Spiritual leaders in the church are responsible for finding and calling future generations of leaders. A responsibility that extends to purposefully maturing young leaders through mentorship and the modeling of strong traits and skills for them to emulate. Echoing the words of Jesus, leaders in the church sould say to potential future leaders, "Follow my example and I will make you a leader of...
I have a new reason to love the ABC sitcom “The Middle.” Besides being true to life in that it depicts a REAL modern family who’s father is in charge and a little gruff at times, a mother who’s trying to hold things together in a not always perfect way and teenager antics so real they are funny, the star is a Christian. [NOTE: If you’ve never seen the episode with...
Inspired by a tweet from Brian Chen @bxchen who referenced a 2006 article in Wired magazine I asked a couple Twitter followers to compose a six word story using the Bible as inspiration. The Wired article promoted the concept of a six word story which is based in a work Ernest Hemingway considered some of his best that only used six words, “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Here...
In this month’s issue, Sports Illustrated polled die hard football fans to gauge the mood on the potential NFL Lockout. The poll conducted by market research firm M&RR found that most believed a deal would be reached and there would be a full NFL season. But if there isn’t, the poll listed the activities that would take the place of football: Half of NFL fans (47.5%) say they...
In a random survey by The Christian Chronicle, more than 1,100 readers responded to this question: “What Bible version do you prefer to read?” New International Version: 41.5% New American Standard Version: 17.1% New King James Version: 10.3% English Standard Version: 9.5% King James Version: 5.8 % Revised Standard/New Revised Standard Version: 4.8 % New Living Translation: 3.6% Today’s New...
NOTE: This post was originally published as a bulletin article and on the merkelchurchofchrist.org blog “ [Jesus] went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him.” Luke 4:16-17 (NIV) The congregational reading of scriptures in synagogues was a...
Scripture Reading: Luke 15:1-7 1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep...
Link to translator notes here Beginning in March 2011 the print version of the New International Version will update to a 2010 edition. According to theCommittee on Bible Translation notes the NIV was updated “to bring the translation into line both with contemporary biblical scholarship and with shifts in English idiom and usage.” Ninety-five percent of the new edition is exactly...
Sermon Audio February 6, 1011 Scripture Reading: Luke 15:11-32 Introduction: The Old Grandfather and His Grandson by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm Once upon a time there was a very, very old man. His eyes had grown dim, his ears deaf, and his knees shook. When he sat at the table, he could scarcely hold a spoon. He spilled soup on the tablecloth, and, beside that, some of his soup would run back out...