Mark Griffin sat staring out into space from the edge of the bench in front of the Howard County Recreation Center. His mind drifted back to the last 4th of July, a happier time. He remembered the smell of burgers cooking on the grill, the sound of the kids playing in the backyard. The picnic table spread with all of the fixings including his wife’s delicious apple pie complete with homemade ice cream. He remembered feeling very happy and secure; he felt a great sense of accomplishment after 23 years of hard work that now had paid off. But suddenly the pleasant memory changed, it became dark and dangerous. He remembered awaking on that fateful Thursday night just 3 days ago to the sounds of thunder mixed with sirens. The excitement, shock, panic and fear as the wind began to rock the house. The sound of breaking glass could be heard everywhere. It was so dark that the small flashlight he held in his hand gave no comfort. Setting in the storm shelter huddled together with his wife and children, he could hear his life being literally blown away. The next morning when all seemed quiet outside, he brought his family out of the shelter to find that the F5 tornado not only had taken their home and neighborhood, but it had taken the entire town. Nothing was left of the small town except a few houses that bordered the path of the huge storm. It was all gone, the …

A very serious mistake is made in biblical interpretation when the expression “the day is at hand” in Romans 13:12 is sometimes made to refer to the second coming of Jesus Christ. In this passage of Scripture Paul said, “The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.” On the basis of this statement, there are those who say Paul was expecting a soon return of Christ. That makes Paul contradict himself when he rebuked the Thessalonians (who were looking for an imminent coming of the Lord), saying, “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand” (2 Thessalonians 2:1). The day of Christ is not noted in the Bible by any projected date or by any precursory signs. Those who say so are not properly interpreting the Bible and are misleading people. The statement in Romans 13:12 “the day is at hand” stands in contrast to “the night is far spent” and is expressive of an expected corresponding change in the conduct of the saints in Rome. They are not to be asleep to the righteousness of God that has been revealed in the Gospel of Christ (Romans 1:17), …

Several years ago, I received (okay, took) a cassette from my dad’s library. In fact, there were several of these cassettes that I “borrowed” from him when I first started preaching (and maybe some from before) that he hasn’t seen since (though, after reading this, he will be reminded). Among these, the most prominent were of Tom Holland, while he preached for the Crieve Hall Church of Christ during the 1980’s. As I became acquainted with his preaching, I was impressed with the simplicity and directness of his thoughts, and his ability to expound Scriptures. I probably learned no less from those cassettes than I did at my own father’s feet for twenty years. At times, I played them in my little handheld walkman (without headphones) because my car did not have a cassette player. Little did I know that brother Holland and I would meet again. In the fall of 2002, with family in tow, I entered the West Virginia School of Preaching, Moundsville, WV. As I began studying the work and art of preaching under my beloved brother Charles C. Pugh, III, we were required to read none other than brother Holland’s books, The Work of the Preacher is Working, and Preaching: Principles and Practices. I came to learn later that brother Holland was a rather prolific author, having written about sixty books to my last knowledge. Along with many others, brother Holland has been with me in nearly every sermon I have ever written or spoken, all because my …

As a child, we recall hearing older people talking about someone having his rights trampled by someone who had no right to trample the rights of others. They would often conclude by saying, “Oh, well, the legs of the lame are unequal.” We recall wondering what unequal legs had to do with the problem at hand, until some years later we figured out they were saying there is a lot of unfairness in the world, and someone is always willing to trample under foot the rights of others in order to have his own way. There are a great number of unequal legs in America today in the area of religion. Furthermore, more and more legs are becoming unequal as time goes on. Let us give some examples of what we mean. The rights of Americans who call themselves Christians are constantly being trampled by those who are not Christian, or by those who are anti-Christian. Boys and girls who are graduating from High School, which is one of the rites of passage in our nation, are often not permitted to say such things as “God bless you,” at the end of a valedictory speech because the mere mention of God will offend atheists and persons of heathen religions. At the same time the US Army Corps of Engineers is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to build a youth camp out in the Midwest for those of the Islamic faith. The legs of the lame are unequal! By what …

Having just received a letter from a beloved brother indicating that he has slipped his anchor from the solid rock of God’s revelation to the shifting sands of subjective religion, my thoughts went to some in the Bible who started with such great promise and ended in miserable disgrace. A short study in contrasts may be helpful to give both warning to the unwary and encouragement to the feeble. Paul said, “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). First, let us look at the story of Saul, the son of Kish, who became the King of Israel. When we first find him, we note that “There was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he” (1 Samuel 9:2). He not only had a well-formed and superior physical body, he demonstrated a submissive, thoughtful obedience to his father that should commend him to all persons. He was head and shoulders higher than any of the people, but was not too big to obey his father and show concern for his possible anxiety (1 Samuel 9:3-5). He was approved of God to be king, but demonstrated honorable humility. Saul was chosen, but “when they sought him, he could not be found. Therefore, they asked Jehovah further, “Is there yet a man to come hither? And Jehovah answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the baggage” (1 Samuel 10:21-22). He was conscious of his unworthiness, of the insignificance and smallness of the tribe …

“Frog Follies” sounds like something from an old episode of The Muppet Show, when in reality it’s the annual car exhibition held here in Evansville. The display started back in 1975 when the Evansville Iron Street Rod Club hosted a “rod run” for local street rod owners. The event was dubbed “Frog Follies” due to the bullfrog race that was held that initial show. The very first FF registered 44 vehicles. Now, almost thirty years later, the event accepts between 4,000 and 6,000 entries, and is one of the biggest automobile swap meets in the Midwest. Owners bring their cars from as far north as Alaska and as far south as Australia. Proceeds from the event go to various charities and also provide scholarship funds for local high school students. [Visit https://www.evansville.net/ ~frogfol/ for more information.] It’s not really necessary to look at your calendar and try to remember when Frog Follies comes about. Just wait–you’ll know when it’s in town. Those few days immediately proceeding the show, colorful street rods can literally be found all over Vanderburgh County. It’s not unusual to see dozens of flashy cars working their way through area traffic. Every vehicle seizes your attention; every street rod turns your head. Suddenly the family sedan seems incredibly lackluster and boring. In an odd sort of way, the best advertisement for the Follies is not the actual show itself when the cars are all together at the fairgrounds. Rather, it’s when those thousands of street rods are …

I. The Philippians Luke wrote that the city of Philippi was a colony (kolonia, Acts 16:12). Critics doubted Luke’s accuracy until archaeological inscriptions showed that in 42 B.C. Julius Caesar designated Philippi a Roman colony. Then about 31 B.C. Augustus Caesar made the city even more distinctive by designating it a military colony (B-G-D 442). Coins inscribed Colonia Julia Augusta Philippensium have been found (David Smith, The Life and Letters of St. Paul, 126). Thus, once more the spade of the archaeologist has falsified Bible critics. The use by the two Caesars of the Latin word colonia, which Luke changed into the Greek word kolonia, “often denotes a colony of foreigners or relocated veterans” (B-G-D, 686). Colonial status meant (1) libertas, self-government; (2) immunitas, immunity from imperial taxes; and (3) jus Italicum, same rights as Italians citizens (Interpreter’s Bible). People in Philippi took pride in saying that they were “Romans” (Acts 16:21), though they were some three hundred miles distant. The usual Greek word for “behavior” (anastrophe, Galatians 1:13; Ephesians 4:22; 1 Timothy 4:12; Hebrews 13:7; James 3:13; 1 Peter 1:15, 18; 2:12; 3:1, 2, 16; 2 Peter 2:7; 3:11) in the KJV is “conversation.” In 1611, when the KJV was issued, the word “conversation” meant “behavior,” but now “conversation” represents only one aspect of a person’s behavior, his language. So Paul’s Greek word politeuomai represents only one aspect of behavior: a person’s conduct as a legal member of a community. He commanded the Philippian Christians to “discharge your obligations as …

In this question, we are not presently concerning ourselves with the ‘when’ as in learning the steps of obedience to the commands given by the Lord when one has heard the Gospel of Christ and desires to give oneself to Jesus. Certainly, we would all agree that a person who becomes a believer in Christ and is penitent of sins should be baptized without further delay. This is brought out by the fact that we have no promise of another opportunity. The ancient writer declared by inspiration, “Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1). We have always encouraged a person to obey the Gospel when it is first learned. There is always the danger of the devil hindering one’s obedience by delaying a decision. Our main thrust in this article is to observe that the Bible nowhere asserts that there is a specific day of the week when one is to be baptized. It is surprising to learn that some feel the only time (and day) when a person can be scripturally immersed is during a period of worship on the first day of the week. It may be that we have not made it as clear as we should in regards to the ‘when’ a person can be baptized. The only time some members witness a baptism is during worship on Sunday. Young people may therefore conclude that this is the only scriptural time for one to be …

Not long ago I overheard a man talking about some rather shady business practices in which he had participated. That a man would be dishonest in business shouldn’t be all that shocking to me, but what was shocking to me was that this man was a Christian. When asked about how he could conscientiously engage in such activities, he said, “Business is business, and religion is religion.” Not long ago, I listened and watched as a presidential candidate stated that he believes life begins at conception, but in spite of that belief, he supported the right of women to abort their babies. He made it clear that his stance was due to the fact that his religious convictions were religious convictions, and had nothing to do with politics and the laws of the land. The above are examples of “compartmentalized religion.” For many people, religion is only a part of their being. It only impacts what they do on Sunday. It has no impact on their business ethics, their relationship with their neighbors or their politics. Imagine trying to sustain any other relationship in the same manner. Imagine a married businessman who, while on business trips, frequented “houses of ill-repute.” What would his wife, or anyone else, think if he offered the following as an explanation, “I do love my wife, and I am totally committed to her when I am with her, but I’m on the road now, and what happens on the road is a totally different matter”? …

One area of study that I really enjoy is that of restoration biography, that being the life histories of some of the great Gospel preachers of the past. I find biographies to be instructive with regard to both the bright and dark sides of life. While reading the biography of one great preacher of the recent past, it was noted that he was extremely busy in evangelistic work, that he was single-minded in his purpose to preach the Gospel and that much of his life was devoted to conducting Gospel meetings. In fifty-six years of preaching, he baptized between 8,000 and 10,000 people into Christ. One of his sons recalls that it was always a happy occasion when dad returned home between meetings, but that after the first moments of happy greetings, his preaching father would withdraw into his own world and did not spend a lot of time with his children. Such strikes me as a sad postscript to an otherwise successful life of bringing people to the Lord. It makes me wonder, how well taught were his children and where was dad as the spiritual leader in their lives? A preacher can easily lose sight of what is perhaps his highest priority, and that is his home and family. He may find himself active internationally, but a failure domestically. He may labor to make his name great, but there is no place on earth where his name is more important than at home. A preacher may glory in …

Recently, a sister in Christ asked why members of the church do not recite Matthew 6:9-13: After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. In the religious world, this is referred to as the “Lord’s Prayer.” In answer to this question, a few observations appear below. First, the prayer taught by Jesus was given as an example of how to pray, not a verbatim list of what to pray. In the parallel passage of Luke 11:1, Jesus is asked to teach his disciples to pray. He then gives them the classic example that the New KJV of the Bible calls the model prayer. It is called this because it represents a pattern of things to pray. These things are best summed up by the acronym ACTS: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication. What Jesus was teaching is that when we pray, we should express our love for God, confess our sins to him, give thanks to him and make our requests to him. Second, Jesus himself warned us against mindlessly repeating any prayer in Matthew 6:7 “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen …