Mar 22, 2013
He who has ears to hear… Overcoming bad habits to really listen to a sermon by Kevin Butler To many an unbeliever, preaching has been viewed as “the fine art of talking in someone else’s sleep.” Sadly, a number of Christians regard the sermon as a “necessary evil” for attending church services. Whose fault is this? It’s easy to blame the pastor, or “not...
Feb 22, 2013
Investing for Eternity by Pastor John Pethel Metro Atlanta, GA Raising a leader builds a progression, builds more churches, and you learn along the way, too The Bible has so much to say about leadership: from Joseph’s integrity shown in his success in Egypt, to Moses heeding the advice of his father-in-law to delegate, to David being fearless in...
Feb 22, 2013
“Be a Timothy, Pursue a Paul” by Dusty Mackintosh Thornton, Colorado God gave me an incredible gift. I am writing to make you jealous. More about that later. I was studying 2 Timothy (you know, the Bible) and I was struck by something odd. The advice, the encouragement and the teaching were all familiar to me, but my image of Timothy suddenly shifted....
Feb 22, 2013
Let’s Do Blunch! by Pastor Matthew Olson Berlin, N.Y. On my office wall there is a plaque that reads, “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2, NASB). I first memorized that verse in the early ’90s while preparing to teach a...
Jan 24, 2013
Church Membership: The Precious Gift of Belonging by Jeanne Yurke, Boise, Idaho Member at Raritan Valley SDB Church In Bridgewater, New Jersey The late Don Sanford used to say that there is no such thing as “a lone Sabbath-keeper,” because Seventh Day Baptists are a covenant people. Every SDB is part of a covenant fellowship, a local church. Moving many...
Jan 24, 2013
Closing the Back Door by Bill Shobe Dodge Center, Minn. One of the saddest occurrences in the life of a congregation is to realize that someone we had hoped would become a vital part of our church life has “disappeared.” We look for them on a Sabbath day and find they are not sitting in their usual spot. Then we discover that it’s been weeks since anyone...