Four Areas of Focus for the New Year (12.29.22)

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Plain Bible Teaching Podcast

This week we’re talking about four areas of focus for the new year. Obviously, if we need to change our focus or make resolutions, we can do this ANY time. But the start of a new year can provide us with an extra bit of motivation to reset our priorities. These four areas are what I have been working on this year and will continue to do so in the new year. All of these are rooted in Scripture, so I’m sharing them here in hopes that you can find some way to apply these principles to your life moving forward.Continue Reading

“Follow Me”

Jesus Calls the First Apostles

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).

In the Great Commission, Jesus told His apostles to go out and make disciples. A disciple is a follower of Jesus. Therefore, the Great Commission was about finding people who would follow Jesus.

This is also what Jesus did while on the earth – He made disciples. But while His apostles would call people to follow Jesus, He would tell them, “Follow Me.

There are a few examples in the gospels in which Jesus offered this invitation – “Follow Me.” In this article, we are going to look at these statements in the book of Matthew and make some applications.Continue Reading

What Are Our Priorities? (Sermon #45)

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What Are Our Priorities? (Sermon #45)

We’re taking a break this month from our regular episodes. During this break, we’ll be posting audio sermons instead. The sermon for today is titled, What Are Our Priorities?, and was preached on December 29, 2019 at the Eastside church of Christ in Morgantown, KY.

Read the article: What Are Our Priorities?

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Are We Putting Jesus First?

Man reading

[This article was written by Jeffrey Burnett.]

Maybe it is just the fact that I am getting older, but life truly seems to get busier every year. There is so much to do and so little time to get it all done and some things just have to be put off until a later time. Our lives are filled with legitimate concerns that we wrestle with each day often leaving little time for thinking of spiritual things, and that is precisely the problem.

Because every person has a different set of obligations it is difficult to place these concerns in any order of priority. God demands that we work with our hands in order to provide for ourselves and for the needs of others (1 Thess. 4:11-12; Eph. 4:28). Paul told Timothy that “if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Tim. 5:8). Then there is the duty of parents raising children, not only being sure that they have clean clothes and good food, but bringing them up “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). This is a serious job that cannot be put off until tomorrow. Most of us, occasionally, need a break from work to simply relax or get some kind of recreation to just have fun. All of these things take up our time and somehow, we must find time to give to each item in keeping with its importance.Continue Reading

Social Issues (Part 12): Busyness

Social Issues

Busyness is familiar to all of us. It is the condition in which we have a great deal to do and not enough time to do it. This could be due to actual responsibilities, perceived duties, self-imposed obligations, and also time-wasting activities.

Those who argue in favor of busyness will often do so by contrasting it with laziness or idleness (even though these are not exact opposites). Those who view busyness as a virtue typically believe they are simply making the most of their time rather than wasting it.Continue Reading

Regular Christians (Part 7): Onesimus

Regular Christians

Onesimus was one who endured social and economic inequality as a slave. We learn about him in the letter Paul wrote to his master, Philemon.

I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my imprisonment, who formerly was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me. I have sent him back to you in person, that is, sending my very heart, whom I wished to keep with me, so that on your behalf he might minister to me in my imprisonment for the gospel; but without your consent I did not want to do anything, so that your goodness would not be, in effect, by compulsion but of your own free will. For perhaps he was for this reason separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord” (Philemon 10-16).

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When Life Is Hard

Two Women Praying

At the beginning of his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul provided a glimpse into the difficulties he faced in his life: “For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life” (2 Corinthians 1:8). Most or all of the hardships that Paul faced were due to his work in preaching the gospel.

There can be many reasons why we face hardships in life – not just for preaching as was the case with Paul. Yet even when we suffer for other reasons, these hardships can cause us to feel the same way as Paul described.

When we face hardships in life, the specific way in which we handle them depends a lot on the nature of the hardships (financial problems, personality conflicts, health issues, difficult temptations, etc.). However, there are some principles that will apply to all types of hardships. These are important to remember, especially if we are not yet sure what specific course of action we should take.Continue Reading