April 23, 2024
In his new book, "Not Too Old," Christian Standard contributing editor David Faust explains how "your later years can be greater years." In the book, David encourages readers to continue to "bear fruit in old age" (Psalm 92:14) . . .
January 1, 2023
By Osharye Hagood When it comes to marriage, the truth is we are humans being. (Yes, you read that correctly.) And when we get married, we become “marriage beings.” While our marriages are intended to be divine expressions of God’s perfect love, and while we may at times feel the goosebumps of love and the perfection of our loving commitment—please hear me—all marriages are unions between human beings, and all humans sin. So, our mistakes and missteps should be seen as, well, expected. Blunders are as natural as breathing, and errors are as common as ears. Why? Because we are
July 18, 2022
Paul gave the Thessalonians inspired advice about how to be strong through trials. It had to do with growing in faith and love, recognizing God’s judgment, and constantly praying.
July 1, 2022
By Michael C. Mack Why are we committing an entire issue to health? Because health begets growth, good fruit, and reproduction for God’s people, our families, our churches, and the future of our movement. (Of course, unhealthy things can also grow, bear fruit, and multiply, but we don’t want them to!) We all desire health in the various arenas of our lives, but we may not be very mindful of it . . . until something happens and our health is jeopardized. I know what I’m talking about. In October 2021, I was mountain biking with a friend in Brown
December 6, 2021
Moses had witnessed glory, but Jesus was the embodiment of the glory of God . . .
November 1, 2021
By Megan Rawlings Our world is in chaos. It seems as if major bad news breaks every day! As this chaos occurs, society seems increasingly to be motivated by materialism and comfort. When the church was young, the people of Galatia turned away from God, and this did not escape Paul’s attention. In fact, he penned one of his harshest letters to the Christians there. While reading that letter, I realized Paul’s reprimand is applicable to us in modern times. I’ll borrow from his Epistle to the Galatians to state some hard truths surrounding our current status. I am astonished
September 7, 2021
Part 2 of 3: Who to Select and How They Should Function — Four scriptural texts help shape our understanding . . .
May 1, 2021
Malachi 3:3 says, “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.” The women in my Bible study wondered how this showed God’s character, so one of them volunteered to learn more about the process of refining silver.
March 1, 2021
The very idea of truth seems almost to have disappeared. We live in a time of facts and “alternative facts.” We too often focus on favorable information rather than verifiable data. If you don’t like what you hear on the news, simply dismiss it by labeling it “fake news.” We don’t affirm truth, it seems, but truthiness (“the quality of seeming or being felt to be true, even if not necessarily true,” according to dictionary.com). The Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year in 2016 was post-truth (“denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than
February 1, 2021
When I was a boy, I joined a 4-H Club. Our local chapter was small. A half-dozen rowdy boys gathered once a month for an after-school meeting led by a local farmer who volunteered his time to sponsor us. We chose club officers, and one year I was elected president of this auspicious group. The major accomplishment of my presidential administration was adopting a resolution that our 4-H Club’s official refreshments would be potato chips and Mountain Dew. (The Pepsi-Cola Company began marketing Mountain Dew nationwide in 1964, and the 4-H Club was the first place I tasted it.) 4-H
June 14, 2020
By Jerry Harris Kujenga is the Swahili word for building, and it’s where the name of the building-block game Jenga comes from. The game starts with constructing a tower by stacking identical, rectangular-shaped wooden blocks in opposite rows of three. The fun begins as players take turns removing blocks one at a time and restacking them on the top. This continues until the tower, thoroughly compromised by the removal of blocks and top-heaviness, finally comes crashing down. Our lives can look a lot like this game. We are all building a life, but as priorities are rearranged, instability increases—and we
April 8, 2020
– (Click Discovery process to download this as a pdf.) DISCOVERY: How to Lead Your Group or Class Using This Process Beginning with the lesson for March 29, 2020, we have modified the Study Questions page that is part of The Lookout study material now contained in every issue of Christian Standard. These Bible Discovery questions are developed to be used in groups and classes to do several things well: engage people directly in God’s living and active Word, allowing Scripture to speak for itself, provide space for God’s Word to saturate the minds of group members so it may
November 8, 2016
By Mark A. Taylor Here”s a theme song for every upset voter in America. With Annie in the musical of the same name, we can sing, “The sun”ll come out tomorrow.” That was Peggy Noonan’s theme in her post for The Wall Street Journal last week: “Someone is going to win Tuesday,” she said, and then with tongue in cheek added: “If trendlines that have proved reliable in the past continue, the sun will come up on Wednesday. (We claim this with a 3 percent margin of error.)” Max Lucado was looking ahead to tomorrow, too, when he wrote “My
October 15, 2015
By Jason Yeatts It is possible to study the Bible for a lifetime without really understanding it. Integrity may be the missing ingredient to give us the greatest insight. We know these passages well, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (James 1:22); “Not everyone who says to me, “˜Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21); “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them” (John 13:17). These verses
February 7, 2015
By Brian Jones On an episode of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart defined “the gay agenda” as . . . “Gay marriage, civil rights protection, Fleet Week expanded to Fleet Year, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance for when it”s raining men, Kathy Griffin to host everything, and a nationwide ban on pleated pants.” I would add one more: to simply be treated with respect by Christians. Last year I did a series of blog posts on the topic of homosexuality. It was the most read, discussed, and shared topic I”ve blogged about in recent memory. What surprised me, however,
June 9, 2014
This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. ______ By Sam E. Stone Judah had been conquered, Jerusalem burned, the temple demolished, and the people taken captive to Babylon. After 70 years of captivity there, they were allowed to return to their homeland. Under the leadership of Zerubbabel (the governor) and Joshua (the priest), work was begun to rebuild the temple. Despite a good start, nothing more was done for 15 years. With the coming of King Darius and the encouragement of Haggai and Zechariah, the work was resumed.
June 29, 2013
By Michael C. Mack July is the most important month of the year for the health and development of your small group. You may think I”ve spent too much time in the sun: Some groups are not even meeting through the summer; attendance is down in other groups; weekly meetings have been bumped by trips to the beach and baseball games. I”m not as crazy as you might think, however. Over the years, I”ve noticed groups that are growing and making an impact are involved in at least five vital practices during July. Pray Research has shown the most
September 25, 2012
By Barry L. Cameron In December 1999, my family decided to do something about our finances. We were fed up with money problems and bothered by endless bills and perennial payments on stuff that was falling apart, in need of repair, or already in a landfill. We didn”t go to a financial planner, nor did we mine the endless array of financial resources available. We went back to the Word of God. We figured the One who created everything and owns everything could give us the guidance we needed to clear up our financial mess. Early on, I found a
July 30, 2012
This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. ______ By Sam E. Stone The book of Psalms is divided into five sections. The last five psalms are sometimes called the “Hallelujah Psalms,” since all of them begin and end with the word hallelujah, literally, “Praise the Lord.” Bible scholars like to try to guess what prompted the writing of Psalm 146. Had the writer gone through a sad experience by putting his trust in some prominent person? Had Jewish rulers recently committed some serious blunder? Or are these words
July 16, 2012
This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. ______ By Sam E. Stone To fully appreciate today”s text, we need to review what led up to it. God kept his Word to Abraham when he brought him into the promised land and gave him the “promised son” late in his life. His descendants continued to receive the Lord”s blessings as the nation grew in Canaan. Although the Hebrew people spent some 400 years in Egypt at one point, they returned again to the land God had promised as their
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