)
William Doherty on How Marriages End Up Down River William Doherty begins his book Take Back Your Marriage with a powerfully true illustration. His office is located in St. Paul, Minnesota, not far from the farthest point north on the Mississippi River. He describes the river’s powerful but silent ...read more
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:10-17
Tags: Marriage Struggle
Workplace Satisfaction Many of us here are employed in some form or another. Employment means that you have committed yourself to an occupation from which you derive your livelihood. You are selling your time to another person. The average person will spend almost 100,000 hours at work during the ...read more
Scripture: Ephesians 6:5-9
Tags: Workplace
IT REALLY IS FINISHED After suffering on the cross for six hours, Jesus shouted, "It is finished!" (John 19:30). Everything that needed to be done to provide salvation had been accomplished. When former President George W. Bush was asked about regrets during his presidency, Bush answered that he ...read more
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:21, John 19:30
Tags: Cross
MATH TESTS THROUGH THE DECADES * 1960s test: "A logger cuts and sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is four-fifths of that amount. What is his profit?" * 1970s new-math test: "A logger exchanges a set (L) of lumber for a set (M) of money. The cardinality of Set M is 100. ...read more
Scripture: Daniel 1:3-4
Tags: Wisdom, Walk, Fire
CLOSE, BUT... A high school senior was asking his father's advice on how to woo the girl of his dreams. And his dad said "Well son, when you take her out for pizza tonight and you're sitting across the table from her, take her hand in yours, gaze longingly into her eyes and softly say 'Wow, you ...read more
Scripture: Proverbs 15:22-23
Tags: Men And Women
HOW CHRISTIANS ARE DIFFERENT A Second Century believer, in a letter to his friend, Diognetus, described how Christians are alike and different from others. He wrote, "Though they are residents at home in their own countries, their behavior there is more like transients...Though destiny has placed ...read more
Scripture: 1 Peter 2:18-25
Tags: Christian Witness
DR. R. G. LEE ON THE BIBLE The late Dr. R. G. Lee, former pastor of the Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis TN expressed the value of God’s Word in this way: "The Bible is a book beyond all books as a river is above and beyond a rivulet. The Bible is a book beyond all books as the sun is above and ...read more
Scripture: Psalm 119:1-176
Tags: Bible Influence