Articles for tag: Baptism

September 1, 2023

Jerry Harris

A Hard Lesson in Hope

A Hard Lesson in Hope

By Jerry Harris   Some years ago, a church member phoned and asked me to make a hospital call on their distant relative who was dying in the hospital. This relative had a terminal brain tumor and no relationship with Jesus. I had not been invited by the immediate family and so I figured it was going to be a bit awkward.   I stepped into the hospital room with complete strangers and introduced myself. I wasn’t greeted warmly. The person in the bed was Benny Robertson, and he appeared to be close to death. He was in a half-seated position and

September 1, 2023

Christian Standard

Is It Time for a New Restoration Movement? (Part 1)

Is It Time for a New Restoration Movement? (Part 1)

By Jim Putman  Though I grew up a preacher’s kid—and maybe because of it—I ended up in college as an unbeliever with a drinking problem. I had rejected my parents, but they were waiting to journey with me back to Jesus. Back then, I would have said there is no God . . . that God had been “educated” out of me. I was no victim, however—I was rebellious.   My father sent me research that affirmed that some scientists believed in God, even though professors had told me no reputable scientist could. Over time, I moved from “there is no

May 1, 2023

Christian Standard

5 Sources for Illustrations to Enhance Your Sermons

By Chris Philbeck  In the 1990s, while serving a church in Oklahoma, I took all my elders to the Leadership Conference at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. During the opening session, our church was awarded a yearlong subscription to SECC’s weekly tape ministry for being the church that came the farthest with their entire board of elders. So, over the next year, I had the opportunity to listen to weekend messages delivered by Bob Russell and Dave Stone.   I still remember many of those messages, including one from Dave about the urgency of reaching lost people. To illustrate the

May 1, 2023

Christian Standard

10 Personal Practices That Will Lead to Greater Unity

By Rubel Shelly  How can you and I “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3)? Here are 10 practices each of us should consider:  • Pray for the unity of the church. If Jesus prayed for the unity of all who would believe in him through the apostles’ message (John 17:20-26), how dare we not pray for it as well? Pray for Christians you know from various backgrounds. Pray for the “tribes” other than your own. Don’t pray for them to change but for God to let you love them.  

May 1, 2023

Christian Standard

Can Divergent Streams Flow Back Together?

By Daryl Reed  I saw a cartoon that pictures a church membership class. The teacher is showing a diagram titled “Churches and Christian Movements Throughout History.” On the left side of the chart a dot is labeled “30 AD,” representing the first church. To the right of that is a large tree of many successive generations of Christian movements. The teacher is pointing to a place further out on the tree and says, “So this is where our movement came along and got the Bible right.” A student responds, “Jesus is so lucky to have us.”   I’m embarrassed to say

May 1, 2023

Christian Standard

From ‘Fringe’ to ‘Family’

By Randy Wheeler “What kind of impact could we have on the city of Milwaukee if we had 1,000 millennials who were on fire for Jesus?” Pastor Ken Lock posed this question to a small group of friends as they dreamed about the kind of church they wanted to plant.   In 2018, Evolve Church was born. One year later, Evolve had 1,000 millennials attending who were on fire for Jesus! Then COVID hit, and for the next 19 months the church was locked out of the high school they rented, services went online, and Evolve began to search for a

January 1, 2023

Christian Standard

Teaching Truth: The Win for Kids’ Curriculum

We Couldn’t Find Curriculum That Met Our Children’s Ministry Needs . . . So We Created Our Own (and We’ve Made It Available to You)!   By Larry Cramer  My two daughters have grown up in church. Whether it’s on a Sunday morning, Sunday evening, Wednesday evening, or any other day and time, my daughters have always attended a church experience built just for them. I am speaking of Next Gen programming . . . specifically, kids’ ministry.   Over the years, we have seen many changes in kids’ ministry, including changes to curriculum. While churches have many great options, as a

January 1, 2023

Christian Standard

Class Goes On: A Tribute to the Life and Teaching of Dr. Jack Cottrell

After a long battle with cancer, Jack Cottrell, 84, passed from earth to heaven September 16, 2022. Dr. Cottrell was a respected professor of theology at Cincinnati Christian University for 48 years, from September 1967 to December 2015. He wrote more than 40 popular theological books and countless magazine articles. Several days after Dr. Cottrell’s passing, Tom Claibourne wrote the following tribute, which appeared on our website. This version, adapted with minor edits, appears in our January/February 2023 print edition.   _ _ _ By Tom Claibourne   During my final time around a table with Dr. Jack Cottrell at the Christian

November 1, 2022

Dudley Rutherford

Baptism and Thankfulness: 4 Reasons They Are Inextricably Connected

Baptism and Thankfulness: 4 Reasons They Are Inextricably Connected

By Dudley Rutherford  Ever since I was a small boy, I have lived to honor my earthly father. Even though my dad died in March 2020, I try to honor him daily. God must have put it in my heart to have such love and respect for my earthly father that I wanted to please and honor him every day.   I don’t claim to be perfect like Jesus, but our Lord also strove every day to honor and please his Father. When Jesus Christ was baptized in the Jordan River at Bethany in the Judean desert, God said, “This is

Help Keep Christian Standard Free & Accessible with a Tax Deductible Donation

We can do more together!

Every gift makes a difference!

No, thank you.
100% secure transactions - receipts provided.
Does Your Church Want to Support Christian Standard?

Would your church consider including support for Christian Standard in its annual missions budget? Your support would help us not only continue the 160-year legacy of this unifying ministry, but also expand the free resources, cooperative opportunities, and practical guidance we provide to strengthen churches in the U.S. and around the world.

We can do more together!

Every gift makes a difference!

No, thank you.
100% secure transactions - receipts provided.
Secret Link