Articles for tag: Matthew 22

October 16, 2015

Christian Standard

A Four-Way Stop Sign

By Greg Swinney We can”t drive very far before seeing a road sign giving us a warning or directions. Yield, One Way, and Stop Ahead signs are all intended to help us arrive at our destination safely. Although four-way Stop signs are designed to direct traffic and help us avoid collisions, they may also offer a spiritual picture as we gather to share in the Lord”s Supper. Four-way Stop signs direct us to look in all directions at an intersection, and the Bible offers similar instructions at the table. We are directed to look inward: “Everyone ought to examine themselves

October 15, 2015

Christian Standard

The Role of Integrity in Bible Study

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

April 26, 2013

Michael C. Mack

How Do We Get Busy People to Show Up?

By Michael C. Mack QUESTION: How do you get busy people to show up at small group meetings? ANSWER: This is one of the most frequently asked questions I hear from small group leaders and ministers. People are busy, so what can leaders do to make their small groups a priority?   Value What value does the meeting have for group members? “None of us has time for another meeting,” says Eric Bingaman, minister of discipleship at Batesville (Indiana) Christian Church. “However, I”ll make all the time in the world [for] a group of people who are helping me grow

January 7, 2012

Christian Standard

The Old Has Gone, the New Has Come!

By Victor Knowles Today is New Year”s Day, the first day of the year and the first Sunday of the year. What a good way to start the New Year! “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Communion is a weekly reminder that in Christ we are a new creation. The old is gone. I remember singing a chorus in youth camp many years ago. “Gone, gone, gone, gone, yes my sins are gone!” The crimson cup reminds us that the old has gone. Jesus

June 12, 2011

Christian Standard

Sustained by the Word

By Kay Moll I was 22 years old. My husband of eight months had left our home in Illinois to travel to Homecoming at Johnson Bible College in Tennessee early on a snowy February morning with five teenagers from the small congregation we were serving in Illinois. A small group of us from the church had prayed with them for safety on the trip and watched them drive away. A little while later I went to the junior high school where I was teaching English and history and began my workday. Around 10:00 a.m., a fellow teacher stuck her head

May 30, 2011

Christian Standard

Lesson for June 5, 2011: God Keeps His Promise (Joshua 1:1-6; 11:16-23)

This week”s treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson (for June 5) is written by Stephen Bond, senior pastor with Summit Christian Church in Sparks, Nevada. ____________ God Keeps His Promise (Joshua 1:1-6; 11:16-23) By Stephen Bond In Waiting: Finding Hope When God Seems Silent, author Ben Patterson tells a story from his personal life. In the summer of 1988, three friends and I climbed Mount Lyell, the highest peak in Yosemite National Park. Two of us were experienced mountaineers; two of us were not. I was not one of the experienced two. . . . The climb to the

May 15, 2011

Christian Standard

Our Lost Love

By Charles A. Lee The American Christian community is rapidly losing its love for the Bible. Studies by Barna, Gallup, and other pollsters repeatedly uncover a diminishing knowledge of the Bible among Christian adults and a consequent weakening of Bible-focused dialogue in the marketplace. In spite of the clear evidence, many churches are more interested in creating programs, developing relationships, and listening to “heartwarming stories” than in helping adult members develop a pragmatic mastery of God”s Word. Jesus told the religious leaders of his day, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of

April 4, 2011

Christian Standard

The Sheep I Count

By Jackina Stark As I think about the articles and books I”ve written in the last 30 years, certain themes emerge””themes that are part of my spiritual DNA. No theme is more prevalent in my writings, or more beloved, than the wonder of the abiding presence of God in our lives. I saw God transform my parents” lives when I was 9 years old. But I believe the wonder began a year or two before that when I walked to a nearby church on Sunday mornings with my younger sister and, I think, even my baby brother in tow. As

May 30, 2010

Christian Standard

Leading People Toward Redemption and Restoration (Part 3)

By Ken Swatman “People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.” “”Audrey Hepburn, American actress Everything about Jesus””his birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection””shouts redemption and restoration to a lost and broken world. Jesus” foundational purpose was, and still is, to seek and save the lost, to purchase back that which was bartered, sold, or stolen, and to reestablish and heal our relationship to his Father. As pastors and leaders, we are entrusted with the position and responsibility of helping people navigate the deep waters of sin, repentance, redemption, and

May 4, 2008

Christian Standard

Connecting Good Deeds and Good News

By Rick Rusaw Remember the popular WWJD wristbands? The phrase was meant to help people stop and ask themselves, “What would Jesus do?” before making a choice or decision. I think WDJD, “What did Jesus do?” is a better question to ask. The Bible gives a full account of Jesus and what he did: He “came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10). Jesus came as a Savior, and he also told his followers he came to serve. “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as

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