Paul commended the Christians in Thessalonica, shortly after they had been converted to Christ. For what? He praised them for “how you turned to God from idols…” (1 Thess. 2:9). At one time, they had worshiped pieces of stone or wood, and maybe were even the ones who fashioned those pieces of stone or wood into some kind of image (Isa. 44:10). They were literally…

Who are “the best of the best”? Commander Mike Metcalf, in Top Gun, told the pilots, “Gentlemen, you are the top 1% of all naval aviators – the elite, the best of the best.” Chief Zed, in Men in Black, told the recruits, “You’re all here because you’re the best of the best.” Of course, all of that is fiction. In the real world, who are…

Perhaps the word “special” has been so overused (and misused) that it has lost “specialness” when it comes to God’s use of that word in the Bible. In both the Old Testament and the New Testament, God identified His people as “special.” What does that involve? God identifies His people as “a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth”…

There is something special about the church! God said so (1 Pet. 2:9; Acts 20:28)!  There is something special about the church getting together! God said so (Acts 12:12; 1 Cor. 14:26; Heb. 10:24-25)! And, in my opinion, there is something special about Wednesday nights. That seven days between Sundays—between the times that the church gets to see each other and be with each other…

Perhaps the word “special” has been so overused (and misused) that it has lost “specialness” when it comes to God’s use of that word in the Bible. In both the Old Testament and the New Testament, God identified His people as “special.” What does that involve? God identifies His people as “a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth”…

Did you hear about the parent whose child had a curable illness that simply required a regular prescription medication, but the parent let the young child decide each day whether to take the medicine or not? Oh, you didn’t? Did you hear about the parent whose child didn’t like going to school, so that parent decided to not make the child go to school,…

One of the most challenging and compelling verses in the Bible is Philippians 2:14 – “Do all things without complaining.” That verse was not written (only) to children. That verse was not written (only) to husbands and wives. That verse was written to Christians! In fact, it was written to mature Christians, along with elders and deacons (1:1). It was written to remind Christians of one distinct…

Gods are supposed to have emotions, right? We read about the Greek gods of love, joy, pity, anger, violence, etc. But you know that those gods aren’t real, right? Those are fake, man-made gods. They have NO emotions, because they do NOT exist. The same goes for those stone and wooden idols—they have NO emotions, because they are a piece of stone or wood and are not…