C. Raymond Buck with the Lord

C. Raymond Buck with the Lord
Dr Jeff Straub: C. Raymond Buck was a man mightily used of God. Those who knew him will not soon forget the legacy of godliness and commitment that he left. Indeed it was a blessing to have heard him, known him, and served with him! We rejoice with Dr. Buck [...]

Confronting indifference

A recently released study (Pew Forum: The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey) reported that:

One in four adults ages 18 to 29 claim no affiliation with a religious institution.
12 % of the overall population describe their religion as “nothing in particular”.

We are faced with a large percentage of the population that are spiritually apathetic. Religion is either [...]

Savoring the doctrine of justification

Chuck Bumgardner: Savoring the doctrine of justification
Comment: a worthwhile read from Chuck Bumgardner’s blog.

How dead were we?

Ephesians 2:1, “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins”.
A wealthy physician was the patron of my Boy Scout troop. His home was a gothic style stone manse on a bluff overlooking the Ohio River (Delhi, Ohio). He permitted our troop to maintain a camp on his property. His daughter, Connie, [...]

One of our own in Al Asad

One of our own, USMC Corporal Justin Nyquist, has just been deployed to Iraq.
Justin is the son of Mark and Cheryl Nyquist, and the grandson of Dick and Frosty Nyquist.
I would like to suggest that:

We remember Justin in prayer
As the Lord leads, that some would send him a letter or a card

Perhaps as a group [...]

Members of one another (Ephesians 4:25)

The community of the redeemed is a community that understands we belong to the body of Christ and we are related to one another. The phrase “one another” speaks of the interrelationships of Christians in the church (and specifically in one’s local church). All people seek community; but genuine, loving community is only found “in [...]

God made us alive!

Our text for Wednesday night will be Ephesians 2:1-10. I don’t expect that we can cover the entire section, but here is an overview:
The central phrase is: “God … made us alive … and raised us up …  and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus”
In these verses Paul expresses the past, present and future [...]

A stark difference

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians was that “the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,” (1:18)
The child of God has hope!
The unsaved? They are “without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth [...]

A Friend in High Places

Ephesians 1:20, “which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places”
We studied this phrase tonight and I mentioned that we “have a friend in high places”.
This theme, of our Savior “in the heavenly places”, is found other places in God’s [...]

so that you may know him better

Wednesday’s lesson will be from Ephesians 1:17-23.
I found it very helpful to read this section from multiple translations. The quote in the title is from the NIV.
While it is appropriate to:

Pray for the lost: Cf Romans 10:1, “my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved”
Pray for governmental leaders: [...]