August 14, 2023
August 20 | Application (‘The Crumbling House’)
I wondered, "What made a home that once looked classy and inviting become so ugly and empty?" . . .
Articles for tag: Luke 12
September 1, 2022
Your Spouse Is Not the Main Thing
By Rudy Hagood I can hear it like I’m still sitting in her living room. My mother-in-law, Mama D., was saying, “Keep the main thang, the main thang!” Proverbs 18:22 says, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord” (English Standard Version). Well, bless the name of the Lord and let the church say Amen! Yet, a word of caution for both husbands and wives: Your spouse is not the main thang! Yes, we should be “very married.” Yes, the best gift we can give our kids is a great marriage. And yes,
May 9, 2022
May 15 | The Story of the Master’s Return
This lesson text is highly metaphoric. The main metaphor concerns a master and servant. But under that big-picture metaphor are at least eight others that make this text quite visual . . .
May 2, 2022
May 8 | The Story of the Poor Rich Man
This is one of the few parables where Jesus inserts “God” into a secular story. God called the man a fool (not an atheist but someone who has no moral compass). Death is a great wake-up call. . . .
April 18, 2022
April 24 | Discovery
In Luke 13:10-17; 14:1-6, what do Jesus’ heart and actions teach you about God?
March 1, 2021
Truth Is Inconvenient
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
December 9, 2019
Lesson for Dec. 15, 2019: Immanuel (Isaiah 7:10-18)
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. 13 (weeks 49-52; December 8—December 29, 2019) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ________ Lesson Aim: Welcome “God with us” into your life and home. ________ By Mark Scott The first Christmas was scary. It troubled Mary (Luke 1:29). It took a dream from God to convince Joseph that God was behind it (Matthew 1:20). And the shepherds were all but undone by it (Luke
February 2, 2019
My Personal Finance Story: We Peek at the Past, We Focus on the Future
By Chris Brown I remember my 11th birthday like it was yesterday. I was sitting on the floor of an empty, roach-infested apartment. There was no food or furniture in No. 217 of the Ocean Breeze apartments at the corner of Edwards and Warner on the wrong side of Huntington Beach, California. I was sitting there scared and confused. I remember staring out the second-story balcony window wishing my birthday could be different. I was hoping for bounce houses, presents, and perhaps some ice-cream cake. But I couldn’t help replaying the last several years of my life. I knew that
August 11, 2018
Is Online Church Really Church? In a Word, No.
IN THE ARENA: In the arena of ideas and opinions, there needs to be a place for Christ-centered and Christ-honoring debate of nonessential issues. We will occasionally feature a debate like this in Christian Standard. Jon Weatherly’s article “How to Debate Debatable Issues” gives great insight on how to disagree in a godly way. We apply the principles Jon describes in our first debate between Jerry Harris (click here to read his article) and Barry Cameron. These two men are great friends who have differing views and opinions about online church. Read their articles and then tell us what you
April 15, 2017
My Riskiest Move for God: My List of Possibilities Is Pretty Short
Five Christian leaders tell what God did when they took a surprising step of faith. By Rusty Russell I”m living proof God can use ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things. Why God chose me to lead a church of 1,200 people in Southwest Florida is a mystery to me. I”m not a risk-taker. I like routine. I”m not a type-A personality. On the DISC profile, “D” doesn”t show up for me. When I go to the pool, I don”t dive in. I”m a toe-in-the-water guy. I ease in. My friends think I”m boring, but at least I”m predictable. So trying to
December 27, 2016
Sacrifice Unequaled
By Mark A. Taylor Does anyone still use the phrase, “Not equal giving, but equal sacrifice”? It once was standard verbiage in church fund-raising campaigns, but I”ve always cringed a little when I”ve heard it. If it has become passé, I”m glad. Not that the idea doesn”t spring from biblical principle. Along with exhortations to giving that is generous (Romans 12:8), cheerful (2 Corinthians 9:7), and regular (1 Corinthians 16:2), Scripture commands giving that is proportional (1 Corinthians 16:2; Deuteronomy 16:17). Many believers today still use God”s original template, the tithe (10 percent), for their giving (Malachi 3:10). Such believers
December 24, 2013
We Follow Too
By Mark A. Taylor “Where he leads me, I will follow.” That was Mary”s decision, finally, after she had expressed her confusion about the message the angel brought her. “I am the Lord”s servant,” she said. “May your word to me be fulfilled” (Luke 1:38). Joseph, with his own set of doubts, decided he would obey God, too. When God”s messenger explained to Joseph that his fiancée was pregnant by action of the Holy Spirit, “he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him” (Matthew 1:24). Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, obeyed God”s will, too, although
December 1, 2013
What Are God”s Goals for Your Group Next Year?
By Michael C. Mack What”s God going to do in and through your small group in 2014? Now is the time to prayerfully ask that question, set some goals, and make some plans for next year and beyond. Perhaps you need to confront the brutal facts of your current reality, as author Jim Collins put it in Good to Great, “When you start with an honest and diligent effort to determine the truth of your situation, the right decisions often become self- evident.” That”s what we did at Northeast Christian Church several years ago. We wanted to determine if our
June 20, 2010
Lessons We”ve Learned from Eating with Sinners
By Brandon Smith The ministry I serve, the Christian Campus House at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, does not necessarily operate under what I would call a “written budget.” This mostly is because we rarely have money with which to budget. And while I am only half joking, my serious half supposes one of the biggest line items, if we did have a written budget, would be “food.” College students like to eat. A lot. And we like to feed them. We place such an emphasis on food in our ministry, not because we are gluttons, but because something
