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“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name,” (Psalm 100:4). Twice in this one verse, the Psalmist connects the thoughts of thanksgiving and praise. Enter with thanksgiving and praise; be thankful to Him and bless His name. As a country, we find that at this time of year ‘Thanksgiving’ or ‘the giving of thanks’ is on our minds as we prepare to celebrate a holiday. However, as Christians,…

That the Son of God marveled is in itself a marvel! The Lord’s work in creation, salvation, and providence ought to cause all humanity to marvel and be awe-struck! (Psalm 8; 19:1; Acts 14:17; Revelation 5:8- 14). In a world that’s too easily “amazed” in some ways and not enough in others, there’s a place for restoring the biblical doctrine of amazement. The people of God must not suffer from blindness and “awe amnesia” when it comes to contemplating the…

The Gospel is God’s power to save – Romans 1:16. The power to save is in the message, not in the messenger. We have an opportunity to invite friends, neighbors, and loved ones to hear the message of God’s word every week when we gather to worship. However, a special opportunity to hear the word of God proclaimed this coming Sunday with our special sermon series on the topic of “Living Godly In A Godless World.” It is a message…

That’s the theme of our upcoming Gospel Meeting with Carl McCann, and it will be here before we know it (October 22-25). I hope you’re praying about, inviting others to and planning to actively and faithfully participate in, this special effort. Carl is a wonderful Christian brother who will do his part and more in encouraging us to be people of greater love and godliness. “Godliness” can be defined as loving devotion to God characterized by a life of conformity…

Remember when phones were really not that smart? It still boggles the mind to think that through a ‘land line’ numbers could be dialed and voices could be heard with great clarity on opposing sides of the country and even the world. This writer is certainly not an expert on how those ‘old-fashioned’ phones worked, and certainly not on the computers in our pockets today. However, to try to explain to a young person now that all phones in the…

It’s very important to understand the rich, deep nature of the gospel. Here’s 10 basic components of the gospel according to Scripture – 1. The Gospel is an Announcement. The God of Heaven wants to Have a Relationship with Every Human Being (Luke 2:9-14; 1Timothy 2:4). 2. The Gospel is a Person – Jesus Christ. He is the long-awaited Anointed One, King and Savior (Matthew 1:18-25). 3. The Gospel is a Divine Plan / Mission To Save (Ephesians 3:9-11; 2…

Jesus promised to build His church in Matthew 16:18 and after Acts 2, the Lord’s body refers to the church He promised to build (Ephesians 1:22-23). How many churches (bodies) does Jesus have? Allow the Bible to answer the question, “Is one church as good as another?” by looking to just the times a number is given with the word ‘body’ following Acts 2. Romans 12:4-5 – For as we have many members in one body, but all the members…

(Note from Mike: This is a prayer prayed during PTP a few weeks ago. It was prayed by Sam Dilbeck, who preaches for the University congregation in San Marcos. I thought it was one of the finest prayers for our nation that I have ever heard. I sought his permission to share it with you. See last week’s article for the beginning of the prayer). Oh God and Father, Oppression also presses on your people from all sides. Selfishness and…

(Note from Mike – The following prayer was offered at PTP a few week’s back by Sam Dilbeck, the preacher for the University church in San Marcos. I think you will find it to be one of the finest prayers of its type that you may have ever heard or read). Holy Father, Creator, Giver, Sustainer of life, Thank you for the beauty of this land you have shared with us from the Smokies to the Rockies to the beaches…

I just want to go to heaven. I say it often and I really try to remind myself of these words all the time; boil it all down and through Jesus I know that I just want to go to heaven. Like you, I have known many through the years who just wanted to go to heaven. However, they had things come up in their lives and they found themselves drifting away from God. How can we ensure that we…

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere (2 Corinthians 2:14). Few things in life are more needed in life than an appropriate sense of commitment. During times of discouragement and difficulty, how we need to focus on the priority, importance and place of commitment to Christ. Few passages explain the nature of commitment better than Paul’s words through the Holy Spirit…

Studying the prayers of Paul is a life transforming experience! Philippians 1:9-11, while brief, packs a great punch as Paul prays for the church at Philippi. The apostle continually prays (present tense) for them; he loves them as they are especially dear to his heart. To have brethren in our minds and hearts is wonderful – to have them also in our prayers is greater still. Notice four great elements in this prayer. This Prayer Emphasizes Abundant Love (1:9) “And…