A self-check for Christians

A self-check for Christians

I needed to read this prayer today. I need to pray this prayer today, and revisit it and revoice it regularly. If you identify as a Christian, I encourage you to do the same. It’s hard to believe these came from the pen of Phillip Doddridge, who died in 1751, almost 275 years ago! A…

Do actions speak louder than words?

We’ve just started studying Paul’s letter to the church of the Thessalonians in our small group, now in our third week.  Paul has just told them how he thanks God for them, and then gives a few reasons why.  If you want to read what he has to say about them, you can do that…

Who do you celebrate at Easter?

Who do you celebrate at Easter?

I was reading through a portion of Jeremiah on Thursday in my scheduled reading through God’s word, and that included chapter 7.  As I read through, I came upon a phrase that I had never given too much thought to before, but when I finished the text for the day I went back to try…

Why Go to Church?

Why Go to Church?

I was going back through some notes on a book I read and found this great list of reasons why we need to go to church.  The book was “On Worship1” by H.B. Charles, Jr., and if you’re interested, you can get it here. Here is Charles’ list of twenty-five reasons you should regularly participate…

Faith’s Review and Expectation

John Newton wrote many hymns over his lifetime. In the collection “John Newtown’s Olney Hymns” there are 348 quoted in three separate sections. We celebrated the 250th anniversary of his most famous, and probably the favorite hymn over the ages in 2023, that being “Amazing Grace.” The Americanized version, the one most of us have…

Do you know the truth?

“YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON your knowledge of the gospel. Not just your life now, though that is certainly true, but your eternal life depends on your knowledge of the gospel. Are you ready? Do you know the gospel so well that you will stake your life on it? “If someone claimed to be a representative…

Ivory Palaces

My father would have turned 99 today. I started this post in March of 2022, and thought it was finally time to finish it. Dad’s favorite hymn was Ivory Palaces. If we had an opportunity to choose a favorite song at church, invariably Dad would raise his hand and request “Ivory Palaces, please.” I’m sure…

A new favorite song

A new favorite song

As I was listening to a newly purchased collection from Cardiphonia on the psalms, I came to the end, the last song in the collection.  According to the notes, it didn’t really belong in this collection, but was added capriciously.  I guess I’m glad they added it.  It picks up some themes seen in the…

How should I pray for someone?

How should I pray for someone?

We’ve just restarted a program in our church, something we did years ago, but that fell by the wayside.  It’s good that we’ve picked it up and resown the seed.  The program is an official “pray for your church family” list, with a new list coming out each week of seven individuals or families to…

The Christmas Narrative

The Christmas Narrative

Merry Christmas!  Today is the day we celebrate Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ.  Most of the world celebrates the day, but not all celebrate the event.  Many have not even heard the story surrounding Jesus’ birth.  I thought I would fix that for those who may read this.  Below is a link to a…