Articles for tag: Apostle Paul

August 27, 2018

Christian Standard

A Flickering Light

By Jacqueline J. Holness “I don’t know what to do,” she said, her voice nearly dissolving in muffled tears. The flow of cars surrounding me competed for my attention as I made my way into the confines of the city from the freedom of the expressway. A beat later, sniffles aside, she continued the phone call. “I can’t afford my children’s private school tuition anymore. I kept saying I would pay the bill, but now they won’t accept any more excuses. I’m trying to teach them at home, but I don’t know anything about homeschooling, plus I work. They’ve been

August 13, 2018

Mark Scott

Lesson for August 19, 2018: Christ Is Preeminent (Colossians 1:9-23)

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. 9 (weeks 33–36; August 19—September 9, 2018) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ Beginning this week, the weekly Bible lessons are based on a scope and sequence prepared by Christian Standard Media. For more information, click here. ______ By Mark Scott  Our oldest son had a T-shirt that read, “There are two things you can be sure of: (1) There is a God. (2) You are

August 6, 2018

Mark Scott

Lesson for August 12, 2018: Giving Justly (2 Corinthians 8:7-15)

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. 7 (weeks 25–28; July 22—August 12, 2018) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  Three activities occupied center stage for the earliest church in the book of Acts. Those three activities were preaching the gospel, baptizing the converts, and planting the church. But running under the radar of those three was the collection for the saints. Jesus had taught his disciples to care for

July 30, 2018

Mark Scott

Lesson for August 5, 2018: God’s Justice (Romans 2:1-12)

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. 7 (weeks 25–28; July 22—August 12, 2018) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  We rarely do justice well. God always does justice well. Romans is about the justice of God—real righteousness. As Paul built a bridge between Jews and Gentiles in the church at Rome he explained what God’s justice looks like. Following the opening greeting and his typical thanksgiving, Paul stated the

November 10, 2017

Christian Standard

Elders Champion Missions 

By David Roadcup   An effective elder-shepherd team connects to the missions initiative of the congregation. Elders should be the greatest proponents for mission service in the body of Christ. By following Jesus” marching orders, we can facilitate and support the missions outreach of our churches in the most effective way possible. Good elder teams are involved in missions!   In Acts 20:17-38, Paul, who is on his way to Jerusalem, arrives by ship at Miletus and calls for the Ephesian church elders to join him there. (Paul had planted and nurtured the Ephesian church.) When the elders arrive, Paul involves them

August 26, 2017

Christian Standard

Lead a Church Worth Imitating!

By Gary L. Johnson I remember the moment as if it happened yesterday. It was December 1966 and I was in the fifth grade. My teacher announced to the class that Walt Disney had died. Little did we know that a dream of Disney had died with him. Disney dreamed of building an “experimental prototype community of tomorrow” in the swampland of central Florida. It would be an ideal urban center””with businesses, schools, city parks, factories, shopping centers, athletic venues, beautiful homes, and even churches. Disney believed urban areas could be purposefully built and developed to serve as models for

August 14, 2017

Christian Standard

Lesson for August 20, 2017: Called to Preach (Acts 9:1-31)

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 the August 13, 2017, issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  The opening line in John R.W. Stott”s book Between Two Worlds: The Art of Preaching in the Twentieth Century is, “Preaching is indispensable to Christianity.” The apostle Paul argues for that truth in Romans 10:14-17 and 1 Corinthians 1:18-31. More specifically it is the message preached that is indispensable. But how can one hear the

May 26, 2017

Christian Standard

What It Means to “˜Examine”

By Randy Gariss The Lord”s Supper is about celebration. After all, the meal points to the love of Christ, forgiveness of sins, the coming of the kingdom, and other wonderful repercussions of the cross. Yet, in the midst of the joy there is another imperative from Paul, one with more sobering overtones. We are each told to “examine” ourselves. Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread

March 6, 2017

Christian Standard

The New Diaspora

By Doug Priest As the world becomes globalized, opportunities for evangelism multiply. Now is the time to develop new strategies for reaching dispersed people living in our own cities, towns, and neighborhoods. Back in the 1970s, when I drove on the freeways in Los Angeles where I lived, I saw signs for “Little Saigon,” “Chinatown,” and “Little Korea.” I could go into the center of the city and find myself in neighborhoods of Mexican-Americans, Guatemalans, and Salvadorians. Today the situation has changed. Go to any school district in Southern California and you will find 30 to 40 or more languages

January 27, 2017

Christian Standard

TIME and TIMELESS

By Ronald G. Davis Sunday again. One hundred sixty-eight hours have passed, and now we are here again. How feebly we apply markers to the times of our lives. Yet we are creatures of time, having been destined to be born into time, to suffer all the joys and vicissitudes time offers, to die and find an end to time. Here, at this table, week after week, we assemble to remember that Timeless once entered into time. The Timeless One took on the weaknesses of time, so that he could save us from the inherent weaknesses of being creatures of

January 12, 2017

Christian Standard

Candlestick Framework

By Jeff Faull One of the most beautiful and reassuring scenes in Scripture is found in the opening pages of Revelation. It focuses on the all-holy, all-seeing, all-powerful Jesus walking among the seven candlesticks or lampstands. And with unmistakable clarity John declares, “the seven lampstands are the seven churches” (Revelation 1:20).  Incredible! In all of his love, majesty, and insight, Christ has the church as his overriding concern and passion! He moves among the candlesticks. As church members and church leaders, we frequent this place of beauty””immersed in, obsessed by, and saturated with visions of the church in Scripture. Some

September 9, 2016

Christian Standard

The Vertical and the Horizontal

By C. Robert Wetzel There is both a vertical and a horizontal dimension to the Lord Supper. In a spiritual sense, we are looking up as we once again focus our thoughts on the gift of God in the sacrificial death of our Lord Jesus Christ. As we eat the bread we remember his words, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:24). And as we drink from the cup we hear his words, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it in remembrance

August 31, 2016

Christian Standard

In ALL Things, Love

By Jim Tune For as long as I can remember, our movement has gravitated toward a familiar slogan: “In essentials, unity; in opinions, liberty; and in all things, love.” Still, we often find it difficult to offer liberty when our opinions clash, and the list of essentials varies from person to person and from church to church. One might expect that familiarity with such a gracious slogan would tilt us strongly toward accepting one another”s differences and respecting the cherished convictions of brothers and sisters who see things differently. However, our movement has been as vulnerable to division, splits, and

July 4, 2016

Christian Standard

Lesson for July 10, 2016: Struggling Under Sin”s Power (Romans 3:9″“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 the July 3 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  Someone said, “When you are young you make faces in the mirror. When you are old, the mirror gets back at you.” A mirror does not lie about physical appearance. But a mirror is a reflection of our reality; it is not the reality itself. Our reality goes deeper than the skin. Sin distorts our ability

March 1, 2016

Christian Standard

“˜If a Man Die, Shall He Live Again?”

This Easter editorial was written by Sam E. Stone, CHRISTIAN STANDARD’s 10th editor. It first appeared in the March 30, 1986, issue of the magazine. ____ By Sam E. Stone When Eve stood with tear-filled eyes beside Abel”s grave, the question of the ages must have been in her heart. Will I see him again? Is there life beyond the grave? But it remained for that patriarch whose name is synonymous with human suffering to ask, “If a man die, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14). All of us have thought about this. We think of it when we stand

January 22, 2016

Christian Standard

Are You Like a Cat or a Dog?

By Rick Chromey Cats and dogs are radically different beasts. Perhaps you”ve heard this joke: Dogs say, “You pet me, you feed me, you shelter me, you love me, you must be a god,” while cats say, “You pet me, you feed me, you shelter me, you love me, I must be a god!” Maybe that”s why God gives cats nine lives. They need a bit more grace for such foolish thinking. Nevertheless, a dog is loyal to a fault, protects the master, and loves to be petted. You call a dog by its name and it comes running, eager

January 13, 2016

Christian Standard

The Burned Bits

By Jim Tune I love candles. That may seem like an unusual confession from a middle-aged, conservative, nonliturgical male. I like them at home and at church. I buy pure beeswax candles and love to light up our house with them during the dark winter months. They do nothing for my wife. Claudia just prays I don”t burn the house down. The flickering glow of a candle flame warms my heart. Unlike the electric lights in our home, candles protest the end of their life with a silent gasp of smoke when they are extinguished. Usually a remnant of melted

December 29, 2015

Christian Standard

Meditating on Love: December 29

By Becky Ahlberg Tuesday, December 29 Read Ephesians 3:14-19.  We pray for other people all the time. How many times have you sat in your office or in a home or at a hospital bedside and prayed for someone to know the deep love of Christ? Praying for someone is an act of love and creates a bond of friendship, even kinship, as we make our requests known to the Lord. We pray, believing God hears our prayers and that prayer will offer hope and comfort to those we care about. But today, read this Scripture as a prayer for

December 11, 2015

Christian Standard

Meditating on Hope: December 11

By Becky Ahlberg Friday, December 11 Read 1 Timothy 4.  In this well-known passage, the apostle Paul shares his wisdom with young Timothy and reminds him his behavior is critical to his credibility as a leader. It”s always good for leaders to remind themselves of these important truths. And right in the middle of it is this nugget, “That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God” (v. 10). Ours is not hope built on quaint stories or wishful thinking. The incarnation wasn”t magic. It was the purposeful, powerful behavior of the

November 16, 2015

Christian Standard

Lesson for November 22, 2015: Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens (Acts 17:1″“4, 10″“12, 22″“25, 28)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the November 15 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  Acts 16 set the stage for the gospel going up and down the social ladder. Acts 16 illustrated the truth discerned in Acts 15. If Gentiles did not have to become Jews to be Christians, then that is good news for everyone. People like Lydia (Acts

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