“A Faith strengthened by doubt” by Gary Henry

“And the Lord said, ‘Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren'” (Luke 22:31-32).

DOUBT IS NOT NECESSARILY THE ENEMY OF FAITH. When we pass through the wastelands of doubt and our faith falters, or perhaps even fails, it is possible to respond to doubt in such a way that our faith later becomes more vibrant. And a faith that has been invigorated…

Payton Manning played quarterback for the University of Tennessee from 1994-1997. He selected by the Indianapolis Colts with the 1^st pick of the 1998 NFL draft. He played in the NFL for a total of 18 years; for the Colts from 1998-2011 and then finished his career playing for the Denver Broncos from 2012-2015. He was extremely successful setting 21 NFL records, including most passing yards (71,940) and passing Touchdowns (539), and winning 2 Super Bowls. Some argue he was the greatest QB to every play in the NFL while others…

Understanding Transgenderism Biblically Things are getting worse than confusing. Currently, Facebook lists 58 options for gender. Where we once simply checked male or female on applications, today we have options like Cis, Pangender, Gender fluid, etc. Add to this the … Read More →

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I'm going to let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine,
ALL the time.

Many of us have sung this song all our lives, not remembering a time we did not. We think of it only as a children's song to be sung during Bible classes and VBS. However, as adults shouldn't we also let our little light shine?

The impact of these words was "brought to light" (sorry for the pun) June 6^th during Eastside's VBS. As Gary Kerr was beginning the song section for the evening we were…

"Speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the LORD" (Ephesians 5:19).

"Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth" (Psalm 96:1).

Why sing?

To others…	To othersTo God
Encourage Teach Admonish Express cheer Express various emotions	Thank God Cry out to Him Express our joy Offer praise to Him Worship Him

• Why did Moses and the Israelites sing (Exodus 15: 1 –…

It is not the mission of the church to furnish amusement for the world or even for its own members. Innocent amusement in proper proportion has its place in the lives of normal people, but it is not the business of the church to furnish it. The church would come off a poor second if it undertook to compete with institutions established for the express purpose of entertaining people. It would make itself ridiculous if it entered into such competition.

Again, it is not the responsibility of the church as such to furnish recreation for its members. A certain…

Few bulletin articles begin with a warning, but I feel compelled to provide advance notice that this article will contain some quite explicit, though not vulgar, language. One would not be far off the mark if he said that the Bible begins and ends with references to the shame of nakedness (Genesis 3:7-10; Revelation 3:18), yet few today seem to have a sense of shame or modesty when it comes to the display of their bodies. No, complete public nakedness is still uncommon, but when Adam hid because he was naked, could his fig leaves have covered much less than…

(slightly adapted)

I know you have seen it on T-shirts, sweatshirts, bracelets, necklaces, lapel pins, bumper stickers, and castings on trunk lids. I am referring to the little fish symbol which sometimes has the five letters on it. To many people, it has become as much a symbol of the Christian faith as the cross itself.

What does it mean? What are those funny letters? What difference does it make?

The symbol is called an ichthus (pronounced "ickthoose"), which is a Greek word for "fish," and is spelled by those five Greek…

A study by Harvard researchers tracked 38,000 men, aged 40 to 75, for 12 years. The results revealed that "those who drank alcohol had 35 to 40 percent fewer heart attacks" and that "the best results came from drinking almost every day." The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

We are certain that there will be some folks, even some of our brethren, who will quickly latch onto this study and use its results as a further argument to "justify" the practice of "moderate, social drinking." This is anticipated, unfortunately, because there have always been…