Steve’s Stuff

The Church of Christ …. Preaching 2 Timothy 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. Visitors to the services of assembled church of Christ will find preaching from God’s Holy word. As the above scripture describes preaching is needful and timely with the intended goal of salvation for all. The evil one has managed to turn something good, needful and commanded by God the creator into something at…

The Church of Christ …. Worship The church of Christ holds the bible as our only guide to our lives. Certainly, “rightly dividing the word of truth” is central to the Christian life. Worship of God is not about us, it is all about God.   John 4:24 “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. Of the truths expressed in this passage none is  greater or more profound than “God is Spirit.”   The true…

The Church of Christ …. Music Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. When visiting the Church of Christ you will find the sweet sound of music in the form of congregational singing. Certainly, no one would disagree God has instructed (even commanded) the use of singing in the worship service. Since…

The Church of Christ …. The Lord’s Supper One of the first parts of worship many will find upon  visiting with the Church of Christ is our devotion to the Lord’s Supper. Folks often ask “why do you do that every Sunday?” Another may say, “don’t you get tired of doing that?”  Still another, “after all it is just a ceremony it doesn’t mean anything.” To understand why the Lord’s Supper is observed we must search the scripture for the…

The Church of Christ …. Prayer 1Th 5:17 pray without ceasing, Christians pray everywhere all the time. You see them in line at the grocery, over meals in              restaurants, at stop lights, sporting events, alone and in groups to name a few. A person might conclude with all that praying going on, Christians must be very good at it. Of a truth many are very proficient in their prayers offered to God. In life skill often comes from repetition. The…

The Church of Christ …. The Lord’s Supper One of the first parts of worship many will find upon  visiting with the Church of Christ is our devotion to the Lord’s Supper. Folks often ask “why do you do that every Sunday?” Another may say, “don’t you get tired of doing that?”  Still another may say, “after all it is just a ceremony it doesn’t mean       anything.” To understand why the Lord’s Supper is observed we must search the scripture…

Of What Does Praise Consist? J Randall Matheny Praise focuses on the person of God and his actions. It is not a listing of one’s blessings. Praise details the character of God and follows his plan of redemption through history. It describes his nature and worships his work and word. Praise is personal, but not restricted to self, for it recognizes the purpose of God for all peoples and especially for the body of Christ. As such, praise is best…

God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Cor. 1:9).  No less than 10 times in the New Testament is God referred to as faithful. The word translated faithful means to be trustworthy, sure, true.  Our God is trustworthy. He will do exactly what He says He will do. God has always been faithful. He cannot be any other way.  In order for us to fully live for God…

Relying on other people, places or things is often disheartening.  Perhaps it is the persons fault. Other times it may be our own expectations were overly ambitious. Or just a set of circumstances made the preferred        results impossible. Whatever the reason most of us have learned to live with a certain amount of independence. We have learned to rely on mostly ourselves for many things. But this also can be problematic as we      usually are not as reliable as we…

Last week we noted some basics of New  Testament Christianity. Chief among them all is the absolutes presented on the pages of Gods Holy word. Christ is a historical absolute 1 John 1:2 He was testified to by John the Baptist, John 5:31, His life works testify to His fact 1 Peter 2:21f God the Father testified, Matthew 3:17 Finally, by the lives and work of the   apostles in the first century, 1 John 1:3 Today we will take a…

Joe says to Fred, “your cat is crossed eyed.” Fred looks at his cat eyes and comments, “Are you sure the cat eyes are crossed?” Joe, “I am positive,” “ but everybody says   only a fool is positive,” replies Fred.  “Are you sure,” says Joe. “I am positive,” says Fred. It is hard to be certain in this world. I would guess it has always been that way. Certainty  is hard to come by,  partly due  to the changes we have seen…

Did you know for a large segment of the society we live in, it is easier to believe In creatures from outer space than the God of creation. To some degree, this may be the results of the entertainment and or media       industry and the movies and the like they have produced. Not that they are at fault, certainly we should be able to distinguish between fact and fiction. But it may be a product of a “Hard Heart”. You…

Google What is love and we will find 627 million possible websites to choose from. It would seem we are awash in something everybody has a different opinion about. I guess the old saying is correct, “ what does opinions and noses have in      common?” answer “everybody has one”. So what is love? I know what the world thinks love is. I have seen the mess many have made of their lives looking for love in all the wrong places.…

“You’ll shoot your eye out.” Remember, the movie The Christmas Story. No, not the original, the one with “Ralphie” and the gang. Ralphie, wanted a “Red Ryder” BB gun for his Christmas present. He wanted it so bad that it became the “substance” and “evidence” of his dreams. He dreamed of being able to right wrongs and save the west through the power of his “Red Ryder” BB gun. This is the picture of Faith. Everyone on this earth has…

1 Corinthians 13:13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. Let me suggest something for your consideration. While certainly, the greatest of these three is love they are all equally needful. Let me focus today on the silver of the three, HOPE. Have you ever seen a person without any hope. Often you see them both at home and abroad. It is so apparent in the faces and lives of people who…

Watchman— Someone given the responsibility to guard or to warn   others. God had assigned Ezekiel as the watchman to Israel. It was his     responsibility to warn Israel of the      danger to come. Many of the prophets of God were watchman. They foretold the outcome of the actions of the people. In the world today the first and by far the most important responsibility of every Christian is to warn the world of the and time. Day after day goes by…

A mother becomes concerned about her son. It seems every Friday night he stays home to flip through the channels on the Television. When she asks the reason why he just shrugs and continues to flip. “Well don’t you know anyone you can go out with.” “Sure” he says. “Then why don’t you go.” “Guess because have never asked them.” In the more than 40 years my wife and I have been Christians I have seen countless programs and heard…

  “Then the sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them carts, according to the command of Pharaoh, and he gave them provisions for the journey. He gave to all of them, to each man, changes of garments; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of garments.” (Genesis 45:21-22) In case you’re not familiar with the idea, a sign of wealth throughout the Bible (including the New Testament) was the ability of an…

Have you seen those “snap chat”  interviews on TV where a man with a mike and a camera man asks people on the street questions?   The following results were taken from an article by H. Eaton. Less than 1/2 of all adults can name 4 Gospels. Many professing Christian cannot identify more than 2 or 3 of the disciples. 60% of Americans unable to name more than 5 of the 10 Commandments. 82% of Americans believe “God helps those…

Surely, Christians everywhere would agree this is a very important question. Most Christians own multiple copies of His Holy Word. Most read it or have read it often. It is our guide and road map to navigate through this life on our way to heaven.   Certainly, Christians in all time can think of many uses for the word of God. Most cannot and do not want to imagine being with out it their lives daily. The comfort it imparts…