by David Spivey I might have been 8 but I haven’t forgotten it. My impressionable mind was indelibly stamped by what I saw, heard and felt that night in a little holiness church in Portland, Oregon. Our pastor, relatively young and wanting to do something to build the Kingdom, proposed something counter-intuitive to church growth strategies. In short, he scheduled a Confession Service. I know—an unusual method for winning friends and influencing people. But that’s what he did. Based on the...

by Joel Byer I am not a very good artist. This is not a statement of humility, this is a simple fact! However, I do have an 11 year old daughter who loves to draw, and over the years I have come to appreciate this talent in others even though I have little or no ability myself. While my stick figures are crooked, as the saying goes, I can marvel at the expertise of others who can take a blank piece of paper or canvas and from that develop a work of art. When I go to Scripture, I likewise can...

By Curtis Going We live in a “selfie world”…an age when social media provides a quick and easy platform to broadcast how successful, prosperous, generous or good looking we are.  In our dog-eat-dog world, people are not afraid to promote themselves, brag on their accomplishments, and do whatever is necessary to outshine the competition and stand out from the crowd.  Humility is decidedly unpopular and often misunderstood, and yet the truth remains that “God resisteth the proud, and giveth...

By Rick Jones As the disciples of Jesus gathered in the upper room to pray for “the promise of the Father,” the culture outside their doors was profoundly decadent and corrupt. Understanding the times into which the Church was born, as well as the powerful impact of the Church upon the ancient world is both instructive and a source of encouragement for those of us who are the Church of the twenty-first century. IN JERUSALEM Though small by comparison to the other ancient capitals, the Jews in...

By Curtis Going It is not often that the Wall Street Journal addresses the subject of revival. But there it was, March 26, 2020, an opinion piece titled “A Coronavirus Great Awakening?” The article began by asking, “Could a plague of Biblical proportions be America’s best hope for a religious revival?”1 The author, Robert Nicholson, described the increased commitment to religious activity in the United States following the grisly events of WWII. He stated that “in the late 1940s, Gallup...

By Paul Pierpoint  As we face the new year, we have no knowledge of what the future may hold. There is a faith we can demonstrate that will bring encouragement no matter what may take place—good or bad.   Psalm 46 is one of my favorite Psalms. I enjoy viewing how the Psalmist finds encouragement, even in the worst of his trials. This Psalm contains some key verses that unlock for us timeless truths that would be good to memorize. (Psalm 46:1–11) 1. The Psalmist describes the need for...

by Norman Wood Recently, my wife and I were privileged to attend the home-going celebration of a saint of God. Over the years I have supplied the pulpit occasionally at the Bible Methodist Church in Cordele, Georgia. Whenever I did, I could count on there being a beaming white-haired sister sitting about three rows from the front on the left-hand side. Her radiant countenance and ready smile would just pull the “preaching” right out of you. This past January she suffered a stroke which...