How can we help? A few months ago, I e-mailed several missionaries asking for their ideas about assembly support of missionaries. Their ages ranged from missionaries in their first year of service to one sister in her 90’s. I received 47 pieces of e-mail in response. This is a summary of some of their suggestions. […]
Beware the Cartoon Diet. There are often news stories promoting causes like animal rights, whaling bans, or vegetarian diets. The tone of these reports attempts to place advocates of these issues on a higher moral and ethical plain than those who believe that both plants and animals have been given to people as food. But […]
Restoration and revival As previously noted, Zerubbabel was primarily concerned with laying the foundations. There were certain priorities that were critical to re-establishing the nation before God, and Zerubbabel concentrated on the altar and the temple. Spiritual revival under Zerubbabel The altar All spiritual revival must begin at the altar. We are a holy priesthood […]
God has been ordaining women for thousands of years. There are a lot of ministries women cannot participate in. Well, actually, not a lot. In fact, there are very few. But it seems people make a big deal over those few and ignore all the ministries in which they can participate. In fact, there are […]
What do we believe? In the 1990’s, the trend for businesses was to have a company “mission statement” to clearly state what your overall mission was, as a corporation. I always considered it somewhat silly. The company I worked for had executives spend time summing up what we did in politically correct corporate jargon. Instead […]
An act of love? Who are we to judge? Isn’t love the prevailing rule of the day? It may surprise some that, in the Bible, church discipline was commanded by Christ (Mt. 18:15-18), demonstrated by apostolic practice (1 Tim. 1:20), and revealed as an inspired precept in God’s Word (1 Cor. 5:11). Levels of discipline […]
There is a new and living way. Old Testament Israel had a clergy-laity system. Only one out of twelve tribes, Levi, could function as priests. The Levitical priests were recognized by their special religious vestments (Ex. 28:40-43). They alone could offer offerings on the altar and serve in the house of God. As males, they […]
Pastors were God’s idea. but we must understand what a biblical pastor does. Anyone who fellowships in a New Testament church with a plurality of elders will face this question sooner or later, often from a well-meaning fellow Christian, “Who is your Pastor?” Part of the equipping of the saints referred to in Ephesians 4:12 […]
Do we find revival in the New Testament? Revive.” Literally, to live again. Life from death. The very word radiates hope. The Old Testament contains a record of several revivals among the people of God. There are certain elements common to all of them: the Lord’s people had turned away from Him, but the Lord […]