March 25, 2024
What constitutes success in the church? The number of seats occupied on Sunday mornings? The number of baptisms per year? . . . For the apostle Paul, one litmus test for church success surely was edification.
September 18, 2023
Some say love is blind—but I disagree. Real love can see quite well, but it chooses to accept (or graciously overlook) the loved one’s imperfections. . . .
February 7, 2022
If grace is God’s love for us that we do not deserve, then faith is how that grace is appropriated in our lives.
January 17, 2022
How did Jesus cause some people to stumble and fall and others to “never be put to shame”?
November 1, 2021
A heart that becomes hard can all too quickly become unbelieving. A hard heart can test the Lord, but an unbelieving heart can cause a person to turn away from God.
This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. It is published in the May 17 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Sam E. Stone The first-century church in Corinth faced special challenges. One problem was that many members placed undue emphasis on those who spoke in tongues. Today we will first study Acts 2, when the church began, so that we can understand the context of Paul”s teaching on this subject to the Corinthians. Tongues at the Church”s Birth | Acts 2:1-7, 12 The Day
July 21, 2014
This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. It is published in the July 20 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Sam E. Stone From the day that the church began in Jerusalem, God endowed certain members with miraculous gifts. These were needed in that day. When the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, they began to preach in tongues (Acts 2:6-11). These were languages that they did not know and had not studied. As
February 15, 2012
By Doug Redford Last summer our local newspaper featured an article about urban farming in the Cincinnati area. It described how people began growing gardens in various locations throughout the city, not only as a hobby but also as a way to provide additional food. One man was rather philosophical about gardening. “I started seeing how gardening made people happy,” he said, “how it started changing the whole community, and it just took my heart.” Then he added, “In a garden, you control your own destiny.” That last statement, to use gardening language, deserves some cultivation. It brings to mind
October 16, 2010
By George Ross I grew up playing the trumpet, loving baseball, and eating too much. My heroes as a kid were Herb Alpert, Willie Mays, and Chef Boyardee (not necessarily in that order). Unfortunately the Chef and his “pizza in a box” was an all-to-frequent experience for me on lazy Saturday afternoons. In fact, I became quite a connoisseur of pizza at an early age, which prepared me for college life. After sensing God”s calling on my life during high school, I went to Bible college in Lincoln, Illinois, in the early 1970s. That big city of 17,000 (compared to
September 28, 2008
By Victor M. Parachin A woman wrote an advice columnist to share how a simple act of kindness prompted her to seriously change her lifestyle. Signing herself as “Slimming Fast in Florida,” the woman explained she is one of those “oversized” people who more than fills an airline seat. While on an airplane that was filled nearly to capacity, a “good looking gentleman” sat down in the seat beside her and greeted her with a friendly, “Good morning.” As he buckled his seat belt, he said to the woman, “I always feel cramped in these seats. Would you mind if
December 18, 2005
Mary’s Magnificat reveals a heart shaped by Scripture. Learn how studying, meditating, praying, and (eventually) memorizing God’s Word can weave biblical language into everyday rhythms and form our responses to life.
August 30, 2005
Lana West explores the debate over women in ministry by tracing Scripture from creation through the early church, with special attention to 1 Corinthians 14 and 1 Timothy 2 and the role of cultural context in interpretation.
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