September 9, 2024
September 15 Application | Don’t Close Yourself Off
The Lord doesn’t force his way in. He knocks. He calls. He invites. He wants to come in and spend time with us at a table of fellowship, but we must open the door.
Articles for tag: Buildings
August 5, 2024
COUNTING THE COST
Add up all it could cost you to surrender your life to Christ and compare it to the tremendous price he paid on that tree and the riches of grace and eternal life he offers.
June 3, 2024
June 9 Application | ‘Learning About God in Unexpected Ways’
"Preachers and seminary professors have a lot to teach us, but so do new believers and little kids," David Faust writes. "And so do atheists and doubters whose questions make us dig deeper into the Scriptures and think harder about what we believe. . . ."
May 13, 2024
May 19 Application | ‘Something Greater than the Great Outdoors’
Nature’s beauty points to God’s “eternal power and divine nature” (Romans 1:20). . . . Yet, ever since the Garden of Eden, the Creator has stamped these natural wonders with a solemn label: “Temporary.” . . .
October 30, 2023
November 5: Application (‘Go Wherever God Sends You’)
"I spent a week in Turkey last summer," David Faust writes. "My travel group toured Istanbul and visited the sites of the seven churches mentioned in Revelation 2 and 3. . . . The journey increased my appreciation for first-century missionaries and for the brave believers serving Jesus in Turkey today."
May 1, 2023
May 7 | Application (‘When the Gold Loses Its Luster’)
It’s surprising when precious metals like silver and gold serve as examples of “perishable things,” but the blood of Christ is far more precious. Gold can lose its luster.
April 20, 2022
News Briefs for April 20
News briefs from churches in Illinois, Florida, Missouri, West Virginia, and Tennessee, plus a Ukraine update from Glen Elliott.
March 1, 2022
Authentic Church: What Baseball Can Teach Us
By Tony Burgarello “Let’s play two”—it’s one of the greatest baseball quotes of all time. It came from Ernie Banks, a Baseball Hall of Famer and Chicago Cubs legend. For nonbaseball fans, Ernie played professionally from 1953 to 1971, served in the military, was an All-Star on the field, and set countless records. On top of all that, he was an ordained minister who made a tremendous impact in the community his entire life. He was a difference maker! He received nearly every award you could imagine for his achievements on and off the field. Ernie, who died in 2015,
October 11, 2021
Oct. 17 | Application
Jesus Christ didn’t come from the bloodline of the priestly tribe of Levi, but like Melchizedek, he derived his priestly credentials from a higher source.
September 1, 2021
Our 9/11 Journey of Escape and Transformation
“Get up! Get up!” my husband yelled, “Someone’s bombed the World Trade Center!” I struggled to sit up, but one glimpse of the fear in Brian’s eyes jolted me fully awake. I jumped out of bed and followed him to our terrace. Brian and I had just moved into this apartment only six blocks south of the World Trade Center complex, and our 24th-floor terrace provided a coveted view of the city. Now, we could see thick black smoke rolling from the North Tower. Emergency vehicles raced toward the World Trade Center—lights flashing, sirens blaring. Suddenly, something caught my eye.
December 9, 2020
Myrtle Beach Church Launches Projects to House Vulnerable People
By Chris Moon In honor of its late pastor, Joel Wilson, Myrtle Beach Christian Church in South Carolina is working to help and house vulnerable people in its community. The church recently opened a shelter for mothers in crisis, such as those who come out of abusive relationships or who are homeless. The shelter is located in apartment units adjacent to the church. The church also is planning 24 senior apartments on its property. It plans to build the first 5 to 10 units next year. “To God be the glory. You write that,” senior minister Danny Banks told Christian
August 22, 2019
SPOTLIGHT: Woodstock Christian Church, Woodstock, Ga.
By Justin Horey When Kirby Lloyd accepted the call to serve as senior minister at Woodstock (Georgia) Christian Church in 2017, he didn’t intend to make sweeping changes. In fact, Lloyd didn’t even displace the minister who preceded him. Instead, Lynn Eynon, who had served as Woodstock’s senior minister for more than three decades, remained on staff as the minister of pastoral care. Instead of launching a variety of new ministries upon arriving, Lloyd encouraged Woodstock Christian to do a better job of promoting what it was already doing. Like many smaller Southern churches, Woodstock offers a food pantry, a
April 19, 2019
How the Mighty Pastors and Preachers Fall
By Jerry Harris The announcement came in mid-January. James MacDonald, founding pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel, based in the Chicago area, was taking an immediate and indefinite sabbatical from all preaching and leadership in his ministry. The elders took this action in response to mounting criticism concerning leadership overreach, financial questions, and alleged abuse of staff and members over a 12-year period. Stories of this sort are becoming all-too-common among megachurch pastors . . . and they show no sign of slowing. The churches that provide platforms for these leaders represent tens of thousands of people. High-visibility, powerful-personality pastors and
March 17, 2018
Archaeologists Unearth the Centrality of the Table
By Jim Nieman The discovery of a floor to what might be the earliest-known Christian church seems to confirm that early Christ followers came together around a table to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. In 2005, prisoners unearthed a 580-square-foot mosaic floor with three inscriptions likely dating to the third century. One of the inscriptions speaks of a table “offered . . . to God Jesus Christ as a memorial.” The mosaic floor was discovered within a prison holding 1,200 Palestinian inmates, in Megiddo, on a hill overlooking the Valley of Jezreel—“the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon” (Revelation 16:16).
February 28, 2018
Leading Through Conflict
By Jim Estep Elders are no strangers to church fires, and by that I mean the conflicts that occur far too often in our congregations. Whether the conflicts involve leaders, staff, individuals, or groups, we often find ourselves ill-prepared to understand them and ill-equipped to respond to them. As elders, we need to understand the fires of conflict so we can ease confusion and help extinguish them when they flare up. Understanding Conflict in the Church Here are some facts about church conflict. Fires are inevitable. No church is immune to conflict, so be aware of it and alert
August 20, 2017
LOVEtheLOU: Demonstrating and Declaring the Gospel in North St. Louis
By Walt Wilcoxson North St. Louis, Missouri, is a place of contrasting realities: rich and poor, black and white, peaceful and violent, hopeful and hopeless. These distinctions are visible and well known. The term “Delmar Divide” neatly sums it up, as Delmar Boulevard divides this area”s poorer, larger African-American community to its north from the more affluent (and largely white) communities to the south. Families and young people who are among the “have-nots” of North St. Louis encounter desperation and despair every day. On this hot and humid morning just before lunchtime, Lucas Rouggly and I stood watching as a
July 26, 2017
The Good Shepherd Lays Down His Life for His Sheep
By Ronald G. Davis John, in his Gospel, borrows the beautiful image of God that permeates the Scriptures: God is our shepherd. And that image may be the most common symbolic image reproduced through the Christian era. From mosaics in the second-century catacomb resting places of those first Christians in Rome to magnificent stained-glass windows in hundreds of 20th-century church buildings from Europe to Australia, the shepherd shows himself ready to protect and feed. When Jesus applies that image to himself, in John 10, he pictures the absolute devotion the shepherd maintains in every circumstance. His whole existence is given
May 20, 2017
Don’t Designate . . . Release Leaders!
By Chuck Dennie Leadership in worship is not about you. It”s about the leaders around you. I spent many of my early years as a worship leader learning this lesson the hard way. I was the front man for a Christian band called By the Tree for about 10 years. In 2005, I felt God calling me to the local church. It”s a calling I have loved! I started leading worship at a church in Oklahoma City called LifeChurch.tv (now Life.Church) about 12 years ago. At that time, about 8,000 people attended every Sunday. I went in as a 27-year-old
January 5, 2016
A Welcome””and More
By Mark A. Taylor It”s tough to be a child in America these days, especially if you”re one of the children described by statistics like these: “¢ One in 45 children in America experience homelessness each year, a total of 1.6 million children.1 “¢ More than five children die every day as a result of child abuse, and about 80 percent of these are under the age of 4. A report of child abuse is made every 10 seconds.2 “¢ One-third of American children””a total of 15 millions””are being raised without a father. Nearly 5 million more live without a
May 29, 2015
Cruciform Ministry (Romans 5:8)
By Neal Windham Garrison Keiller tells the story of how Clarence Bunson (at least, I think it was Clarence), a mainstay in Keillor”s fictional town of Lake Wobegon, lay cruciform, frozen to the roof of his Minnesota home in the thick of winter. Bunson had gone out to clean the snow off his roof and, tired from his work, had fallen asleep. Meanwhile, his wet clothing bonded to the frozen roof, rendering him immobile. Neighbors asked whether anything was wrong, and with characteristic Norwegian restraint he responded again and again, “No, I”m fine.” We know his character well, don”t we?
