I just came from a meeting in Angola, Indiana where I preached last Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. In all the services was a little lady in her eighties. She sat there enjoying the services. I spoke to her two or three times. My wife spoke to her. Her husband, in his eighties, had died on Saturday. His body was at the funeral home in Angola. She came to church Sunday morning and came back Sunday night. She said, “There’s nothing to worry about. He’s with the Lord. We’ll have the funeral service Wednesday after the meeting is over.” She was in every single service, smiling and rejoicing in the Lo ..read more

“Son, can you pick up your little men now please?” I asked my three year old who had spread two sets of toys out on the floor to play with. “Alright”, he replies and instantly picks them up and puts them in their box. Not always is this his response when I ask him to do something, so I immediately said, “Good boy, that makes Mommy so happy when you obey the first time I ask you to do something.” Praise is a powerful tool. Have you ever gotten a new tool or gadget of some kind that only had a specific use so you had to look for opportunities to use it? I often feel this way about praise. Prover ..read more

Just a thought for getting the job done daily – I call it ROPEF. In Ezra 3:4 They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the custom, as the duty of every day required. Notice this ending phrase, as the duty of every day required. It made me think about the fact that every day God has given us is a day to be profitable for the cause of Christ. Oh, we may spend a day in rest because we need the rest. We may spend a day in fun because we need the time with friends and family but no day should be wasted. Every day has a d ..read more

Psalm 119:41-46, “Let Thy mercies come also unto me, O Lord, even Thy salvation, according to Thy word. So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in Thy word. And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth; for I have hoped in Thy judgments. So shall I keep Thy law continually for ever and ever. And I will walk at liberty: for I seek Thy precepts. I will speak of Thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed.” In our fundamental churches and schools, we have some rules and standards. We have rules about dating, rules about hairstyles, rules a ..read more

There will be times in life when each of us will face a crisis. Our children need to see that we have the wisdom to know how to handle a crisis when it comes. Whether it is a life struggle, a home emergency, or a sickness or death, how we handle the crisis will give stability and comfort to our children. This will prepare them for their futures and will show them how to manage a crisis in their lives that will surely come one day. In I Samuel 25 is found the story of Abigail, who was a lady who wisely handled a crisis that saved her family’s life. When her husband was not wise enough to treat ..read more

Psalm 142:1-4, 1“I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication. 2I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble. 3When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me. 4I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.” John 5:7, “The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth d ..read more

Jeremiah 2:19 says: “Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts.” Oh, the trouble that comes to the backslider in heart! Again, Proverbs 14:14 says, “The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways.” How many, many people have told me that their backsliding brought them only grief and trouble, and that they had enough of it! The backslider is sure of the chastising of God. God still ha ..read more

Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. Psalm 143:10 A young man or woman decides that they want to enter the medical profession to become a doctor. This could apply to any profession but for the sake of illustration let’s narrow it down to preparing to be a doctor. The end goal they have chosen is to be a doctor. Everything they need to learn to accomplish that task is readily available to them in libraries in their own city or at least close. Much of it could be found on the internet as well. So, what do they do? They enroll in ..read more

Jack Hyles built a great church. He did not just build a big church. He built a great – big church. How did he do it? He did it by building people. It was more than a cliché to him when he said, “I do not use my people to build my church, but I use my church to build my people.” These were not idle words, but they were a philosophy that guided the METHODS he used in his church. How exactly did he build his people? Perhaps the greatest tool he used was that of the graded Sunday school program. In this article, we are going to examine how the Sunday school uses the church to build the people, bu ..read more

(Mark 6:22-24)  “And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. and she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.” Once she danced and enticed King Herod with her lewdness and seductive spirit, Herodias’ daughter was offered anything she wanted up to half of Herod’s kingdom. What ..read more