Fasting denotes abstaining from food for a period of time. The only time God commanded fasting was during the annual Day of Atonement when Israel was told to afflict their souls, neither eating nor working (Lev. 16:29-31; 23:26-32; Num. 29:7). It was a time of solemn...
“For when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears.” – 2 Corinthians 7:5 There is no question that the Church in North America is facing severe challenges. The decline in church attendance which has been steadily going on for […]
One of the greatest tests in the Christian life is how to respond to criticism. If you are going to be a leader, then criticism is part of the job description. There is no such thing as going forward for God without opposition. Moses faced criticism, John the Baptist faced criticism, and our Lord Jesus […]
What takes place the moment we believe in the Lord Jesus? We know that something life-changing occurred, but what really happened? 1. We were born again (Jn. 3:5-6; I Pet. 1:23) At the moment of believing, God imparted to us divine life. In the Bible, this is called “regeneration” “He saved us, not on the […]
“Let the redeemed of the Lord say so…!” – Psalm 107:2 I grew up on a small farm in east-central Pennsylvania in a blue-collar family with four boys and a girl. We were all members of a local Methodist church, which Mom took us to every Sunday. I paid particular interest to the stained-glass windows […]
While at first glance it may appear otherwise, this passage is actually a perfect complement to Paul’s teaching in Romans. Paul argued against those who thought the “works of the law” could save (Rom. 9:32) while James contended that a living faith should express itself through “works of faith.” Speaking of James and Paul, William […]
In this first of a three part series, Warren Henderson takes us through the personal struggles that the prophet Habakkuk experienced in the life of faith – valuable lessons for believers in any age as they work through the problem of evil. A Burden to Be Lifted (1:1) Habakkuk referred to his received message as […]
We could all use some salt of encouragement to increase our spiritual thirst in our Christian journey. This was precisely the tenor of the 2017 Workers and Elders Conference, hosted October 10-12, by Northridge Bible Chapel in North Carolina. We were treated with daily considerations of Peter, whose life was littered with impetuousness, overestimated resolve, […]
For centuries the Moi people of Papua, Indonesia1 remained almost entirely untouched by the outside world. These semi-nomadic hamlet dwellers eked out a living through slash and burn gardening, and frequent hunting excursions throughout the 300 square miles of mountainous jungles they call home. Approximately 1,000 strong, the Moi were sparsely scattered through their vast […]
“Feed the flock of God that is among you…” – 1 Peter 5:2 The Lord has designed godly elders, or shepherds, to lead in the local assembly because a leaderless people is destined for spiritual ruin. As illustrated in the book of the Judges, when Israel had no leader, “every man did what was right […]
In the fall of 1977, I attended a prayer meeting in an assembly in Barcelona, Spain. I would be teaching English as a Second Language in that city as a self-supporting missionary. My desire was to go into full-time work, but I did not want to be the pastor of a church and did not […]
“And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land…” – Ezekiel 22:30 He intended to kill himself. As he walked towards the East River in lower Manhattan, he came upon something unexpected – a group of people standing on the […]
Are we being upfront and honest about depression in Christian circles? Can the godly suffer from depression or is it only something that afflicts the weak in faith? For many believers the idea of Christian depression is an oxymoron that negates some of the foundational elements of the Christian faith, such as the call to […]
Sixteenth Avenue Gospel Chapel in Vancouver first opened its doors in 1947. It was located on the edge of a large development of new homes occupied mainly by families with young children. A large Sunday School was started and was blessed by the Lord with the conversion of many children. Over the years the demographics […]
Spiritually we are in a shocking condition. The status of many local fellowships is bad news, and deteriorating by the minute. It is fairly well known that there have been scandalous cases of immorality involving even elders and full-time workers. Of course this type of news never gets into the magazines; there everything is sweetness […]
I grew up in a Bible-believing church that celebrated the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ once each week in a meeting called “The Lord’s Supper.” The meeting is unlike communion services in mainline evangelical churches in that it is a service where men who have trusted in Jesus Christ can stand up to share […]
I, Robert, was born in 1938 near Algoma, Wisconsin, to dairy-farming parents. Both of my parents were practicing Roman Catholics; so, of course, I was baptized as an infant, and grew up in Catholic church. Before Christ When I was old enough to understand, something of the world around me, I realized that the World […]
As told to Jabe Nicholson. Anthony, son of Guiseppe Cetola, was born November 24, 1912 in Foggia, Italy, and raised in the hill country south of Rome. As a young man he worked as a shepherd there, but hearing of America, the land of possibilities, he saved his lire until he could afford the least […]
From the start, MSC has held four key beliefs about missions. First, we believe that God is the one who calls and sends workers. It’s more that God calls and enables people and much less that they choose the life of mission work. Also, this means that churches, God’s frontline for the Great Commission, send […]
The scene is a far too familiar one: the regularly scheduled elders’ meeting begins with a brief, but generalized, time of prayer. It is then followed by the usual routine of going around the table, asking each elder what he would like to discuss. The suggestions usually range from the urgent to the trivial – […]