Sometimes great truths can be taught by using the most simple thoughts. This is why both Old Testament prophets and even Jesus employed objects and stories to illustrate great truths. The following story is far from being equal with those, but perhaps it will help us understand the truth about the church Jesus built and the religious division in our world. Imagine…

Do you ever plan ahead?  Most folks when they go on vacation will plan ahead.  Before most folks have surgery, they will plan ahead.  Even when most folks go to the grocery store, they will plan ahead.  Putting our minds to events—to consider as many aspects of those events in advance—is an essential life skill.  But not all advanced planning is good.…

Here it is! The end of the year! With it comes all the countdowns and end of the year reflections. One of the year-end traditions is Time Magazine’s Person of the Year that highlights that year’s most influential person. You may not notice it but many notable people have been on the cover of the magazine. From Mahatma Gandhi (1930) and Winston…

We have often pointed out that there is a way of remembering the six words used to describe elders that can be easily remembered. Take the first letter of each of the six words and form a new word. Because an elder must have children, just remember this truth, “Elders must BE-POPS.” Those six words? B=bishops; E=elders; P=presbyters; O=overseers; P=pastors and S=shepherds.…

There are some people who teach that once a person is saved and becomes a Christian that it is impossible for such a person to fall away from the Lord.  While such a doctrine can be very comforting, it finds no foundation in Scripture.  The Bible does not teach that a Christian cannot fall, and it actually teaches emphatically against such a…

Have you ever watched a terribly predictable movie? After twenty minutes, or less, the plot rears its boring head and you know everything that is going to happen. It wasn’t your keen sense of deduction or mental prowess that ferreted out the details. In the place of subtle foreshadowing, these movies leave a trail of whole loaves instead of crumbs. Hallmark is…

My grandfather, John Acel Jenkins, was an amazing person. He preached the gospel for over 50 years while supporting himself as a wallpaper hanger and a barber. As far back as I remember, he and my grandmother lived about a block away, and I spent lots of time with him in my early years. His great spirituality is reflected in the heritage…

“I find it easy to portray a businessman. Being bland, rather cruel and incompetent comes naturally to me” (John Cleese). It is easy to be mean, and the world makes it easier. Life seems to be a gauntlet of rude awakenings, playground politics, the rage of rush hour, the push-and-shove along the corporate ladder, and the snippy bickering of a thousand petty…