Category: Church

How the Preacher Identifies with the Same Aims as Christ

I was running one recent morning listening to the gospel of John.  The readings was from John 17, which is the text about Jesus’ prayer for his disciples.  Our Lord is very transparent in the prayer about his work on earth and his goals for HIs disciples.  He prays for his 12 disciples that he …

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Your Home Church Wasn’t Perfect, nor Awful!

It is Thanksgiving time and kids are coming back from college.  Good kids who have gone away to Christian schools or gotten involved in a Christian student center.  They have been exposed to other congregations.  They have experienced mission campaigns, large devotional singings, powerful preachers, and new programs.  They now look at their home congregation …

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The Difference in Duty and Joy

Why do you worship God?  Do you worship from a sense of duty?  We should feel a duty to worship God, after all Jesus said, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve” (Mat. 4:10).  It should eat away at our conscience when we fail at our obligation to worship, …

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The Holy Spirit’s Purpose was to Glorify Jesus

It seems that some churches major in the Spirit.  Their worship services focus on manifestations of the Spirit.  They claim to speak in tongues and seek for the Spirit to come into their services in a powerful and miraculous way.  Faith-healers claim they can heal the sick and give sight to the blind through the …

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Our Church’s Day of Prayer and Fasting

Today, Wednesday, October 18th is Seven Oak’s day of prayer and fasting.  We have done this several times over my 14 years with this congregation.  It was first started when we were involved in a new building project.back in 2005.  We did it every year for a number of years.  Then we stopped it for …

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Thoughts from a 55 year old Bulletin

Mrs. Ruby Sanders, a sweet widow at Seven Oaks, gave me an old bulletin from 7th and College (the location and preceding name of our church).  It was dated Dec. 9, 1962 (almost 55 years ago).  I am sure she had kept it because it announced her marriage to Laddie Sanders.  I enjoyed reading it …

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You; a Pharisee? Surely Not!

Most Bible students are familiar with Jesus’ famous parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector who went up to the temple to pray (Luke 18:9-13).  We have read it and heard it preached many times.  Jesus gave the parable to those who “trusted in themselves” and “treated others with contempt” (Luke 18:9).  The Pharisee …

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How We Can Eclipse the Son!

The so-called Great American Total Solar Eclipse will darken the skies across the continent on August 21st.  This is the first time in 99 years a solar eclipse has covered the continent of America.  Here in Western Kentucky we are blessed to be in the “path of totality” that will travel across the U.S.  A …

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Our Trip Back to Roan’s Creek

It had been five years.  Yet, when we returned it seemed like we had never left.  I held a Gospel Meeting with the Roan’s Creek Church of Christ in Clarksburg, Tennessee.  My whole family got to attend the meeting.  It was a wonderful week for us. The Roan’s Creek church traces its history back to …

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Small-Thing Faithfulness!

We admire the big-thing faithfulness. We laud it in decade anniversary celebrations, 40-year retirement parties, and in funeral eulogies about the person’s lifelong faithfulness to Christ.  Big-thing faithfulness is what all of us want and desire.  Christians want to be faithful until death (Rev. 2:10).  People get married intending to celebrate a 50th anniversary one …

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