Children in the Worship Service

Thomas Overmiller Sometimes people ask me why we include children in our Sunday morning worship service, rather than send them to a separate program. The reason is a biblical one. It appears that children participated in the corporate worship of the churches from the beginning. On three occasions (maybe more), Scripture indicates that children were…

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“Solitude”

Wally Morris Definition of “solitude”: being alone or isolated; cut off voluntarily or involuntarily from other people, entirely by oneself, standing apart from the rest of the world; originally from Latin solus (alone) Synonyms of “solitude”: seclusion, privacy, isolation; loneliness, wilderness Every pastor understands the meaning and significance of the word “solitude”. If he doesn’t,…

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Reaching the Pearls of the Pacific for Christ

David Utter Travel posters and calendars mesmerize us with beautiful scenes from tropical islands scattered across the Pacific. Decades ago, Robert Louis Stevenson gave the designation “Pearls of the Pacific” to the Marshall Islands. God has truly displayed His capacity for lovely creation in many of these remote places. Yet that beauty is often marred…

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Holy of Life, Eloquent of Speech, Patriotic of Spirit

A Slice of Baptist History (FrontLine • May/June 1994) Samuel Stillman was born in Philadelphia on February 27, 1737. At the age of eleven he, along with his parents, moved to South Carolina. Under the preaching of Oliver Hart, he was converted to Jesus Christ. Stillman was baptized by Hart and studied theology under his…

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Theonomy

Rolland McCune FrontLine • May/June 2007 Theonomy (“God’s Law”) is a title given to a movement that teaches the earthwide rule of God through the reinstitution of the Law of Moses for every nation. It is also called “Christian Reconstruction” because it wants the church to dismantle the present world culture and reconstruct it as…

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Born Again at Two Years Old

Thomas Overmiller In a recent post, I emphasized the importance of encouraging children to cultivate a personal walk with God. In the opening lines, I mentioned in passing that I was born again at 2 years old. One reader expressed doubts about this statement, saying: The comment about being born again at 2 years old…

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Do You Really Want Revival?

George Stiekes O Lord, revive thy work Habakkuk 3:2 It has been stressed that prayer is the major key to revival — serious, intense, persistent prayer. Prayer is our spiritual strength and it generates strength. It strengthens our relationship with God and generates both vision and power. This is why Satan strives to keep the…

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The Ethical Challenges Presented by “Three-Parent Babies”

Don Johnson I follow a scientific website for news and insights into our ever-changing world. At a minimum, I find that I can pick up interesting illustrations from time to time. Recently, I came across a news item about something called “three-parent babies.” A bit of searching on the internet led me to a new…

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Do You Wrestle with This Temptation?

Thomas Overmiller God is always good to his people, all the time. That’s what David affirms in Psalm 73:1. But in doing so, he makes an honest admission. Can you relate? He had been jealous of ungodly people (Psalm 73:2-3). His jealousy centered on their material prosperity and sinful indulgence, free from obvious consequences (Psalm…

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