While I was in high school, I made the decision that when I grew up I wanted to be a gospel preacher. So at that point, I began writing religious articles. I did not care for writing in school, and was never a gifted writer, so I needed to start practicing and improving my skills. I saw writing as an inherent part of the work of a preacher, as this would provide another avenue through which to spread the gospel message. So since I decided I was going to preach, I decided I also needed to write.

Nearly fifteen years later, it appears to me that preachers in general do not do as much writing as I thought they would. Dedicating time regularly to writing seems to be the exception rather than the rule. Maybe this has always been the case and my youthful naivete led me to wrongly assume that writing was common for preachers. Perhaps more preachers are writing than the relative few of which I am aware. Or it could be that writing by gospel preachers has decreased in the last decade or so. Regardless of which one is closest to reality, I want to deal with some reasons why writing is a valuable endeavor for preachers and should not be quickly dismissed.

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If we were able to make two requests that would help to improve our lives here on the earth, for what would we ask? Agur, the wise man to whom Proverbs 30 is attributed, tells us what his two requests were.

“Two things I asked of You, do not refuse me before I die: Keep deception and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, that I not be full and deny You and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or that I not be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God” (Proverbs 30:7-9).

The second request — the desire for “neither poverty nor riches” — is what we will focus on in this article.

His words here are not meant to imply that God’s people will never be either rich or poor. Nor do they mean that riches or poverty are necessarily the product of sinful or foolish choices. Instead, the wise man is emphasizing the proper attitude we must have and how we must act appropriately according to our particular circumstances. Let us notice briefly why his request was wise.

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Whenever a disaster occurs – whether it is a terrorist attack, natural disaster, or some tragic accident – people often wonder if God was somehow involved. If so, they wonder if the event was an execution of divine judgment against the victims or the greater nation/society as a whole.

Questions like these are nothing new. Jesus commented on this when He discussed a couple of tragedies with which His audience was familiar.

“Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And Jesus said to them, ‘Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish’” (Luke 13:1-5).

It is important that we know why these things happen. As Jesus makes clear, we should not be quick to attribute these things to God’s direct operation. But even when an event occurs without direct, divine involvement, there are still lessons we can learn from these disasters.

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Some might wonder how it is that someone like myself — a thirty year old with no “full-time” preaching experience — would be so bold as to hand out advice to young preachers (many of whom would be my peers). I am not so arrogant that I think I have wisdom that compares with a man who has been preaching the gospel for decades. But I do have the Scriptures — the inspired word of God (2 Timothy 3:16). Therefore, when I teach the things that come from God (cf. 1 Peter 4:11), I can do so as Titus was told to teach — “with all authority” (Titus 2:15). So let us briefly look at some of the Bible instructions on preaching that young (and old) preachers need to always remember.

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Socialism is becoming more accepted in our society. Proponents of it are more open in advocating for it and it holds less of a stigma than it once did. However, there is still a large percentage of people that reject this political and economic philosophy — many of these are religious people. Those who promote socialism, if they want it to gain popular support, must find a way to convince these individuals of the alleged virtues of the system.

What is socialism? In a nutshell, socialism is the belief that a central, national government ought to oversee and control all aspects of the economy, rather than leaving private businesses and individuals to conduct their business as they see fit. It is rooted in the notion that all property and wealth is to be shared, and the national government is the entity which determines how they are to be shared. Of necessity, socialism demands a strong centralized government to be able to function in this way.

Some of the proponents of socialism are attempting to use the Bible to defend their ideology. This only makes sense since many who reject socialism claim to follow the Bible. So let us briefly examine some of the arguments that are made using the Bible to defend this philosophy.

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As we deal with the regular trials and pressures of this life, it is not uncommon to have periods in which we are down and might struggle to see the value in our normal pursuits. The wise man articulated these feelings in the book of Ecclesiastes, opening with these words: “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). He then went on to mention several regular pursuits of this life that he considered vain:

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The church at Corinth had several problems that Paul needed to address in his first epistle. One notable problem was the case of the man who had taken his father’s wife and how the congregation reacted to it. There are several lessons we should take from this. First, let us be reminded of the situation that existed there:

“It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst” (1 Corinthians 5:1-2).

Following this, Paul went on to describe the appropriate way to handle this situation. Let us notice some lessons from the brother in sin, the congregation, and what God wants us to understand about sin and His church.

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