November 19, 2025

How Should Christians Dress for Worship Services?

Boy Dressed UpOur culture in the United States has gotten much more casual over the past few generations. This affects our work, speech, relationships, and the way that we dress. The trend toward more casual attire has made its way into the church as many Christians do not “dress up” very much (if at all) when they assemble for worship.

Does this matter?

On one side, you have some who insist that Christians need to wear their “Sunday best” and dress formally as if they were going to a funeral or to meet the President. On the other, there are those who argue that it does not matter what clothes we wear to worship because God sees the heart; therefore, they claim it does not matter to Him what we wear.

Which of those sides is correct? Or is the right path somewhere in between? The Bible contains some principles and examples that will help us determine what to wear as we assemble for worship. Let us notice a few points together.Continue Reading

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November 17, 2025

Add to Your Faith (Part 3): Add Knowledge

Add to Your Faith

As we continue our series about characteristics we are to add to our faith, we now turn our attention to knowledge. In the previous lesson, we discussed moral excellence or virtue, which is a moral goodness that can be seen by others. If we want to continue to grow in that quality, we must know what is good and right.

“Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5-8).

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November 10, 2025

Add to Your Faith (Part 2): Add Moral Excellence

Add to Your Faith

The previous lesson was the start of a series about the characteristics we are to add to our faith. We began by noticing that faith must be the foundation for all that we do. Now we turn our attention to the qualities we are to add. These are not apart from faith, but are the characteristics we “supply” to our faith. The first trait Peter listed was moral excellence.

“Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5-8).

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November 5, 2025

Solomon’s Advice on Teaching

Solomon - old age

When Jesus gave His apostles the Great Commission, He told them to preach the gospel throughout the world (Mark 16:15) and to teach the disciples to observe His commandments (Matthew 28:20). Even today, the message of the gospel is spread through teaching. The gospel is God’s power for salvation (Romans 1:16), and God calls us to Him through the gospel (2 Thessalonians 2:14).

Understanding this, it is critical that we endeavor to teach others. And since souls are at stake, we need to do this to the best of our abilities. How can we do that?

At the end of the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon described the process by which a “Preacher” could best communicate the message of truth. It was going to require diligence, but the importance of truth makes the effort worth it. While preachers in particular should pay attention to Solomon’s advice, all of us ought to take heed to these instructions in order to make the most of our efforts to lead others to the truth. Notice what the wise man said:

“In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out and arranged many proverbs. The Preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly” (Ecclesiastes 12:9-10).

When it comes to public teaching, this is about more than just standing before others and saying whatever comes to mind off the top of our heads. The same applies to any teaching we might do in written form. We do not write in a stream of consciousness and expect it to benefit others. It involves work, and Solomon listed five steps we need to take if we want to teach effectively.Continue Reading

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November 3, 2025

Add to Your Faith (Part 1): The Foundation of Faith

Add to Your Faith

At the beginning of his second epistle, Peter spoke of various qualities that Christians are to possess and continue to develop throughout their lives. He just reminded them that they had “escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust” (2 Peter 1:4), so they were to live differently from the world. But what would this look like? Notice the characteristics that he listed:

“Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5-8).

All of these qualities are essential, and we will discuss them as we progress through this series. However, it is important to note at the beginning that these characteristics are built upon a foundation of FAITH. So as we begin, let us consider this foundation of faith upon which the character of a Christian must be built.Continue Reading

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October 22, 2025

What Is Your Congregation Known For?

Silhouette of a Preacher

Local churches are made up of Christians working together for the cause of Christ. However, not every congregation will be judged favorably by the Lord. When the Lord addressed the seven churches of Asia, two of them were commended for their faithfulness – Smyrna (Revelation 2:8-11) and Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7-13). The rest were in danger of having their “lampstand” removed (Revelation 2:5), which was a symbol of the Lord’s approval. He knew that they did not measure up to His standard. Though they may have had “a name that [they were] alive,” He knew if they were “dead” (Revelation 3:1).

A congregation develops a reputation based upon what they do. However, this reputation does not always match the Lord’s judgment of His people in that place.

On different occasions, I have heard brethren comment that the church should be known more for what it is for than what it is against. Generally, those who make comments like this have introduced doctrines or practices into the local church (or would like to do so) and do not want to respond to challenges from other brethren about whether such teachings are in harmony with the Scriptures or their proposed practices are authorized by God’s word. So they attempt to turn the tables against those who raise questions about doctrinal correctness and Scriptural authority, exempting themselves from having to defend what they say and do.Continue Reading

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October 15, 2025

Arguments against the Missionary Society

American Christian Missionary Society

The Missionary Society was the source of the first major controversy and division among those associated with the Restoration Movement. What began as informal “association” meetings evolved into formal organizations to which churches would send delegates, and evangelists would be commissioned to preach in a particular area while receiving financial support from the society. As time passed and the brethren involved desired to extend the reach of their state societies, a larger society was created at the national level – the American Christian Missionary Society, which was formed in 1849.

The fundamental problem with this arrangement is that the New Testament contains no authority for the practice. Instead, it describes the local church as the only collectivity through which Christians engaged in the work of evangelism. The Missionary Society, in contrast, was a human institution that was founded, organized, directed, and funded by men. Yet in the first century, with only the work of individual Christians and local churches (which were designed by the Lord and followed His direction), the gospel spread quickly and broadly throughout the world.

Often, when brethren discuss the concept of the Missionary Society, they focus on this point: The local church is the organization specified by the Lord in the New Testament for spreading the gospel; therefore, every other organization used for this work (including the Missionary Society) is unauthorized.

That is a valid argument. However, this was not the only argument used by the opponents of the Missionary Society when it was first introduced. In the book Restoration Principles and Personalities, author Dabney Phillips described four general arguments that were used against the Missionary Society.Continue Reading

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