Articles for tag: Repentance

March 19, 2018

Mark Scott

Lesson for March 25, 2018: Keep My Statutes and Ordinances (2 Chronicles 7:12-22)

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. 9–12 (March 4–25, 2018) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  Praise should not be divorced from obedience. To praise God and then not obey God is hypocrisy. That was the problem on Palm Sunday. On Sunday the crowd said, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matthew 21:9), but by Friday the same crowd said, “Let him be crucified!”

March 7, 2018

Christian Standard

When the Church Splits: Hope After the Loss

By Jessie Clemence   The church gymnasium, once filled with the sound of squealing children and bouncing balls, fell silent. The church bank account, once bolstered with tithes from generous givers, dropped to a frightening low. The elder board had vacancies. The pulpit lacked a minister and the worship team was missing vocalists and musicians. Children were missing from Sunday school classes, but that was OK because there weren’t enough adults to teach them anyway. The church had split, and those of us who stayed walked through an endless succession of losses. I grew tired of trying to explain to

November 29, 2017

Christian Standard

Lesson for December 3, 2017: Faith in Jesus (Acts 3:11-21)

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. 46″“49 of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  Jesus said to his disciples, “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22). The disciples said to Jesus, “Increase our faith” (Luke 17:5). Few things in the Bible are as important as faith in Jesus. Our lessons for this quarter focus on faith””the faith proclaimed by the early church, the example of faith evident in the life of

May 15, 2017

Christian Standard

Lesson for May 21, 2017: Forgiving Love (Jonah 3; Nahum 1″“3)

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 May 14, 2017, issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  God”s forgiving love was in place for Nineveh but also for Jonah himself. The God of the Bible is the God of the second chance, and Jonah got his. The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time. Even though Jonah was a reluctant prophet who did not have forgiving love in his

March 27, 2017

Christian Standard

The Solomon Syndrome

By Daniel Schantz When an old friend of ours left his wife for a younger model, I was dumbstruck. “He”s smarter than that,” I said to my wife. “He knows better.” His villainy didn”t bother me as much as his sheer stupidity. We all do stupid things, like texting and driving, but when someone really smart does something dumb, well, that”s just inexcusable. And yet, being smart doesn”t make it any easier to behave. Being good has more to do with emotions and willpower than with brains. Smart people have all the same temptations we all do, plus some that

March 20, 2017

Christian Standard

Lesson for March 26, 2017: Restoring Love (Joel 2)

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 March 19, 2017, issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  God”s love is perfect, great, and matchless (the subjects of the former three lessons). But because humans are involved, God”s love must also be restorative. David Brymer sings a worship song entitled “Restoration.” The people during the time of the prophet Joel would have liked that song. Regardless of when the book is dated, the

November 8, 2016

Mark A. Taylor

Tomorrow

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 30, 2016

Christian Standard

God Spoke through the Sermons

What I learned from a year”s break from preaching By Dustin Fulton A few years ago, after a difficult season of ministry, my wife and I sensed a definite call to plant a church. Since we were weary, we were advised to take a sabbatical, as well as quit our jobs, sell our house, move out of town, and wait to see where God was leading us. Of the many aspects of the sabbatical, one that really excited me was getting to refresh my preaching skills by hearing from as many preachers as possible during my year”s break from the

May 23, 2016

Christian Standard

Lesson for May 29, 2016: Joyous Faith (Luke 19:1″“10)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the May 22 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  “The gospel is for sellouts.” That is how our oldest son, Casey, began his senior sermon in Bible College chapel. His text was the story of Zacchaeus. He turned the message in two directions: first Zacchaeus was a sellout to Rome, and second Zacchaeus was a

April 11, 2016

Christian Standard

WHAT’S NEXT?: Filled with Mercy

We asked several Christian leaders, “What should churches served by CHRISTIAN STANDARD strive to be or do or look like in the next decades?” ____ By Rachel Grindle Churches should be places filled with people who love mercy””God”s mercy. Personally, I want all of God”s mercy I can get. I am grateful he doesn”t hold my sins against me and that he calls those who are far away to come near with his kindness and mercy. But when I realize that mercy is for everyone and not just me, I begin to realize, similar to Jonah, how much I actually prefer judgment to

February 5, 2016

Christian Standard

Happy New Year?

By Joe Boyd So, a few weeks into 2016, how”s it going? Will it be a happy year or not?  Sometimes happiness is counterintuitive. At 42 years old, I have come to realize I can drift toward unhappiness. There”s a lot that plays into this for me. My personality type (INTP) tends toward melancholy with a chemical propensity to depression. But I”ve also found I can make choices that increase my capacity for happiness. Here are some practical steps I have taken over the last decade that have helped me. Maybe they will help you too. 1. Exercise. I know,

October 19, 2015

Christian Standard

What Does Restoration Look Like?

An interview with John Walker By Alan Ahlgrim What would you like a struggling leader to know? First of all, they need to know they”re not alone. Everyone has struggled, is struggling, or will struggle with a life-limiting or ministry-threatening issue. Everyone. Sadly, too many not only struggle, but fail to the point of falling out. Is there a pattern to the failure situations you”ve seen in ministry? Not really, except to say that to some degree, sooner or later everyone messes up or gets stuck. We”re not about blame, shame, or punishment. We”re concerned about restoration and healing. That”s

October 5, 2015

Christian Standard

Chasing after Integrity

Integrity is still respected. But is it expected?  Do we know integrity when we see it? Do we know how to achieve it when we find it lacking in ourselves?  In a testimony every Christian, and certainly every Christian leader, should read, this seasoned minister describes the steps he takes as he “desperately chases after God.” By Randy Gariss This afternoon my local sports-talk radio host was yelling again. In the midst of his apoplexy he kept shouting, “Where is integrity? Where is integrity? I tell you I am sick of this stuff!” It seems another high-profile, highly touted athlete

August 17, 2015

Christian Standard

Lesson for August 23, 2015: A Demand for Justice (Zechariah 7; Isaiah 30:18-26)

This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. It is published in the August 16 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Sam E. Stone  The people of Israel were taken captive to Babylon. After 70 years, God allowed a remnant of his people to return to the promised land. There they set about to rebuild the temple. Although this effort began with much excitement and devotion, the project slowed considerably (Haggai 1). The Lord sent Haggai and Zechariah as prophets to encourage the people to

August 10, 2015

Christian Standard

Lesson for August 16, 2015: A Call for Repentance (Ezekiel 18; Proverbs 21:2-15)

This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. It is published in the August 9 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Sam E. Stone  Even before Jerusalem fell in 586 BC, many of her finest people were taken captive to Babylon. The prophet Ezekiel was among some 10,000 people who had been carried away (1:1). He had been selected by God to be “a watchman for the house of Israel” (3:17). The great eighteenth chapter of the book that bears his name underlines the

August 7, 2015

Christian Standard

No More Soggy Slippers

By Steve Wyatt It was winter in West Virginia. Snow had freshly fallen and I, a 9-year-old geek if there ever was one, was wearing my cotton-flannel Zorro PJs and a brand-new pair of monster feet slippers. Something happened that was not to my liking (I can”t remember what it was), so I announced I was leaving. Moving out. Running away. No sooner had those words exited my mouth than Dad leaped out of his chair, grabbed a medium-sized suitcase, and proceeded to pack my bag. In less than three minutes, I was standing all alone on the front porch

August 3, 2015

Christian Standard

Lesson for August 9, 2015: A Choice to Be Just (Ezra 7:1, 6, 21-28; Jeremiah 7:1-15)

This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. It is published in the August 2 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Sam E. Stone  Jeremiah is one of the best-known Old Testament prophets. He tried valiantly to save the people of Judah from falling to Babylon, but was unsuccessful. After King Josiah”s positive changes, the nation had again slipped back into sin. As Jeremiah warned, the Hebrew people were facing God”s certain judgment. Before the end of the book, events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem

June 1, 2015

Christian Standard

Lesson for June 7, 2015: God Passes Judgment (Amos 2:4-16)

This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. It is published in the May 31 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Sam E. Stone  This quarter”s lessons are taken from a number of important passages in the Minor Prophets (so named because their books are shorter in length than books by other prophets like Isaiah and Daniel). They reveal God”s judgment on all kinds of injustice and disobedience. Many Bible scholars date Amos”s ministry around 760 BC, while Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam

April 10, 2015

Christian Standard

Toward a Theology of Suffering

By Joe Harvey The story of Job suggests several formulas for figuring out the relationship between God”s purposes, good people, and the suffering they must endure. Not till we reach the end do we understand the proper equation. I suppose everyone has heard the story of Job. In a nutshell, you probably know he was a wealthy, influential man who lived what we now call “the good life.” He had family, money, power, and prestige. The book of Job describes his situation as being ideal. “He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand

February 2, 2015

Christian Standard

The Beauty of Sex

By Paul E. Boatman For me and most people I know, sex has always been a bit perplexing. Forming a solidly Christian perspective on sexuality seems an elusive goal.   “Sex is dirty. Save it for marriage.” This was how David Seamands once summarized the sex education he received in his Christian family. I recall a vivid moment as a 9-year-old sitting in church with some peers. Randomly skimming the Old Testament, I paused at the Song of Solomon. What I read went beyond stirring my preadolescent curiosity. Right there in the Bible I was reading about a distinctly “sexy” interaction

Help Keep Christian Standard Free & Accessible with a Tax Deductible Donation

We can do more together!

Every gift makes a difference!

No, thank you.
100% secure transactions - receipts provided.
Does Your Church Want to Support Christian Standard?

Would your church consider including support for Christian Standard in its annual missions budget? Your support would help us not only continue the 160-year legacy of this unifying ministry, but also expand the free resources, cooperative opportunities, and practical guidance we provide to strengthen churches in the U.S. and around the world.

We can do more together!

Every gift makes a difference!

No, thank you.
100% secure transactions - receipts provided.
Secret Link