Where Will Your Church Be in Twenty Years?

Church building at sunset

In this lesson,* we are going to be looking ahead into the future and trying to determine how our local congregation fits into it. My purpose is not to make any predictions or prophecies. Like Amos would say, “I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet” (Amos 7:14). Instead, the […]

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Rest for the People of God

Stone walkway

“Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience” (Hebrews 4:11). In the verses leading up to the passage above, the Hebrew writer encouraged his readers to remain faithful in order to receive the promised rest. He reminded them of the example […]

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Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Baby

“For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well” (Psalm 139:13-14). The Bible clearly identifies God as the creator of all things. The verse above makes this […]

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Elias Smith: A Pen in One Hand and a Battle Axe in the Other

Elias Smith: A Pen in One Hand and a Battle Axe in the Other

Elias Smith (1769-1846) was one of the early Restoration Movement figures in New England. His independent-thinking led him to question the commonly-held religious doctrines of his day. However, more than merely questioning such things, J. F. Burnett described Smith as having “an intense hatred for everything ecclesiastical” (Biographical Sketches, p. 68) as he observed the […]

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Love Perfected

Love

“No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:12). John spent much of his first epistle writing on the topic of love. One of the ideas he discussed was about love being perfected. To be perfected means […]

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Joy in the Assembly

Psalm 122:1

“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord’” (Psalm 122:1). This is a familiar verse to many of us (and for good reason). In this psalm, David described the attitude that God’s people should have toward worship – particularly the opportunities to assemble for worship. The psalmist […]

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A New and Living Way

Garden path

Throughout the book of Hebrews, a comparison is made between the new covenant and the old covenant. In every way, the new covenant in Christ is far superior to the old covenant. Because the new way is better, we should respond to it in a certain way. Notice what the author of Hebrews wrote: “Therefore, […]

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