January 30, 2023
February 5 | Application (‘Keys to Courage’)
Fear seems more common than faith these days. . . . But over the course of my life, my best decisions have been the times when I chose to walk by faith, not by sight.
Articles for tag: Compassion
January 16, 2023
January 22 | Application (‘Give It Up’)
Why isn’t fasting more common in the American church? The Bible mentions it at least 60 times. Moses and Jesus both fasted for 40 days in the wilderness (Exodus 34:28; Matthew 4:2). Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther fasted. So did David, John the Baptist, and Paul. . . .
January 1, 2023
Speaking the Truth in Love
By Ken Idleman The title of this article is one of the most difficult implicit commands in Scripture: “[S]peaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ” (Ephesians 4:15). It is difficult to obey because it links in a single imperative the three most difficult aspects of life for human beings to consistently control: speech, truth, and love. Our speech often betrays our secret thoughts and our untamable tongues. Jesus said, “The things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them” (Matthew
November 1, 2022
Vision Without Sight
A Short-Term Mission Trip to a Liberian Orphanage, an ‘Experiment,’ and a 6-Year-Old Blind Girl Named Princess
August 23, 2022
Where Jesus Is Needed Most
If Jesus were walking on this earth today, he would be in all the places no one else wants to go. . . .
August 1, 2022
August 7 | Application (‘The Man Who Looked Away’)
"Recently I led a difficult funeral for a young woman who had died of a drug overdose," David Faust writes. "The whole time I spoke, an older man seated in the front row . . . refused to look at me . . ."
June 20, 2022
Boasting in Our Weaknesses
By Michael C. Mack As the apostle Paul told his story, he wrote, But [the Lord] said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me (2 Corinthians 12:9). Most of us are good at boasting about our strengths: our natural abilities, our giftedness, and the talents we have worked hard to develop. We have physical strengths, intellectual capacities, emotional competence, relational aptitudes, and spiritual giftedness. There are even assessments that measure our strengths.
April 18, 2022
April 24 | Perfect Action
Many of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day failed to rejoice when the hurting were helped. The religion police were more interested in procedures than people.
February 21, 2022
Feb. 27 | Application
On a shelf in my office sits a 4-by-6-inch frame containing this short message: “Teach the Bible, Love the People.” That little plaque reminds me about two key priorities in ministry found in Romans 10.
January 3, 2022
Jan. 9 | Application
In Romans 1, the apostle Paul lowers the hammer of God’s righteous wrath on Gentile sinners. Then in Romans 2, Paul pivots toward his Jewish readers . . .
November 1, 2021
Battlefield Communion
By Stuart Powell Early in World War I the British army made an amphibious landing at Suvla Bay in what is now western Turkey. The invasion was part of the August Offensive of 1915, the final attempt to break the deadlock of the Battle of Gallipoli. There are numerous descriptions of the Allied forces landing in their battle against German and Ottoman defenders. Among those who landed was a soldier named William Henry Littlejohn. Sargent Littlejohn survived the landing, the months-long stalemate, and the Allies’ withdrawal in December 1915, but he did not survive the war. The company sergeant major
September 27, 2021
Oct. 3 | Discovery
Why is it important for Jesus as our high priest to understand our trials and temptations?
How the Local Church Can Make a Difference in Foster Care
A ministry that serves the foster care system isn't simple. The situations are complicated and the answers are never easy, but it’s been an incredible honor for Christ's Church of Oronogo to be invited into families’ stories.
July 12, 2021
Faith in Action
The example of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection compelled David Lipscomb and others to put their faith into action on behalf of others during Nashville's cholera outbreak of 1873.
May 17, 2021
May 23 | Kingly Character: Mercy and Humility
Even though Saul had compromised his kingship, David still had respect for the office.
SCJ Conference Rescheduled for September (Plus News Briefs)
Compiled by Jim Nieman and Chris Moon The COVID-19 outbreak forced the rescheduling of the 2020 Stone-Campbell Journal Conference. The event, originally set for March 20, 21, has been rescheduled for Sept. 11, 12. The location—Johnson University Tennessee in Knoxville—has not changed. The theme “Politics and the Stone-Campbell Movement” will be developed by the originally scheduled speakers: Shaun Casey, director of the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and Public Affairs and professor in Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service; Jess Hale, attorney with the Tennessee General Assembly; and Richard Cherok, professor of history with Ozark Christian College. Stone-Campbell Journal
February 2, 2019
Eyes on the Community: Bayside Church
By Mel McGowan We serve a God of purpose and strategy, and we are called by him to be strategic with our resources and the stories we tell the world. The leadership of Bayside Church in Northern California found itself in a property predicament. The church owned three types of land: property that needed developing, property it was leasing, and property it didn’t make sense to sell. These properties all required strategic money management and planning to transform them into spaces that honored God and were inviting to the community. So pastor Ray Johnston created an ambitious master plan designed
October 23, 2018
The Eyes of Jesus
By Tom Claibourne Jesus’ eyes must have been quite similar to ours, but he didn’t always look at things the way we do. He saw things from an eternal perspective. Therefore, when Jesus walked out of Nazareth to begin his ministry, his eyes saw things we usually do not see. He saw the spiritual battle that rages between God’s angelic hosts and Satan’s demonic forces. He saw beyond the surface. Jesus saw people’s hearts, along with their needs and potential. When others saw filthy, sinful women (Luke 7; John 4 and 8), Jesus saw women who had taken some wrong
January 15, 2018
Lesson for January 21, 2018: A Prayer for an Obedient Faith (Daniel 9:4-8, 15-19)
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. 1–4 (January 7-28, 2018) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott Daniel 9 contains one of the most stunning prayers in all of the Bible. It is filled with praise for God’s character and with contrition for God’s people. Daniel was moved by the righteousness of God and emotionally owned the shame of Israel’s sins. What brought about such a moving prayer? Perhaps a
January 11, 2018
He Didn’t Fit the Profile
By Jim Nieman Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecy concerning the Messiah, so why did most leading Jewish religious leaders and scholars of his day reject Jesus, plot to kill him, and coerce and influence the Roman occupiers into crucifying him? In part, it’s because Jesus—though he performed many impressive miracles, and taught lessons and made claims like no one else—was just too ordinary. Jewish leaders had a preconceived notion of what the Messiah would be and what he would do: he would be a mighty warrior and earthly king; he would overthrow the oppressors and establish an earthly kingdom. And
