Hymn number 641 in our big book uses an interesting approach to teach a valuable lesson.  The author draws our attention to two seas mentioned in the New Testament.

As the Jordan River flows southward from its sources near Mount Hermon, it follows a winding course of nearly 200 miles.  Along the way it passes through the Sea of Galilee and finally empties into the Dead Sea, which due to evaporation contains a salt concentration almost 10 times that of the oceans. Verse one describes the Sea of Galilee:

There is a sea which day by day
Receives the rippling…

The following is actually “borrowed” from an illustration Dan Shipley once used in a sermon. As you will see, it is intended to help someone get over the huge hurdle of feeling that if they obey the truth, they have learned they will be condemning some loved one who did not obey it.

I can only try to understand how hard it is for someone who has to deal with that issue, and I know Satan has used it countless times to keep someone from obeying the gospel.

The illustration went something like this...

Suppose you are running a business where you…

IT'S NEVER JUST A PIANO
(Mike Thomas)

I live 150 miles from where the first instrument was brought into worship services of groups that would be known as churches of Christ. The actual melodeon is on display at Midway University (Kentucky), and I hope to make it over one day to see it if for no other reason than to be reminded of the great chasms that come when brethren rely on human opinion instead of the Scriptures.

Whenever a church decides to use mechanical instruments in worship, they…

A preacher may be a very effective pulpiteer and he may have…

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The song Jesus, Name Above All Names is one of my all-time favorites. Its greatness doesn’t come from a catchy melody or intricate wordplay. Rather, its greatness comes from its elegant simplicity. Many songs want to preach a sermon set to a tune, but Jesus, Name Above All Names presents the various names of Jesus without any additional commentary. This format provides me, as a singer, the freedom to explore a different aspect of Jesus every time I sing the song, making the experience new and different each time.

The title of this song comes from Philippians chapter two. While I don’t think…

The first point we should emphasize is that a certain amount of leisure time is right, proper, and even needful. Our Lord realized this, and instructed his apostles in this regard during a particularly busy period of work. Notice: "And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. And they departed into…

THE CROWN OF VICTORY
(David Dann )

 

The apostle Paul compared the life of a Christian to the successful completion of an athletic contest, saying, "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown" (1 Cor. 9:24-25, NKJV).

Please notice that the reward awaiting…

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