Prayer: Who, Why & How - Ben Bailey
“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous main avails much” (James 5:16). Since prayer is such an important part of the Chrisitan life, it only makes sense the more I know about prayer the more it can benefit me and those in my prayer life. Here are some basic details Paul gives Timothy about prayer in 1 Tim. 2:1ff…
Does it really matter how we worship? - Joey Ferrell
We all should want to worship God. There are enough verses in the Bible to signify the importance, command, inference, and desires of God Himself for us to see that He indeed wants us to worship Him and Him alone!
"Go to church or the devil will get ya!" - Joey Ferrell
Go to church or the devil will get ya! Well….sort of. I remember passing this sign probably 10-11 years ago coming back from a family trip to Florida. We were on I-65 north just outside of Montgomery. We had stopped at this sweets store that had a pink cow…yes, a real pink cow (It closed a few years afterwards) and had been laughing about that for miles…and then…there it was! I was like “WOW, did you see that sign?”
Was that a visitor? - Parker Webster
How do outsiders feel in our assemblies? A new assembly and a new type of worship is intimidating. Do we realize our visitors have taken a great step of courage to walk into worship?
God Knows You! - Jameson Steward
“O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether” (Psalm 139:1-4).
Praying - Amy Lawrence
As I write this, I am thinking how unqualified I am to be discussing something I struggle with myself. Don’t get me wrong, the desire to pray is not the trouble. God’s command to pray is for our benefit, not His, Phil. 4:6-7. The struggle is remembering to talk to God without making it nothing but a check in a box. Communication - real, deep communication - is one of my shortcomings. There is only so much of myself that I let be seen. I have my reasons, but I tend to be reserved in any relationship. Rare is the person that can get me to feel comfortable enough to fully open up. I’ve built that habit in my communication with God as well. When I remember (but not as frequently as I should) that my shortcomings shouldn’t keep me from talking to God, I pray. He knows me better than anybody already. There is nothing that is hidden from Him - not even our insecurities - and He still loves us all. That knowledge makes me speak from my heart to the only One that can see the picture in my head before I utter a single word.
Thanksgiving to God - Ben Bailey
“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations” (Psalm 100:4-5). With the recent Thanksgiving holiday upon us, many are counting their blessings. But shouldn’t thanksgiving be an everyday event instead of a once a year holiday. To the child of God, everyday is a day of thanksgiving. But, what should we thank God for?
Does the Name Matter? - Ben Bailey
Recently someone told me they thought it didn’t matter what a church called itself as long as they worshipped correctly. Is this true according to the Bible? Could a church called itself any name and be acceptable to God as long as they worship correctly? Let’s consider for a moment why it does matter what the church called itself. In fact, just like worshipping God correctly is essential, going by what the rest of the Bible says about the church is also essential. Notice why this is true.