ARTICLES

Coming together as a corporate church body of believers on a Sunday or other times for worship is truly important. It brings into focus the larger body of Christ to center on worship and adoration to Him, to learn from the Bible, God’s Word, and to encourage one another in the faith.At the same time, in order to be truly connected to one another and to God and to be growing in our faith, we need m...

The most common question people say they would like to ask God is this: “Why is there so much suffering in the world?” Whether it is a typhoon that kills thousands or a serious illness in one’s life, it seems only natural to ask, “Why, God? If You are all-powerful and perfectly good, why do You allow these terrible things to occur?” The pain and suffering which pervades our planet causes some to q...

“A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.”  Luke 6:40A woman invited some people over for dinner. At the table she turned to her six-year-old daughter and said, “Would you like to say the blessing?” The girl replied, “I wouldn't know what to say.” “Just say what you heard Mommy say,” the mother answered. The daughter bowed her head and said, ...

A scientist wanted to develop a fish that could live outside of water. He took some healthy red herring and put them through a long process of breeding, crossbreeding, and hormone treatments. Eventually, genetic engineering produced a fish that could exist on land.The scientist was not satisfied, however. He suspected that though the fish was capable of living on dry land, it still had a desire to...

When we look around at our world, things can look pretty dismal. We see countries fighting against countries, one ethnic people fighting against another, neighbors against neighbors, and family members fighting each other. We see bitterness, anger, and unforgiveness growing in so many people’s lives. We won’t forget. We will get even.Many have been brought up in these difficult environments of hat...

Even as Christians prepare to celebrate Easter, various folks insist the story of Jesus is nothing but a myth and maintain there is really no reason to believe He ever existed. This claim, however, flies in the face of the historical evidence. The four gospels contained in the New Testament provide a clear and compelling account. However, even if one insists on excluding these and all other Christ...

USA Today once printed a list of demands made to prospective employers by people looking for jobs. Here are a few from the files of a professional employment counselor:A three week paid vacation before starting workA paid membership to the city zooElvis' Birthday offMedical benefits for faith healer visitsItalian and Chinese restaurants close to the officeExtra pay for time thinking about work on ...

On Monday evening, January 2, millions of Americans were shocked by what they saw happening on a football field in Cincinnati, Ohio. What appeared to be a routine play  turned into a scene many found unimaginable. Damar Hamlin of the of the Buffalo Bills made a tackle, stood up, and almost immediately collapsed. Medical personnel quickly began conducting CPR on Hamlin.Players, fans, the ESPN broad...

I recently read about a man named David Goggins, a former Navy SEAL, who competed in the 135 Mile Badwater Ultramarathon. The course starts at 282 feet below sea level in the Badwater basin in California's Death Valley and ends at an elevation of 8,360 feet at Whitney portal, the trailhead to Mount Whitney. Goggins decided to do this after finding out it is one of the 10 most difficult feats on th...

When the topic of abortion or a variety of issues comes up, I sometimes hear people say, “Let’s make sure we leave God and religion out of this discussion.” That may seem like a reasonable request, but we need to realize that if God does not exist and religion is irrelevant, there is no solid moral foundation for addressing any social issue. If God and religion would have been kept on the sideline...

One of our Christmas traditions is to bring in a Christmas tree and put lights on it and decorate it. Now I know this is not unusual for many. Sometimes we will chop down our own tree, drag it in, and set it up. Once in a while, my kids will say, "Dad, that tree is looking pretty sparse." This means that the tree is looking like something that came from Charlie Brown, but we'll fire up the Christm...

An elderly man was taking his evening walk when he heard a little voice calling, “Help me! Help me!” The man looked around, but saw no one, so he continued walking. Once again he heard the tiny cry for help, and this time he looked down and saw a small frog. He gently picked it up and then suddenly the frog spoke. “I am a beautiful, young princess,” the frog said. “An evil witch placed a spell on ...

“Let everyone submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God.” Romans 13:1These words were penned by the New Testament writer, Paul, when Nero Claudius Caesar was ruling as Emperor in Rome. He was known for political murders, scandal, and persecution of Christians, yet Paul had a different insight about governi...

David Wiggs tells this story: “I saw him in the church building for the first time on Wednesday. He was in his mid-70's with thinning silver hair and a neat brown suit. Many times in the past I had invited him to come. Several other Christian friends had talked to him about the Lord and had tried to share the good news with him. He was well respected and honest, a man of good character. He acted m...

This fall we are having training about Chisholm Baptist Church and the direction that we are going together. Most of us know our purpose at CBC: Love God. Love others. Make disciples. We have outlined in messages and communication what each of these mean. The next step is to understand where each of us are at on the pathway to grow in these areas and how to serve so we can encourage one another al...

In his book, When God Goes to Starbucks, Paul Coppan notes that there is plenty of evidence we, as human beings, have a disposition to believe in some type of deity or spiritual reality. Thus, he says, if someone wants to overcome this predisposition to believe in God and be an atheist, it may be necessary to make some intentional choices in order to avoid being a “default theist.”First, the aspir...

Our world tells us today that we should have more. We want more. We “need” more. We want more money, more clothes, more technology, more of a house, more to eat, more choices, more things to do, more fun. Now these things are not bad in and of themselves. They simply reveal our priorities. Have you ever seen a hearse with a U-Haul following behind?Jesus flipped this idea on its head. He said to Hi...

The late Christopher Hitchens, one of the world’s best known atheists, often gave this challenge to Christians and other theists: “Find one good or noble thing which cannot be accomplished without religion.” I believe that challenge was met in Charleston, South Carolina in the summer of 2015.On June 19 of that year, just two days after the horrific murders at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopa...

Knowing what disciple is is crucially important. If we profess that we are Christians, then we are also disciples. How do we know this? In Acts 11:26, it says, “The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.” As you can see, the words “disciple” and “Christian” are synonymous. The word “Christian” simply means “follower of Christ” or “little Christ.” We cannot be a Christian without being ...

Two friends, Joe and Sam, were walking through the desert. After a while, they got into a heated argument and, in anger, Joe slapped Sam across the face. At that point Sam felt very hurt, but did not say a word. He simply knelt down and wrote these words in the sand: “Today my best friend slapped me in the face.”The two men continued their journey and eventually came to an oasis. Hot, tired, and d...