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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: , , ,
July 16, 2025

Pay Particular Attention to Your Children

Father and Son

In the nineteenth century, it was common for preachers to travel far and wide to proclaim the gospel, often being gone from home for extended periods of time. This made for a difficult life for the wives of these men, as they were left with the sole responsibility to take care of the household while their husbands were away preaching, sometimes for months at a time.

There were also instances in which these preachers lost their wives while they still had children at home. However, that did not necessarily stop them from continuing their work. But instead of leaving the children with their mother while he was away, he would leave them with others to care for them.

Two men who found themselves in this situation were Barton W. Stone (1772-1844) and Reuben Dooly (1773-1822). In 1810, when they were both widowers, they traveled together through Ohio preaching the gospel. The following year, during a similar trek to Tennessee, Stone spoke of the difficulty in raising their children while they were away traveling. This had an impact on Dooly and led him to make a change.

“In the year 1811, Brothers Dooly and Stone traveled to Tennessee in company. On their way the circumstances of their families came up in conversation. Brother Stone remarked that they were commanded to raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and under existing circumstances, it was difficult to do it for their children were measurably under the tuition of others; and further observed that it was his opinion that if they could obtain suitable companions that it would be their duty to marry and situate themselves so that they could pay some particular attention to their children. This led Brother Dooly to reflect on the situation of his children: they were scattered and moved from place to place.

“Finally he addressed a letter to Miss Rachael Martin, daughter of Samuel and Mary Martin, all members of the Cane-Ridge church, and made a proposition of marriage: he succeeded, and they were married in September, 1811. In her he obtained a pleasant, agreeable, and intelligent companion, and a kind, affectionate, and attentive mother to his children. He now settled on a new farm in Preble County, Ohio. He was not able to hire his work done; and consequently had to labor with his own hands to support his family. He was one among the most industrious men, and when at home worked excessively hard, and as soon as he could spare the time from his family, he would be out in the gospel-field proclaiming salvation to a dying world.” (The Biography of Elder David Purviance, pp. 211-212)

Continue Reading

Filed Under: Restoration History Tagged With: , ,
June 26, 2025

How the Local Church Affects Our Health (06/26/25)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS

Plain Bible Teaching Podcast

This week we’re talking about how the local church affects our health. A report from the Hartford Institute on Religion Research focused on this topic as it related to “clergy” or “pastors,” yet there may be a sense in which all members of a church could potentially be impacted. We’re going to consider the factors they found to affect the health of “pastors” and see how we ought to deal with them.Continue Reading

Tagged With: ,
May 1, 2025

A Defense of Topical Preaching (05/01/25)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS

Plain Bible Teaching Podcast

This week we’re talking about topical preaching. Many have become critical of this type of preaching, especially compared with expository preaching, which many believe to be superior. However, topical preaching is good when done right. At the same time, there are plenty of ways that expository preaching can be done wrong. We’re going to talk about all of this in our episode today.Continue Reading

Tagged With:
April 2, 2025

What Does It Mean to Be Called to Preach?

James M. Mathes: Called to Preach?

James Madison Mathes (1808-1892), like so many religious people in the nineteenth century, was determined to dismiss the religious teachings he had previously been taught to simply learn the Scriptures and follow what they taught. This led him to be immersed for the remission of sins. Later, he joined the ministry and dedicated his life to preaching and teaching the gospel.

Many who begin the work of preaching the gospel speak of being “called” to the ministry or “called” to preach. This is true today as it was in Mathes’ day. However, Mathes had a different understanding of what this meant than many of his religious contemporaries. Notice his criticism of many who claimed to have been “called” by God to preach:

“I have known some enthusiasts who had but little to entitle them to public notice, except their fiery zeal, ignorance, and supportive impudence, who at the same time looked upon themselves as a kind of second edition of the Apostles! Such fanatical spirits frequently tell their hearers, when they get up to preach, that they are going to speak just as God gives it to them—that God has called them by name, qualified, and sent them forth as his ambassadors to a rebellious world—that God had revealed his mind and will to them by direct revelation. 

“But it frequently happens, that such men cannot join two simple sentences together, or deliver one clear intelligible idea in a discourse of an hour long, and that too under the immediate control of the Holy Spirit, if we take their word for it! Now I cannot believe that God even called any man to preach who had not the ability to do it, neither do I believe that God ever sent any man who could not tell his message.” (A Record of Christian Union and Truth, p. 157)

Continue Reading

Filed Under: Restoration History Tagged With: ,
March 19, 2025

The Great Commission in the Book of Acts

Paul Before Agrippa

After Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, He gave His apostles the “Great Commission.” Notice the details of this commission that are recorded in the synoptic gospels:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).

“And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned’” (Mark 16:15-16).

“And He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things’” (Luke 24:46-48).

In Luke’s account, we also see Jesus’ instruction to “stay in the city [Jerusalem, as] until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). The gospel of Luke closes with the apostles witnessing the ascension of Christ and then returning to Jerusalem as Jesus instructed them to do (Luke 24:50-53).

In the book of Acts, Luke picked up where he left off and provided additional information about what happened during the “forty days” (Acts 1:3) between Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. The final recorded statement Jesus made to His apostles was this:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

This verse is essentially a restatement of the Great Commission. It can also be thought of as the theme of the book of Acts, as it tells of the gospel being preached in Jerusalem (Acts 2-7), Judea (Acts 8:1; 11:1), Samaria (Acts 8), and to all the nations (Acts 10; 13-28).

As the book of Acts contains a record of the apostles carrying out the Great Commission, it also shows us two important points about this commission: (1) how to obey the gospel that the apostles were commissioned to preach and (2) how effective the work of preaching can be. Let us consider each of these.Continue Reading

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: , ,
January 30, 2025

What People Look for in a New Church (01/30/25)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS

Plain Bible Teaching Podcast

This week we’re talking about what people look for in a new church (and the answer may surprise you). Obviously, we are not to compromise the truth or leave the pattern found in the New Testament in order to attract more people. But it is helpful to understand where others may be coming from if we want to help them know how to faithfully serve the Lord.Continue Reading

Tagged With: ,