Church Blog (Page 3)

As you look at the contents of most church bulletins, you’ll find a list of people who need prayer. Most of the time these folks are sick, battling a serious disease, they are shut-in and unable to leave home or in nursing facilities. Some may need prayers of encouragement as they go through a difficult time. The prayer list can be quite long, with some names staying on the list for many months. Sadly, we may become accustomed to the…

All people in the world are watching our words and deeds. Jesus teaches, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16). Jesus is calling for a “walking confession,” a life which is an open book. aven” (Matt. 5:16). Jesus is calling for a “walking confession,” a life which is an open book. The Christian’s life is a manual, revealing what a Christian talks and…

The Bible emphasizes the importance of hard work as a part of humanity’s responsibility to God (Gen. 2:15, 3:19). However, for all that God teaches about the nobility of work he also emphasizes the need for humans to rest. Rest is not for the weak and fragile, rest is for the finite. Here are a few things to consider in regard to what the Bible teaches us about our need for rest. At the conclusion of creation God rested (Gen.…

Several years ago my family, my sister’s family, and my parents took a trip out west. For me, it was the trip of a lifetime. We flew to Denver, rented vehicles, and drove about 5,000 miles, visiting several states and many iconic landmarks. Over 17 days, we stayed in 13 different places. Most of the places we stayed were major tourist attractions, and we knew the timeframe to see them in the summer was pretty short. We knew that in…

Paul makes an interesting statement while addressing the successful effort the Corinthian church made in disciplining an erring brother along with the successful outcome of his having repented. He urges them to show him love, comfort, and forgiveness. The bottom line Paul gives for the urgency of their obedience is “so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes” (2 Cor. 2:11). Back in the first letter, the church’s attitude…

Henry Adams wrote, “One friend in a lifetime is much, two are many, and three are hardly possible.” While I do not share his pessimism or cynicism, I do believe that true, close friends are certainly not prevalent. There are too many factors at play. Friendships take time, trust, and transparency. Some things can be barriers to developing close companionship from contrasting values to clashing viewpoints. The Bible gives insight into factors essential to building true, lasting friendships. Since God…

Recently, I researched the spiritual resiliency of young adults as they went through college. During this research, I looked at many studies that agreed on one thing, that the majority (almost 2/3) of young people lose their faith when they leave home. College students, Lehman Avenue is a congregation that loves college students and young adults! We have a very active group called “The Crew” with Bible classes on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights in the multipurpose room, grub night…

He died on February 27, 2011, having reached the age of 110 years and 26 days old. As author Richard Rubin set the perspective, if you go back 110 years from the day of his birth it was the year the United States ratified the Constitution (Last of the Doughboys, 439)! Video interviews abound for Mr. Buckles. As you watch them, you will be impressed with a dignified, articulate, meek, and thoughtful man. Though that generation is often a forgotten…

There seems to always be a worship war taking place in some theological circles. Some are worried that not enough passion is being shown and that there is a heavy-handed emphasis on being sure our actions conform to scripture. Others who are deeply committed to making sure the scriptures are being handled properly never stop to think of how our hearts and emotions must also be involved in worship. God is looking for us to worship him properly (John 4:23-24).…

The theme was timely and smart. Involvement was impressive! Attendance was perhaps unprecedented! It’s easy to see that so many of our Lehman family “stood for” this year’s Bible School! Community interest was astounding! Thank you for everyone you invited. Advertising was a huge success (thanks to David Chang for his parting effort, a fitting final effort in what has been an outstanding work by him with this church). But what did this VBS stand for? Visitors Bombarding Services! Not…

Opportunity is a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something. It is an event or moment at which actions of importance or significance can be achieved, a critical or decisive moment in time, a period marked by distinct conditions. Opportunity in the bible is mentioned as a season. Times of opportunities must be discerned. Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes 3:1, “To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven.” We as Christians should take…

Quick. Name the top three accomplishments of Grover Cleveland’s presidency. I’ll wait. Nothing? Don’t feel dense or unpatriotic. He’s not in most historians’ top 10 (25?) of American presidents. But nearly 137 years ago, he was at the helm and dedicated the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. This, if you don’t recall, was the proposed gift of French historian Edouard de Laboulaye in honor of America’s alliance with France during the Revolutionary War, sculpted by Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, designed…

The title of this article is not meant to suggest that we have forgotten widows, but it captures an idea that runs throughout the Bible. God is often telling his people to remember the marginalized, the suffering, the hurting, the lonely, and the outcast. One group of people that is repeatedly mentioned by God as needing to be remembered and cared for by his people are widows. God commanded his people not to mistreat widows or he would see it…

Last year, a rare opportunity presented itself to me—a chance to go to South Korea. With Freed-Hardeman University’s business department finally being able to resume their South Korea summer program, I saw a door open to my home country. As conversations were had and plans were getting finalized, I ended up not going with the business students, but rather with a group representing the Lads to Leaders/ Leaderettes. Building up to the trip itself were a lot of nervous moments.…

About one quarter of the men on Old Providence Island are gone, and in many cases their families have no idea where they are. They are not vanishing into thin air. These Caribbean islanders are excellent mariners, and, being technically part of the country of Colombia and lying off the coast of Nicaragua, they have been swept into the net of drug trafficking. Very often, they are hired as pilots of “narco-speedboats.” If they successfully deliver their load, they make…

Can you believe that June 2023 is already here? The year is almost half over. More importantly, what are each of us going to do with the second half, if God provides the time? It’s something to think about. Consider 2018-2023. Five years. Back in December 2018, the eldership published three goals in the church bulletin. These goals were: 1) Continue to make strong, solid Christians (Eph. 4:11-14) 2) Continue to make Lehman Avenue a strong, solid Church (Heb. 13:…

The church is the most important institution in the world from God’s perspective. Far from optional, the church is essential to our spiritual well-being (Heb. 10:24-25). It is imperative that we allow the Bible to inform our view of the church. Our world has many confusing ideas about the church, but the New Testament offers clarity. We should love the church of Christ because Jesus loves her as his bride (Eph. 5:25). Here are twenty important facts about the church…

Noah was 600 years old when the flood came upon the earth (Gen. 7:6). Abraham was 99 years old when God appeared to him and called him to a covenant (Gen. 17:1). Joseph was 30 years old when he finally rose to power under the Pharaoh (Gen. 41:46). Moses was 80 years old when God called him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt (Ex. 7:7). Samuel was dedicated to the Lord as an infant, and was called by God…

Dillon Reeves was the seventh grader who saved a busload of students a few weeks ago in my mother’s hometown of Warren, Michigan. Dillon sprang into action, applied the brakes, and pulled the bus to safety when he noticed his bus driver was losing consciousness. Dillon credits the quick action to the fact that he did not have a cell phone. What else are you going to do when you don’t have a phone? Reeves said in an interview with…

An elderly widow had a tragic fire in her home. Her house burned completely to the ground. She lost her furniture, clothes, everything! Her son, who lived in another state, heard about it and called his mother. “Mom, is everything OK? Are you alright? Were you hurt at all?” She said, “I’m OK. I’ve lost everything, but I’m alright.” He said, “Well, Mom, do you have any money?” She responded, “Yes, son, how much do you need?” Surely there are…

When John the Baptist was born to his parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth, we are told that he was the one who was going to prepare the way for Jesus (Lk.1:11-18, 1:68-80; cf. Isa. 40:3; Mal. 3:1, 4:5). John would get the hearts of Israel ready to receive her king. His primary focus was on calling Israel to repentance and then baptizing them for the forgiveness of their sins (Matt. 3:2; Mark 1:4). In addition to baptizing people John said some…

What a tremendous success it was. Sometimes it can be hard to find or determine success. The unit of measure can vary, but in this case on all levels we can easily say, “This was a great success.” If you want to measure it by attendance, I think we can safely say that our expectations were exceeded. We had somewhere in the neighborhood of 600 people come through our doors. If you want to measure it by how far and…

This weekend has no doubt served to equip us to be better teens, college students, young adults, singles, parents, members, elders, preachers, servants, and aging Christians. Such great speakers and subjects have helped us to grow in Christ and build a better spiritual future. At Lehman Avenue, we are trying to equip ourselves through several specific opportunities. With Western Kentucky University here in town, we have actively sought to minister to them and grow their faith. This is a significant…

Our society is becoming more ungodly and secular all the time. A quick glance at the news reminds us that more and more people are becoming anti-God in their thoughts and approach to life. However, the statistics still show that many Americans identify as Christians. Of the 332 million people that live in our country, 210 million people claim to be Christians (that’s 63%). That means some 210 million people in our country claim to follow Jesus, submit to him…

Was Jesus “radical?” The word carries a lot of political baggage nowadays, as it is used to describe extremism. Lately, I’ve heard this word being used to describe Jesus and his teachings relative to the religious customs of his time. Some of these were used to criticize “traditional” Christianity, suggesting that conservative Christianity is pharisaic and contrary to the radical spirit of Jesus who challenged the religious elites of his day. So, was Jesus radical? It is true that Jesus…