Articles

This fall, Joel Gearhart and Max Solensky traveled to Japan for a special Reaching & Teaching eventdesigned to shine a light on the enormous need for gospel ministry in this spiritually dark nation. As achurch, we’ve been prayerfully moving toward partnering with Max as he prepares—Lord-willing—tojoin the Vannings on the ground as part of their church-planting team. While in Japan, Joel and Max were able to spend intentional, vision-shaping time with the Vannings,seeing firsthand...
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In past the several months, I’ve attended nine funerals at my church. Twelve this calendar year. This is more than normal in a short period of time. But we’ve been through seasons like this before. The truth is, I count it a great blessing that I grew up in a church and now serve in a church where we have a regular number of funerals every year. That might be odd to read. It feels a bit odd to write. But funerals have always been intended to do good to those who attend (Ecclesiastes 7:2)....
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Faithful Servant, you likely stepped into ministry with a passion to burn brightly for the Lord. Be warned: that flame can flicker quickly under the weight of ministry responsibility. Burnout is not limited to pastors. Ministry workers across roles, such as worship leaders, missionaries, chaplains, and counselors, face rising emotional fatigue, loneliness, and unsustainable expectations. Around 1,500 North American ministry workers leave their positions every month,1often due to stress,...
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The recent movie “King of Kings” by Angel Studios took the box office by storm this past week, so I thought I’d share a few thoughts or talking points as the Pastor for Children’s Ministries. I took my family to watch it last week, and I left both thankful for many aspects of the movie and sad that some essential truths were missed, or at least not very clear. Movies are such a powerful communication tool. Like any tool, they can be used for right or wrong. The movie “The...
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On Saturday evening, something happened in the US for the first time in over four decades: an assassination attempt on a president or presidential candidate. While the world began to respond immediately via social media, more thoughtful Americans took time to think through what this meant, what it told us about ourselves and where we are at as a country. The reality is that many in our church, like me, might be at a bit of a disadvantage in knowing how to respond to an event like this, for a...
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“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”-Deuteronomy 6:4-7 “Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be...
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“In matters of doctrine, you will find orthodox congregations frequently change to heterodoxy in the course of thirty or forty years, and that is because too often there has been no catechizing of the children in the essential doctrines of the Gospel.” – C.H. Spurgeon Right away, teaching theology to anyone sounds like a big task, let alone teaching theology to kids. That can be a scary undertaking. After all, there is so much at stake. Parents and teachers, don’t be afraid. As...
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On December 10, 2023, 700 tribal Christians, mostly Tampuan, came together to celebrate the official launch of the Tampuan New Testament and Tampuan Old Testament Portions. God and his Word were honored and celebrated! I remember saying to God in 1994 that if he would save just a few Tampuan families through the gospel work here, our heaven would be two heavens! Now the number of Tampuan believers is reaching a thousand. The all-day festivities began with a victory procession through...
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Note: This article is the third in a series of articles on 15 songs for different seasons of life. Click here and here to see the first two. When does the Christmas season begin? For some, it’s right after Thanksgiving (and definitely not before Thanksgiving). For others, it’s once Advent begins. For many, it’s likely once they begin to smell the smells or hear the sounds of Christmas. Few things elicit Christmas-like emotions like Christmas music. Music ought to be a significant part of...
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Note: This article is the second in a series of articles on 15 songs for different seasons of life. Click here to see the first. The Psalms are some of the most relevant biblical texts to the Christian experience. Though all Scripture is realistic about the difficulties of life, the Psalms in particular present a down-to-earth view of life that resonates with our experience of pursuing a relationship with God while walking through a world that’s often an absolute mess. And the fallenness is...
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John Lehman has been a pastor at Hampton Park Baptist Church for the past 30 years. When John arrived at HPBC, Pastor Cruice was just a couple years older than Pastor Bates is now (just for some perspective!). As John's time as a staff pastor comes to a close at the end of 2023, we wanted to take some time to ask some questions about his time at HPBC and what has made his time here so meaningful. You’ll learn some fun facts about the history of HPBC along the way! So, you arrived at...
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2 Thessalonians 3:17 – “I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine; it is the way I write.” Some of the verses at the end of Paul’s epistles can seem like mere formalities, sentences and phrases that are absent of any deep theological truth. These words, it seems, do not pack the punch that the body of Paul’s letters do. After all, what’s the big deal that Paul writes this greeting himself as...
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Are you a full-time caregiver for an elderly parent? Has someone close to you lost a loved one? Do you have a family member or friend dealing with chronic depression or chronic health issues? Do you know someone in your church who is hurting right now?  Do you want to know how to better be there for someone in your life who’s hurting? If you answered yes to any of those questions, then the book Being There by Dave Furman is definitely for you. Dave Furman is a pastor of Redeemer...
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Tom and Melissa Kendall, along with their 6 children, have been gospel partners in Togo, West Africa for the last 8 years. Tom has several different roles as they serve in Togo, including hospital director, staff general surgeon, and church planter. Tom was gracious enough to answer several questions from Pastor Gearhart so that we could hear an update of what God is doing in Togo through Tom and Melissa. Also, several years ago Tom was a guest on the The Missions...
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Psalm 63:8 - "My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me." Psalm 63:8 is a perfect summary of this entire Psalm. The first seven verses, in many ways, repeat the first half of verse eight: “my soul clings to you.” "earnestly I seek you" (v.1) "my soul thirsts for you" (v.1) "my flesh faints for you" (v.1) "I have looked upon you in the sanctuary" (v.2) "your steadfast love is better than life" (v.3) "my...
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We live in a jaded and cynical age, especially in how we view political leaders and those with civil authority. It’s understandable given how often power is misused. Even those who start well often end up corrupted if not crushed by it. But to think what we are experiencing today is some new development is naïve. Pick up the history of any nation, including what the Bible records, and you will find many examples of corrupt leaders intoxicated with their own importance and harmful to...
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One of the greatest gifts that God has given us in this life is music, particularly music that pairs biblical truth with powerful melody, harmony, and instrumentation. The pairing of truth to music has the unique capacity to stir our emotions and affections in a Godward direction. Certainly, music has at times been used to wrongly manipulate people’s emotions apart from truth. But music that is powerfully and fittingly linked to biblical truth ought to encourage us and influence our emotions....
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David and Maribel Bell have been gospel partners in Spain for nearly 25 years. After spending some recent time with us in the States, Pastor Gearhart got with David to ask him some questions that would help you get to know their ministry a little more and know better how to pray for them. You all were just in the States for several months. When you are here, what Spanish food do you miss the most? At this point in our lives, we are adapted to both cultures, so when we’re in the USA, we...
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“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." - Jesus If someone were to ask you, “What’s the document that most reveals Hampton Park’s heartbeat as a church?” How would you answer that? You might first...
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Almost everyone has some thoughts about who Jesus is. If someone were to ask you who Jesus is, how would you go about answering that? Many people explain who Jesus is based on what they want him to be like, a Jesus of their own invention. Others go to current scholars teaching at prestigious universities or seminaries to find out who Jesus is. But isn’t there a much simpler way? Why not listen to those who spent thousands of hours with Jesus while he was on the earth? Why not hear what...
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My wife and I are expecting our first child, and we are unspeakably excited (and a little nervous!). Now, I didn’t grow up in a family where the guys talked a lot about babies and deliveries, so I’ve been in for a bit of a learning curve. How can I help with morning sickness? What kinds of smells don’t cause nausea? Where can I get pickles and peanut butter at 12am? Recently, I’ve been learning about the delivery process. Apparently, when a baby is born...
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What are some things you love to receive, but you don’t do so well giving those same things out? It might be praise, congratulating someone on a job well done. This can especially be hard if we or one of our kids lost a competition, but the winner played really well and deserved a compliment. Maybe it’s being thoughtful and getting a friend or loved one a gift just because. We all appreciate being praised and we definitely enjoy receiving surprise gifts.  Did encouragement...
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Matthew 27:51-53 – “And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.” Read those last two sentences of the above passage again! Do you remember reading that before? Does it seem random to you? Unexpected? Confusing? If...
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2 Thessalonians 3:14 – “If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed.” Do the final five words of this verse make you uncomfortable? They probably should to some extent. When you think of shame, perhaps you imagine someone intentionally belittling/mocking others in order to embarrass or silence them. This kind of vindictive spirit is not godly and ought to make us uncomfortable. But Paul...
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Have you ever thought of missions as primarily a New Testament concept? I know I have. After all, the Great Commission is found in the Gospels and Acts. Also, much of the book of Acts and the following Epistles highlight and are connected to the missionary exploits of the Apostle Paul. The problem is that if our understanding of missions is confined primarily to the New Testament, we miss out on so much of what is truly at the heart of missions – namely, the missionary heart of the God of...
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On January 8, 2023, as lots of children were making their way to the front of the auditorium during the Evening Gathering, Pastor Conley said this: “You know, it does my heart (and actually it does the heart of the other people here) a lot of good to see all of you coming up here... And, in fact, if the truth were known, probably the favorite part of morning and evening service might be just now, and it’s in part because of you. And the reason it’s important is [because]...
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Why do we sing what we sing? Why do our corporate worship services look the way that they do? Does the Bible say anything about this? What does the Bible say about music, and what does it not say? These are important questions. And we are blessed to have had lots of faithful teaching over the years regarding what the Bible says about music. Pastor Conley did a three-part series in 2005 that you can listen to here, here, and here. Pastor Conley also has a couple other sermons specifically...
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“Dad, there’s no hope!” I’ve heard those words come from the backseat a few times this school year as I drive my 8-year-old to school. We’ve been listening to the Green Ember Series by S.D Smith on Hoopla for the last several months on our daily trips to and from school. The Green Ember is an adventure series for kids that focuses on the epic adventures of two young rabbits, Heather, and her brother, Picket. It’s full of ups and downs and great life lessons...
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Psalm 16:7-8 – “I will praise the LORD who guides me; yes, during the night I reflect and learn. I constantly trust in the LORD; because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” (NET)1Psalm 16:7-8 – “I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.” (ESV)Psalm 16:7-8 – “I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel:...
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Terry Worley has been a member of Hampton Park for over 10 years. Throughout the last decade he has served as a Sunday School teacher and LifeGroup leader. In recent years, he participated in HP’s pastoral training, and this year was elected to his first term as a non-staff pastor. As Terry begins his time as a non-staff pastor, we wanted to ask him a few questions so you could get to know him a bit better. Terry, could you first briefly share how and when God brought you to faith in...
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James Harris is finishing his second 3-year term as a non-staff pastor on December 31, 2022. When he does, he’ll be the first non-staff pastor in HPBC’s history to finish two full terms back-to-back. This means that he’s been serving as one of our pastors since January 1, 2017. And per our Bylaws, it means that he’ll be on his required Sabbatical during 2023, but we look forward to having him back, Lord-willing, in 2024. Since James will be taking some time off next...
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Bruce Mizell has been a fixture of leadership at Hampton Park for the vast majority of the last half-century. Yes, you read that correctly! For most of that time, his leadership was over Hampton Park Christian School. But for the last decade, the church in particular has benefited from his service as both a staff and non-staff pastor. Since he is finishing a term and stepping down as a non-staff pastor at the end of this year, we wanted to take a minute to talk to him about his time on the...
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Psalm 111:2 – “Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.” God’s works are amazing. We know this is true because we’ve experienced it over and over again. Each day we have a thousand reasons to give thanks to God. And at certain moments in our lives, God works in particularly significant ways that are worthy of repeating (“I will give thanks to the LORD…in the congregation…” Psalm 111:1). Even in the middle of the most...
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Have you ever had the experience of trying to explain a matter to someone while watching them become distracted by a single word or phrase, thus missing the point? This happens when we listen to others for what we want to hear, rather than hearing what is actually being communicated. I’ve sometimes wondered what biblical writers would think of many of the controversies over what they wrote. Perhaps their response would be, “You are missing the point!” In our current sermon...
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General 50 Crucial Questions: An Overview of Central Concerns about Manhood and Womanhood What God Has to Say About Our Bodies: How the Gospel is Good News for Our Physical Selves Holy Sexuality and the Gospel: Sex, Desire, and Relationships Shaped by God's Grand Story God, Marriage, and Family: Rebuilding the Biblical Foundation Men and Women in the Church: A Short, Biblical, Practical Introduction Designed for Joy: How...
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God’s Design and the Value of Men and Women: God created both man and woman equally in his image and with his blessing. Men and women, therefore, share intrinsic dignity and value (Genesis 1:26-28). We do not self-create who we are nor can we choose an identity contrary to what God created us to be. God’s design of male and female is good, and believers should therefore submit to God’s created design, joyfully accepting God’s purpose for sex and gender. Distinctions...
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IntroductionFor clarity and continuity, we are following a Biblical chronology to address this topic.1. God’s Perfect, Good Design for Man and Woman2. Man’s Fall and the Damage It Did to the Relationship between Men and Women3. Christ’s Exemplary Relationship with Women4. Apostolic Instructions for Men and Women     Married Couples      Church Congregations5. Contemporary Applications1. God’s Perfect, Good Design for Men and Women (Genesis...
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“No!” my 19-month old daughter yelled as she ran away from me into the next room. I didn’t teach her that. She was born that way. But truthfully, she comes by it honestly because I feel the same sentiments inside of me when my authorities ask me to do something that I don’t want to do. My 10-year-old son sometimes reminds me of this as he glances over my shoulder to see the speedometer. I had asked my daughter to hand me the pencil that was in her hand before any...
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Have you ever noticed how often the Sunday morning and evening sermons have themes that are similar or that fit together nicely? Pastor Conley often comments on this reality during our weekly staff meetings as he gives short previews of the passages on which he is planning to preach. This unity of sermon themes shouldn’t surprise us since we believe in the unity of Scripture, that all of Scripture is consistent and noncontradictory in its message of God, man, sin, and the redemptive...
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This is the second of two articles on the transition of Pastors Gearhart and Bates into their new roles at HPBC. You can read the first, where we interview Joel, here.  On December 6, 2020, Andrew Bates (and his wife Sarah) joined Hampton Park Baptist Church because they saw how God was at work here and wanted to be a part of it. Little did they know that God had plans to move him into a staff role less than two years later! Though this was not foreseen by Andrew or HPBC, we thank God for...
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This is the first of two articles on the transition of Pastors Gearhart and Bates into their new roles at HPBC. You can read the second, where we interview Andrew, here. For practically all of Pastor Joel Gearhart's ministry life, he has been focused particularly on discipling teenagers and encouraging parents to do the same. He's done this in staff and volunteer roles in various local churches, and for the past 9 years, he has faithfully filled this role at Hampton Park. But all...
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Psalm 111:1-4Praise the Lord!I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,in the company of the upright, in the congregation.Great are the works of the Lord,studied by all who delight in them.Full of splendor and majesty is his work,and his righteousness endures forever.He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;the Lord is gracious and merciful. Praising God is a good thing to do. In fact, it’s better than a good thing to do. It’s what our life is about. It’s...
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1 John 5:3 makes a provocative statement that at first glance seems out of touch with reality: “And [God’s] commandments are not burdensome.” Commandments not burdensome? For real? If this is your first reaction (like it was mine), then you probably see commands as almost inherently burdensome. That’s the whole point of commands, isn’t it? To constrain those commanded? So, how can John say this? On what basis are God’s commands not burdensome? In meditating...
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Prayer. We all know we should do it. But most of us feel guilty when the topic is brought up because we just don’t do it. One of the reasons that we don’t do it is that there’s not enough time, or at least we say. “Prayer takes time,” we say to ourselves. Long periods of time. There’s too much to pray for. The task seems overwhelming. So we just don’t do it.My purpose in this post is not to give a comprehensive theology of prayer, nor is it to speak of...
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This is the second of two articles on the Women’s Ministry Director transition at HPBC. You can read the first, where we say “thank you” to Theresa Bixby, here. Women have always been an integral part of the ministry of Hampton Park Baptist Church. They are an indispensable part of the church family, uniquely gifted by God in particular ways to serve others. As of  July 1,  Jennifer Martin, an HPBC “lifer,” has stepped into the role of Director of...
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For more than a decade, Hampton Park Baptist Church’s Women’s Ministries have been led by Theresa Bixby. On June 30, 2021, she will finish serving in this role (in an official capacity) and begin serving God and the church through her retirement years. Theresa and I (Ben) have met together most weeks over the past 2-3 years to share ministry needs and burdens. Throughout that time, I have come to appreciate her compassionate heart, unshaking conviction, and joyful spirit. As we say...
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What does it mean to be made a male or female in God's image, to be made with dignity and purpose? There are few questions more important than this in our current day and cultural climate. In this clip, Pastor Drew Conley addresses this issue from a sermon on Hebrews 2:5-9 entitled "The Curse, the Cross, and the Crown."
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Serve One Another in Love Galatians 5:13-16 By the power of the Holy Spirit, we will serve one another in love rather than wounding and destroying one another with slander and malicious gossip as those dominated by the flesh do. Love One Another 1 John 4:7-12 We will actively, selflessly love one another as demonstration that we are born-again children of God. Be Hospitable to One Another and Minister Your Gifts to One Another 1 Peter 4:7-11 Because the consummation of the age is near,...
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The New Testament often uses the word “deacon” (or servant) to refer to anyone in the capacity of serving, including Jesus (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45), the apostles (Acts 6:4), individual Christians (1 Timothy 4:6), church members in general (Romans 12:7; Ephesians 4:12), angels (Hebrews 1:14), and even demons (2 Corinthians 11:15). In addition, the New Testament also uses the word “deacon” to refer to a specific biblical office (1 Timothy 3; Philippians...
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Romans 6:12-14 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.   Sin has no right to reign like a king over your body because you no longer...
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Why attend a Members’ Meeting? This is a great question. Maybe your thought is: “with all the stuff that we already do on Sundays, why give up another hour to observe a meeting that doesn’t even include any singing or preaching?” Or maybe you feel like Members’ Meetings are boring. Or maybe you feel awkward about Members’ Meetings because you think that these kinds of meetings mean people are going to argue and disagree with each other. This article is an...
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“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” The origins of this quote are uncertain, but the idea is applicable to the circumstances we’ve lived through: self-quarantine, long days sometimes with little to do but check social media and the endless feed of media opinions with a little information mixed in. We can’t go back and better prepare ourselves mentally for the long stretch of weeks that have turned...
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During this unprecedented season, social distancing may keep you from interacting with coworkers or strangers. Still, over the last six, seven, eight weeks and counting, you have probably become quite acquainted with your immediate family members. As you practice social distancing to "flatten the curve," you might have begun to notice a slight rise in irritation with your loved ones. Maybe you are feeling the pressure of close contact. Perhaps you feel like an egg in a vice, and each...
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1. There are good reasons for church members to leave a local church: being sent out for gospel purposes (Act 13), joining a church closer to home to be more involved, or joining a church to serve in a particular area of need. 2. Local church members should work to graciously confront, repent to, and forgive one another in situations where one has sinned against another (Matt 5:23-24, 18:15). 3. Local church members should expect to endure differences and give up personal...
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1. From the beginning, God intended for marriage to be between one man and one woman for life (Gen 2:24-25). Jesus affirmed this teaching on marriage and added the following commentary: “So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matt 19:6). 2. The certificate of divorce that Moses permitted was not meant to encourage nor require divorce but to curb the number of divorces that were already happening (Deut...
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1. Scripture clearly condemns drunkenness (Eph. 5:17-19; Gal. 5:21; I Cor. 6:10; Isa. 5:11; Pro. 23:20-21; Tit. 2:3; Rom. 13:13; Isa. 5:22). 2. Scripture speaks specifically to pastors and deacons that they not be given to wine, which is primarily a warning against drunkenness (I Tim. 3:3, 8; e.g. Pro. 31:4-5). 3. Scripture often speaks of wine as common in life and a blessing from God (Gen. 14:18; Dan. 10:3; I Tim. 5:23; Deut. 14:26; Psa. 4:7; Psa. 104:14-15; Pro. 3:10; Isa....
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In the last hours before His crucifixion, our Lord prayed that His followers, “may be one even as we are one . . . so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me” (Jn. 17:22b-23). Years later, Paul echoed our Lord’s words when he prayed that the members of the Roman church would “live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together” they might “with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord...
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