Articles for tag: Matthew 22

January 1, 2023

Christian Standard

Prepare for Deconstruction

‘How do we hold onto truth while loving and pursuing a world that seems to question everything?’ By Brent Bramer   My dad is a builder. My earliest memories as a kid were waking up early, climbing into his truck, and driving onto an empty plot of land as the sun rose. We’d walk together, and I’d listen to him talk and dream about the home he was about to build. My dad would walk the lines where the foundation would be poured. He’d try to explain and describe where the rooms would be placed, the walls would be framed, and

March 1, 2021

Jim Estep

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

January 1, 2021

Jerry Harris

10 Foundation Stones of the Church—No. 9: Giving

It’s clear from reading Acts 2:42-47 that the early church was a generous church—and not simply generous, but contagiously generous. Scripture offers no hint that generosity was considered a burden; rather, it was a privilege. The people responded immediately by selling their houses and not considering material possessions as their own. The people freely gave and shared so that no needy people were among them. Such generosity was not dictated by the government or enforced by law; instead, it was done in response to one another and to God. In contrast, people in churches today can be filled with personal

December 7, 2020

Mark Scott

Lesson for Dec. 13, 2020: Fulfilled through Love (Matthew 1:18-25; 22:34-40)

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 the December 2020 issue of Christian Standard + The Lookout. (Subscribe to our print edition.) ________ “The Second Choice” by David Faust (Lesson Application) Discovery Questions for Dec. 13, 2020 ________ Lesson Aim: Let the birth of Jesus lead you to live by love. ________ By Mark Scott How does Christmas affect your love life? The question is not about how Christmas affects the present you buy for the love

August 15, 2020

Christian Standard

‘The God Who Provides’

What Israel’s Wilderness Wandering Reveals . . . Especially During Challenging Times By Kevin Dooley Oh, to have been numbered among the more than 2 million Israelites delivered from captivity in Egypt once the final plague broke Pharaoh’s resolve. What a thrill to have passed on dry ground between the columns of the Red Sea, and then to have witnessed the end of Pharaoh’s might as the waters closed in on his armies (Exodus 15:1-21). The spectacle that was Israel’s deliverance from Egypt and the ensuing 40 years of wandering in the wilderness surely was “breaking news” across every culture

October 17, 2019

Christian Standard

Harmony in Giving

This article from 1964 obviously wasn’t the last word on the appropriate level of Christian giving, but it did contain interesting information and the writer effectively applied Scripture to make her points. Before diving in, here’s some context that should help with the section of the article titled “Sacrificial?” The writer says her family’s “take-home pay” in 1964 was $600 per month, or approximately $7,200 for the year. A U.S. Census Bureau online document says, “The median income [not take-home income] of all families in 1964 was about $6,600.” From this we can conclude that the writer’s family was earning

April 9, 2019

Stuart Powell

Faith: From Sorrow to Joy

By Stuart Powell Is there anything more difficult than hearing someone you love say goodbye? We typically react with sadness. That feeling is amplified when the goodbye comes at the threshold of death. Jesus’ disciples experienced that situation on the night of his betrayal. Jesus warned his disciples what was about to happen: I tell you the solemn truth, you will weep and wail, but the world will rejoice; you will be sad, but your sadness will turn into joy. When a woman gives birth, she has distress because her time has come, but when her child is born, she

July 2, 2018

Mark Scott

Lesson for July 8, 2018: Jesus Criticizes Unjust Leaders (Matthew 23:1-4, 23-26)

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. 6 (weeks 25–28; June 24—July 15, 2018) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  If the unforgiving servant had a shrunken heart (last week’s lesson), the unjust leaders who condemned Jesus had shrunken souls (today’s lesson). While many Jews received Jesus gladly and became children of God (John 1:12), these “religious leaders” played the role of antagonists in the gospel record and in this

January 18, 2018

Christian Standard

This Isn’t a Test, Praise the Lord

By Jim Nieman If you have ever taken a standardized test in preparation for college, you know they’re not much fun. Years ago, the analogy portion of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (or SAT) asked questions like, “Buzz is to Hum as . . .” and you were provided a list of possible answers, the correct one being, “Tinkle is to Clang.” Let’s try another one: “Parquet is to Wood as Linoleum is to Marble.” (No, that’s not right.) “Parquet is to Wood as Color is to Painting.” (No, wrong again.) Here’s the right answer: “Parquet is to Wood as Mosaic

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