To everyone’s amazement, Sam Houston—Texas’ colorful soldier and politician, came to a saving faith in Christ. Shortly after he committed his life to Christ, he was baptized. And after his baptism, Houston publicly stated that he wanted to pay half the salary of the local minister. Someone who heard him was quick to ask the question: “Why in the world would you want to do something like that?” To which Houston responded, “My pocketbook was baptized, too!” Like Sam Houston, we may now understand that the Christian life cannot be...
We know that Christ commands us to give. We also know God offers us great rewards for giving. So, why is it so hard to give? I just read an article the other day on the topic of church growth. The author stated (and I’ve heard this before) that if you want your church to grow, you need to ask the right questions. You don’t ask, ‘What would make my church grow?’ Instead you ask, ‘What is keeping my church from growing?’ In other words, what are the roadblocks to...
Today we’re going to be talking about the Advent Conspiracy ‘in a nutshell’ … or how all of this could play out in our lives this season… In this Advent Conspiracy thus far, we’ve been talking about those in this world that are in serious need—like those in need of clean water (which we take for granted most of the time). And, I know that some have been thinking ‘we need to take care of our own!’ I’ve heard that said before. And, once again, that’s fine for ‘philanthropic giving’—to...
Hebrews 10:23 (TEV) tells us: “Let us hold on firmly to the hope we profess, because we can trust God to keep his promise.” Do you believe that today … that you can trust God to keep his promises? It’s been said that God’s promises are dated in heaven. And since we know only ‘in part,’ as the Bible says (I Cor. 13:12), we don’t always know when those promises will be fulfilled. But, we do know this: God will keep them! Folks, suppose a wealthy person gave you a...
