Many years ago, I heard a preacher say something in a sermon that I have never forgotten. He said, “If the living knew what the dead know, they would be in a desperate search for truth.” What a profound statement! Those who have already died and passed into eternity know from experience the things living people wonder about things like • Is there really a Heaven? • Is there really a Hell? • Was Jesus who he claimed to be? • Will non-religious but morally good people go to Heaven? The answers to all of these questions are known by every deceased person that has ever lived. And, if the living k ..read more

As you already know, next Sunday, just eight days from now will be… “The Lord’s Day!” Yes, I said, “The Lord’s Day.” Oh, I know that next Sunday also happens to be “Christmas,” but to the follower of Jesus, that social holiday should pale in comparison to the Lord’s Day. I have often been sadly amused (oxymoron) at how people will lament the secular direction of our culture and will opine that “Christ needs to be put back in Christmas.” Yet, when Christmas happens to fall on a Sunday, just watch as Bible classes and worship services designed to worship and praise Christ are canceled, delayed ..read more

Imagine if there were a way we could go back in time to the 1st century and be given an opportunity to speak to those people about life in the 21st century. How much of what we take for granted on a daily basis would they be able to comprehend? Imagine trying to explain television, radio, the internet, flying, light bulbs, and a myriad of other things. One can only imagine how utterly confused they would be. It would take a great deal of education and explanation before they could even grasp many of the concepts, let alone understand how these things work. Now, as foreign as these 21st-centur ..read more

Today, I read a memoir of a man who lived and died over 200 years ago. His name was John Carrol, and he died at the young age of twenty-two years. Instead of being bitter about his circumstances (e.g., the death of both his parents and his illnesses), he was somehow able to give thanks for his adversities. What shaped his way of thinking was a lesson he learned from a “hedge of thorns” near his house that had kept him from trouble as a young boy. I was moved by this young man’s spiritual strength and even more moved when I read what God said through the prophet Hosea, “I will hedge up your wa ..read more

Yesterday, the members of the Karns church of Christ completed an exhausting day in which about 130 volunteers spent six hours ministering to approximately 50 people who have special needs. We named this ministry, “Forever His,” and have been doing it since 2015. Not everyone understands why we would embrace such a ministry, so here’s a brief answer. Understanding. As tired as we are after spending just six hours of one day with our guests, we gain insight into the lives of other people. Imagine how much a six-hour respite must mean to parents who make this sacrifice of love every hour of eve ..read more

As a parent of four, I have a little experience in the process of raising children and then turning them over to new surroundings, new schools, and new churches when they reached college age. As each of our children left the shelter of our home and “spread their wings” in a college environment, my wife and I prayed that the biblical values and doctrines we instilled in our children would not be contradicted, but reaffirmed, by their friends, their school, and the church where they settled. Living in Knoxville, TN makes us the recipients of many of your children. Our immediate area is the home ..read more

There are many reasons why one would choose to leave a church; some of them are valid, others, not so much. But frequently, when it does happen, their departure follows a too familiar pattern. Consider the following anatomy of a backslider: A Backslider Usually Suffers from Pride. “Peter answered and said to him, ‘Even if all are made to stumble because of you, I will never be made to stumble” (Matthew 26:33). Backsliders often suffer from pride, and pride is the precursor to a fall (Proverbs 16:18). The backslider’s pride will feed discontentment, resentment, frustration, and disillusionmen ..read more

I once preached in a city that had a Catholic church, a Methodist church, a Baptist church, a Presbyterian church, a Community church, and a church of Christ all within a city block. Literally, thousands of people who claimed to have allegiance to Jesus, met in separate buildings within shouting distance of each other, some sharing the same parking lots, but separating from each other when it came time to worship the One we all said we loved. Whenever I think of this situation, I think back to 1 Corinthians 1:10-17. First-century Corinth was experiencing something very similar to what we were ..read more

Although I am not the most prolific reader, I do continue to read as much as I can. I believe it is a grave mistake for a preacher, or for any Christian to stop reading and studying. We should live our lives in a pursuit for greater knowledge of God’s word and how he wants us to live. That brings me to a book that I’m currently reading and would like to recommend to you because of its timeliness. This author has his finger on the pulse of 21st-century American culture as well as the 21st-century American church. This book unhesitantly tackles some of today’s most hotly debated moral and spiri ..read more

“Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live” (Psalm 116:2). My wife and I have raised four children. One of the things we learned as a parents is that children are easily upset. Because of their immaturity and short-sightedness, they fret about things of relatively little consequence, at least from my perspective. But how do you suppose I reacted when my children were devastated by some insignificant matter, from my perspective? Did I tower over them from my 6’6″ frame and tell them to get over it? Of course not! I would kneel down, get on their le ..read more