As you think about your friends, what would you really like for them to do? Some might say: “I want my friends to like me…to accept me…to want to be around me…to think that I am fun…to think that I am cool…to invite me to their fun activities…to not judge me for being a Christian…to not think I am weird for my beliefs…to…
Let's Go Back to the Bible
Let's Go Back to the Bible
Posts by David Sproule (Page 34)
That expression may be confusing to us and maybe even sound funny. First-century Christians would have readily understood the metaphor. Orientals wore long, loose robes, which were not conducive to running or long journeys, so they would gather up the long robes with a girdle to prepare to run or travel and to provide greater ease and freedom of movement. The book of First…
Have you seen sometimes when a church of Christ uses a lowercase “c” (as in “church of Christ”) instead of an uppercase “C” (as in “Church of Christ”)? Why do they do that? Are they just trying to be weird? There may be varied reasons why some congregations do this, so I will not attempt to give every explanation for such usage. …
Have you ever snatched a kid from danger (maybe falling off a piece of furniture or touching something harmful), only to put the kid back down and see them attempt the same action again? Why do kids do that? Why don’t they learn and stop their careless acts? Put yourself in God’s place. How often, do you suppose, has He snatched one of His children…
There are all sorts of things that you can buy today either “new” or “used”—homes, cars, appliances, clothes, etc. Have you ever thought about buying a “used” burial plot? Is there even such a thing? There are burial plots that are “new,” or at least “not-yet-used,” and there are burial plots that are “in use” presently. But those are the only options. Where are you going to…
In school you learned about the three main verb tenses in English: past, present and future. These tenses describe three very different timeframes. One could say that a boy “threw” the ball (past tense), or a boy “is throwing” the ball (present tense) or a boy “will throw” the ball (future tense). Those same tenses can be used to describe a Christian’s…
The apostles endured brutal persecution because they were “preaching Jesus as the Christ” (Acts 5:42; 2:30-38; 4:10-12). The Jewish council arrested the apostles (4:1-4; 5:17-18, 26), put them on trial (4:5-22; 5:27-40), “severely threatened…further threatened them” (4:17-21), and “beat” them (5:40). Through all of this, the council “commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus” (4:17-18; 5:28, 40). But…
When you read through the letters of Peter, you will come across the word “precious” several times. Of all the things that he describes as “precious,” the first one is our “faith” (1 Pet. 1:7). Have you ever thought about your faith being “precious”? The Greek word “pertains to being of exceptional value; of great worth; costly.” Have you ever considered the value and worth…