You would have to know my parents to appreciate this article. When I was growing up, my parent’s yard was immaculate. My mother seemed to have a green thumb, and my father tended to every blade of grass. We had arbors, herb gardens, vegetable gardens, and many species of flowers. My father built a maze of decks in our backyard, lined our walkways with brick, and had many bird feeders that brought many bird species, including cardinals, hummingbirds, and bluejays, to our backyard. He trimmed his hedges like a work of art and cut his grass to perfection. Our back porch was like a living room serenaded with the sounds of a water fountain my mother loved. It was the epitome of a backyard paradise. My childhood memories center around going to home improvement stores and helping work in the yard. With my parents, you did not just work in the yard; you groomed the yard and flower beds. Our yard was pristine… except for one spot in the backyard. I had gathered excess dirt from projects around the house and constructed a real-life, beautiful, and immaculate pitcher’s mound. To me, it looked like the pitcher’s mound in Great American Ballpark, where all my heroes played. When I stepped on that mound, I was Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, or John Smoltz in game seven of the World Series. However, that was just a dream. I wasn’t facing the game’s greatest hitters, and no one was in the stands. In fact, …

In a world of people centered around self, we have been called as Christians to be people-centered around Christ. While the choice of selflessness is more difficult than the choice of selfishness, being selfless makes a difference to others, and being selfish makes no difference.

His name was “Raccoon” John Smith. He spent much of his life as a Baptist preacher. From a young age, he sought the Lord through Calvinistic theory. One day, a Baptist preacher told him the Lord had called him to be one of His “elect.” Immediately, he began to preach. He studied the Bible restlessly. When he preached, he would quote entire scripture passages, much more than his fellow Baptist preachers. However, there was a significant moment that changed his life. One night, a fire consumed his family’s cabin and burned two of his four children. For the next several years, a thought occurred in his mind that he could not escape. Were my children part of the “elect of God,” or were they doomed to the fires of Hell? In 1822, this soul-consuming thought came to a breaking point. While preaching at Spencer Creek, he told his audience, “If you believe Jesus is God’s son and obey Him, you will be saved. If you disobey Him, you will be lost.” That day, it dawned on “Raccoon” John Smith that the statement he had just declared was foreign to the Calvinistic doctrine. This was a turning point in the life of “Raccoon” John Smith. Eventually, after studying the New Testament, he saw that the Baptist church was not the church of his Lord and that the theories preached by Baptist preachers were not the gospel of Jesus Christ. Of course, “Raccoon” John Smith would become instrumental in the Restoration Movement …

“Remember, if your child continuously sees you choose the flesh over the spiritual, we ought not to be surprised when they become obsessed with the flesh as adults.”

God’s amazing grace involves learning, leaving, living, and looking. If we allow grace to transform our souls, we will have all eternity to sing God’s praise.

In the sentiment of the holiday season, we are continuing our exploration of the genuine and authentic Jesus that we read of in the Bible in a series of short articles titled, “Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up?” I hope that these articles will provide you with some talking points in your conversations this holiday season, as many are focused on the Savior of the world. We have all seen life work in circles. This is often the case with music, specifically country music. It began with Jimmy Rodgers and The Carter Family but then drifted to the Nashville Sound. However, when you thought the origins were lost, many brought the sound around full circle. The Bible comes full circle through fulfilled prophecy. There is no more excellent builder of faith than to see the messianic prophecies of old be fulfilled through the Messiah and mediator of the New Testament, Jesus Christ. Sadly, many man-made prophecies have risen to prominence and are often associated with the divine, such as the prophecies of Nostradamus. Though he lived from 1533 to 1566 as a famous French astrologer, he supposedly made over 6,000 prophecies; today heralded as accurate predictions of current and future events. However, as you explore such prophecies, you will notice that they are vague in their origin. For example, Nostradamus once predicted, “From on high, evil will fall on the great man.” This is often considered a prediction of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. Yet, …

After one of those long sermons that seemed to last forever, a father and son walked toward the door. Suddenly, the boy stopped in his tracks. He saw a plaque in the foyer and asked his dad, “Daddy, what is this for?” His father said, “Oh, that’s in memory of those who died in the service.” The little boy asked, “Which service – the morning or evening service?” Children can have a great sense of humor, but perhaps this boy remembered another familiar story in the Bible. We have become accustomed to stressing the importance of gathering and attending the morning worship service. Many prioritize this worship service over other services offered at the building. However, in the New Testament, there is more evidence that the first-century saints gathered in the evening than in the morning to worship God. They used lamps to provide light in their meeting room, (c.f., Acts 20:8). This is the setting for the story of Eutychus. In Acts 20, on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul was set to depart Troas the next day, (c.f., Acts 20:7). So, he delivered a message that lasted until midnight to those who were gathered. As Paul was preaching, a young man named Eutychus sat on a ledge. He fell asleep, fell from the third-story window, and was taken up dead, (c.f., Acts 20:9). This is the first recording in the inspirational record of a person dying in the worship …

What is the greatest compliment that a preacher can receive after a sermon has concluded? You always have the go-to compliments that brethren use with a sincere heart, such as, “Wonderful sermon! Good job!”, or, “That was powerful! Thank you.” On the humorous side, perhaps the most honest compliment I have received came from an older sister, when she said, “I liked that sermon, but last Sunday’s sermon was better.” That’s a real quote. Because of the time-consuming efforts poured into the construction of a sermon outline and the demand for sermon delivery, many preachers appreciate when members complement the depth and delivery of their sermons. But is that the greatest compliment a gospel preacher can receive? I believe the greatest compliment that can be given to a preacher, at the conclusion of a sermon, is simply, “I understood everything you said in your sermon. It was simple.” I believe the goal of every gospel preacher is simple: To preach your sermon in all simplicity, despite the complexity of the subject under discussion, so that the audience can understand what you are saying. In the words of the Lord, we ought to write it down, make it plain, so that they may read it and run at the same time, (c.f., Habakkuk 2:2-3). Therefore, this is the reason that I love the statement made of Jesus, in Mark 12:37, “And the common people heard him gladly.” I think we, sometimes, have a misunderstanding of the word common in this text. …

At the height of the Pax Romana, the angels of God began to sing a new song, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”, (c.f., Luke 2:14). With the announcement of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, the son of God, our Creator bestowed something upon mankind through His Son that man could not give itself, peace. However, at the birth of Jesus, many politicians were worried that the one born to be King would unseat them politically, so they desired to destroy Him at the behest of Herod, (c.f., Matthew 2:13). The political powers of the day were afraid at the political power Jesus could possess.   In fact, throughout the life of Jesus, He was tempted and encouraged to take hold of great earthly, political power. One of the temptations that Satan laid at His door was the power to rule over all kingdoms of the Earth, (c.f., Matthew 4:8-9). His closest friends believed that He would establish an earthly, political kingdom, so they wanted to sit on his right and his left, (c.f., Mark 10:37). Pilate judged Jesus on charges that He sought political power, (c.f., Matthew 27:11). Yet, each time, the King of Kings explained that His kingdom was not of this world, and if it was, there would be political turmoil involved, (c.f., John 18:36). In His life on Earth, Jesus never sought political power though many sought Jesus to seize political power. However, the question is: Would you …