Articles for tag: Apostle Paul

New Testament Theology & Bible

A WARNING FROM EPHESUS . . . And Jesus’ Solution for When a Church Loses Its First Love

By Tyler McKenzie The Ephesian church was a first-century megachurch that had everything, and then, by all historical accounts, lost everything. Ephesus was the sort of city Paul liked to target: a hub of culture and a place of notoriety. He knew if he could plant the gospel in Ephesian “soil,” it would spread. Ephesus was a major commercial center—three trade highways ran through it—it was a port town, and it was tourist hub. One of the seven wonders of the world, the temple to the goddess Artemis, was located there. Some estimate the city’s population at a quarter-million people—massive

February 22, 2020

Jon Weatherly

Culture & Public Square Technology

How Paul Used the Social Media of His Time

By Jon Weatherly Would the apostle Paul use today’s social media? After all, it is filled with triviality, gossip, cruelty, divisiveness, indecency, blasphemy, and “fake news.” When videos of cats wearing shark suits and riding Roombas may be the least evil thing on social media, how can we imagine Christ’s apostle engaging in such an environment? When a person uses social media for what they consider a noble purpose, still it can backfire. Consider the case of Adam Smith in 2012 in Tucson, Arizona. One particular day, Smith filmed his interaction with a fast-food employee. Smith wanted to make a

January 7, 2020

Stuart Powell

Communion & Lord's Supper Theology & Bible

The Bond of Believers

By Stuart Powell When the apostle Paul wrote his first letter to the believers in Corinth, he wanted to correct some wrong practices that tarnished their gatherings. Among the many details he called out was their disrespect toward each other when they gathered together at the Lord’s table. Paul desired that they focus less on themselves and more on the other believers who gathered to partake. He wrote, For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread, and after he had given

December 13, 2019

Michael C. Mack

Church & Ministry Leadership Development

The #1 Frustration of Christian Leaders

How Do We Respond to the Spiritual Lethargy of the People Entrusted to Us? By Michael C. Mack Even the greatest Christian leaders can become disheartened, and perhaps exasperated, with the people under their care. An obvious Old Testament example is Moses, who had to deal with the wayward Israelites over and over again for 40 years. A New Testament example is the apostle Paul, who had to write letters to whole churches because of his frustrations with their lack of spiritual growth, their disagreements, disorder, and distractions from the gospel. Even the world’s greatest leader became exasperated with his

November 21, 2019

Key Documents Restoration Movement History

Devotionals

I Thank My God for You

This is the first of two editorials that center on thanksgiving and the apostle Paul. This one, from Thanksgiving 1934, is by Edwin R. Errett, and was republished 50 years later. _ _ _ I Thank My God for You Editorial by Edwin R. ErrettNovember 24, 1934; p. 3(Adapted/republished November 18, 1984; p. 3) There may be a monotony about messages on thanksgiving, but there was one phrase of whose monotony the apostle Paul was not afraid. In almost every letter of his that we possess, that phrase has prominent place: “I thank my God for you.” Sometimes he was

September 12, 2019

Jim Estep

‘What Does It Mean to Be a Real Christian?’

Christian Standard pushed a program called Christian Action from 1934 to 1943 that James DeForest Murch—a name familiar to many—started “as a means of restoring the spiritual vitality in the church during this time of great social upheaval” (from an article about Murch by Jim Estep, available at www.biola.edu). Perhaps some day we will devote an entire column to Christian Action—and/or to Murch—but today we will focus on a “letter” Murch wrote 85 years ago that was part of that week’s Christian Action section. It seeks to answer this important question: “What does it mean to be a real Christian?”

August 20, 2019

Stuart Powell

Devotionals

Washed, Sanctified, Justified

By Stuart Powell As Christians, we must choose how to express ourselves. We all are tempted to display the sins in our relationships with people inside and outside of the faith. Paul wrote about this battle in his letter to the believers in Corinth: Do not be deceived! The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, passive homosexual partners, practicing homosexuals, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God. Some of you once lived this way. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and

July 8, 2019

Lesson for July 14, 2019: Speak Up by Giving (Philippians 4:10-20)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 5 (weeks 25-28; June 23–July 14, 2019) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ Lesson Aim: Speak up by trusting Christ enough to give. ______ By Mark Scott Famous Methodist preacher Clovis Chappell said, “I love to preach on giving. I love to watch the generous smile and love to watch the stingy squirm.” We preach sermons by what we say, by how we live,

July 1, 2019

Lesson for July 7, 2019: Speak Up by Being Different (Philippians 3:7-21)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 5 (weeks 25-28; June 23–July 14, 2019) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ Lesson Aim: Speak up by living with Christ’s values. ______ By Mark Scott In many ways, believers are similar to unbelievers. Both are made in God’s image and therefore have dignity and worth. Both are fallen due to sin and therefore have need of redemption. But they are also very different.

May 28, 2019

Devotionals

More Than Enough

By Jon Wren Many Christ followers observe Communion as a reminder of God’s grace and goodness and as a gift we receive rather than a prize we must earn. But for many Christians and churches, the desire to show others God’s goodness in action can drift into a need to show others our own goodness. And if we are not careful, we can begin to drift toward a well-intentioned but incredibly destructive life in which we are consumed by the need to be busy or at least seem busy on behalf of Christ. Christian author Barbara Brown Taylor wrote of

May 27, 2019

Lesson for June 2, 2019: Rooted in Him (Ephesians 3:8-21)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 5 (weeks 21-24; May 26–June 16, 2019) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ Lesson Aim: Approach God with freedom and confidence in the power of Christ rooted in love. ______ By Mark Scott The discipleship program “Rooted” originated in Africa and is growing in popularity among American churches. The prison epistles (our study through the bulk of the summer months) stress what it is

May 20, 2019

Lesson for May 26, 2019: Alive in Him (Ephesians 2:1-10)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 5 (weeks 21-24; May 26–June 16, 2019) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ Lesson Aim: Give thanks for God’s great love, rich in mercy making us alive with Christ. ______ By Mark Scott Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon are known as “the prison epistles” because they were written from prison (either Caesarea or Rome, Acts 24-26 or 28). Ephesians is known as “the queen

March 5, 2019

Discipleship & Spiritual Formation

Spiritual MRI

By Halee Wood Have you ever had an MRI? An MRI produces detailed pictures of internal body structures. It can assist in diagnosing many things we never want to face: aneurysms, inner ear issues, spinal cord injuries, cancerous tumors, and more. A prescribed MRI makes us cringe because we don’t want anything “bad” exposed, though all the while, in our gut we already know something is wrong or we would not have sought the help of a physician. An MRI can diagnose, but it cannot cure. The physician is who leads you through the healing process. The apostle Paul once

February 26, 2019

Stuart Powell

Communion & Lord's Supper Theology & Bible

Remembering Jesus: Bread, Cup, and Fellowship of Believers

By Stuart Powell When Christians gather to partake of the bread and the cup, we have one key focus: remembering Jesus. Our Lord instructed his followers to do this. “Then he took bread, and after giving thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me’” (Luke 22:19, New English Translation). Most of us celebrate Communion in a comfortable, modern building, but have you considered how our setting compares to those of earlier generations? Paul offers a clue to this in his second letter to

February 25, 2019

Jerry Harris

Christian Standard Updates News & Updates

Our Move to Not-for-Profit

By Jerry Harris It happened quietly in 2018. The owner of Christian Standard and The Lookout took on not-for-profit status for the first time ever. For about 150 years, the magazines were guided by Standard Publishing, which did business like most of the working world . . . as a for-profit. The company encouraged churches to buy and pass out their magazines for free and to purchase their books and other helps for teaching. That system endured for years, even as the business was bought and sold four times. Then, in early 2017, a church-centric organization purchased the magazines, and

December 3, 2018

Lesson for December 9, 2018: Whole Truth (Luke 1:14; 24:17-27)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 13 (weeks 49–53; December 9–30, 2018) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. Image: This painting, Der Gang nach Emmaus (1837), by Austrian painter Joseph von Fuhrich, Is a depiction of Cleopas and another disciple encountering Jesus on the Road to Emmaus. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. ______ Lesson Aim: Look in the whole of Scripture for what God reveals about Jesus.. ______ By Mark Scott The basis for discerning the

November 5, 2018

Lesson for November 11, 2018: The Church Grows Through Missions (Acts 13:2-16, 26-30, 38, 39)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 12 (weeks 45–48; October 14—December 2, 2018) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ Lesson Aim: Understand the importance of mission work and pray for and otherwise support current missionary efforts. ______ By Mark Scott God likes things to grow: families (Genesis 1:28), gardens (v. 29), nations (11:8, 9), and churches (Acts 5:14). In fact, God expects his church to grow (Matthew 13:31, 32) and it is unnatural

October 22, 2018

Lesson for October 28, 2018: Paul’s (Saul’s) Ministry Begins (Acts 9:1-20)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 11 (weeks 41–44; October 14—November 4, 2018) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. Image: Ananias cures Saul’s blindness; a 1660 painting by Ciro Ferri, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. ______ Lesson Aim: Even when people are doing their very worst, God can mercifully intervene. ______ By Mark Scott Acts 9 is a bridge chapter. The gospel had spread to the Samaritans, and, through the Eunuch, to Ethiopia as well

September 10, 2018