Posts

The Red Paperclip

-
In 2005, a Canadian blogger named Kyle MacDonald became semi-famous for creating a website that documented a series of unlikely but true events that allowed him to exchange a red paperclip for something much more valuable through a series of fourteen online trades over the course of a year. With each trade, Kyle became the owner of something slightly more valuable. He traded the paperclip for a pen, the pen for a hand-sculpted doorknob, the doorknob for a Coleman stove, the stove for a Honda generator, the generator for a keg of beer, the keg for a snowmobile, the snowmobile for a trip to British Columbia, the trip for a truck, the truck for a recording contract, the contract for a year’s rent, the rent for one afternoon with musician Alice Cooper, the afternoon with Cooper for a motorized snow globe, the snow globe for a role in a film, and finally he traded the movie role for a two-story house in Saskatchewan, Canada.   Kyle MacDonald started with something basically worthless an
Post a Comment
Read more

If a Man Dies, Shall He Live Again?

-
"For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again…If a man dies, shall he live again?” (Job 14:7, 14). Maybe you have seen a tree that was cut down, and its stump was left in the ground. Sometimes, little sprouts appear on the stump – the tree is growing once again; there is life! But, what about a person? Is there any hope of life once a person dies and is buried? After death, the hope of life is the foundational expectation of Christianity – and this hope is only found in Jesus Christ. The Eye Witnesses of the Resurrected Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-11) According to the Scriptures, the Gospel (or good news) is that Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose the third day according to the Scriptures. His resurrection was witnessed by the apostles, by over 500 people at once, by James, and finally, by Paul. These are not baseless claims – this is reliable eye-witness testimony from over 500 witnesses. Jesus did not resurrect from the dead a
Post a Comment
Read more

The Value of Integrity

-
" Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than one who is perverse in his lips (crooked in his speech – ESV) , and is a fool " (Proverbs 19:1). One of the first things professors discussed in my accounting and business classes at the University of Mississippi was the financial scandals of companies like Enron. They presented them as an example for us NOT to follow. While business students have been cautioned against following the path of companies like Enron ever since the early 2000s, corruption and fraud still have a foothold in our world today. Not even Limestone County is exempt. The Christian ought to be someone who continues to walk in integrity. The world may break a rule or two here or there to be more profitable – but is that how a Christian should behave? The world says the goal of becoming rich and powerful justifies any means to get there. God says being a person of integrity and truth is more important than all the world's wealth and power. It
Post a Comment
Read more

"Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound"

-
One of my favorite songs is "Amazing Grace." When we consider the tremendous grace (or favor) God has shown us, we realize how precious it is. One of the most remarkable passages about the grace of God is Ephesians 2:1-10 – of what does God's amazing grace remind us? Amazing Grace reminds us of our past (Ephesians 2:1-3) God reminds the Christians in Ephesus that they were once dead in sin, that they used to follow after the path of this world and serve the flesh's lusts. God's wrath was awaiting them, just as it awaited everyone else in sin. When humanity continues to provoke God to wrath, the result is not good (2 Chronicles 34:25; Ezra 5:12). The outlook could not have been any bleaker. How could there be any hope for people like this – for people like us? The fair wage for having sinned is death, and yet, there is a beacon of hope because God offers us a gift which we do not deserve, "eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). Amaz
Post a Comment
Read more

The Character of God (Loyal Love)

-
TEXT: Exodus 34:6-7 THESIS: God’s loyal love means that He will go to great lengths to keep His promises and to take care of us even though we are underserving and cannot give him much in return. INTRODUCTION: 1. Khesed – Loyal love. a. This is the kind of love that one demonstrates when they are keeping a promise. They desire to be loyal to their promise so they go above and beyond to keep it. b. This combines generosity, commitment, and affection all in one. c. This is like an elderly couple that has been married for many years and one partner gets sick. The other partner will go above and beyond to care for that spouse because of his love and affection for her. He will feed her, help her around, and take care of her needs. 2. This word is translated in many different ways a. Wycliffe – Mercy b. KJV – Mercy ; Lovingkindness c. ESV – Steadfast love 1.) Enduring and reliable love. 2.) This is a part of Khesed   – enduring commitment. d. NIV – Love ; Unfailing
Post a Comment
Read more

Keeping Our Identity

-
  I. Their Identity is Tested (Daniel 1:1-7).             A. The world believed that the Babylonian’s god prevailed against the God of Judah. B. However, the text gives us as the readers a not so subtle hint that the world was wrong – “the Lord gave…” (Daniel 1:2a). 1. Last week, we noticed why the Lord gave them over to Babylon (pride, idolatry, and the shedding of innocent blood). C. These young (perhaps as young as 16) captives had their lives completely turned upside down. D. There would have been a strong temptation to believe that God had deserted them, or that maybe even God had been powerless to deliver them in the first place – certainly, the Babylonians would have tried to convince them of this. II. Their Identity is Unchanged (Daniel 1:8-16). A. Four young men submitted to their captors in all things – except when it would cause them to defile themselves before God. B. Even in refusing to do something sinful, they sought a solution that would be pleasing to G
Post a Comment
Read more

Are There Any Positives From 2020?

-
This article in no way downplays the problems and the heartache from the past year of this pandemic. People we have known have died, and people we love have lost loved ones. The past year has been filled with grief and a constant concern for our loved ones at high risk. Without minimizing all the problems and losses from the last year – are there any positives? Are there things that we have come to appreciate more because of our circumstances? How have God’s people shined as lights for His glory during this time? We Were Reminded That We Need Each Other As Christians, we need encouragement from our brothers and sisters in Christ. The writer of Hebrews said, “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25). We must seek to understand and notice what our brethren are facing in
Post a Comment
Read more