Please click on the article title to read.
All This for a “Dollar an Hour”
The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle income family. Talk about sticker shock! That doesn’t even touch college tuition. But $160,140 isn’t so bad if you break it down. It translates into $8,896.66 a year, $741.38 a month, or $171.08 a week. That’s a mere $24.24 a day! Just over a dollar an hour. Still, you might think the best financial advice says don’t have children if you want to be “rich.” It is just the opposite. What do you...
Does this Seem Ridiculous?
“Hello…Yes…Oh, you’re Johnny’s teacher. I’ve been meaning to call you…No; he isn’t planning to be in school this year. You see he has so much work to do at the church – he has Bible school lessons, church services, youth activities and such takes up his time; then there are daily devotionals at home and other interests, so there isn’t time left for school… Well, yes I know that school is important, and I know that you are doing a fine job with the kids in this community – and I’ve been intending to write...Continue reading
Christianity: A “Daily” Perspective
Bob Patterson It does not take long (even for the casual reader of the New Testament) to recognize the importance that is placed upon such terms now, today, or daily! Most of us look at our schedules and calendars, and we find that our lives have become regimented by the demands placed on us at the work place, appointments here, doing this, doing that, going here, traveling there, pick-up this, deliver that, a meeting here, and a deadline there! If we are not extremely careful we can become like the one in James 4:13-15, who...Continue reading
Make Today Count!
Allen Webster A plaque marking Abraham Lincoln’s birthplace near Hodgenville, Kentucky, records this scrap of conversation: “Any news down t’ the village, Ezry?” “Well, Squire McLain’s gone t’ Washington t’ see Madison swore in, and ol’ Spellman tell me this Bonaparte fella has captured most o’ Spain. What’s new out here, neighbor?” Nuthin’, nuthin’ a tall, ‘cept fer a new baby born t’ Tom Lincoln’s, Nothin’ ever happens out here.” Life’s great moments rarely receive a glance from the world. Positive things go unnoticed by the masses while negative events make the news. If you...Continue reading
Silencing The Lamb
Glenn Alexander I’m afraid the voice of our dear Savior is being heard less and less in the worship services in our brotherhood. Dire predictions have surfaced in recent weeks. Of great concern are the words of Ron Cook in the Sunday edition of The Tennessean dated, August 29, 1999. Forecasting looming changes in our worship as in introduction of instrumental music he said, “Instrumental music is already apart of youth events that happen at churches. Teenagers love Christian music. Music is a fact of life. It’s inevitable.” Ray Waddle, who wrote the newspaper article,...Continue reading
Thank God for Small Things
Pennies, pennies if not fake Collected one by one Will a dollar make. Do appreciate the small things. A delicate snowflake so rare Piled upon a mountain top Created a beauty for us all to share. Be thankful for small things. The small seed of spruce, birch, or pine With years and years of growth Produce a forest so fine. We thank you Lord for small things. Petals of flowers tiny and bold Scattered upon the mother earth Displays nature color to behold. Thank you for the beauty of small things. Cotton, pieces of lint...Continue reading
The Power of One
Flavil Nichols During the war between the states, a young woman learned the truth and obeyed the gospel. Her sweetheart, J. H. Halbrook, was a confederate soldier. He was captured by the union army and kept a prisoner in Michigan until the war was over. He was given a ticked to Nashville, Tennessee, and $2.50. From there, he returned to Centerville and found what was left of his home and family. He found his girlfriend and they were married. His wife studied the Bible with him, and soon became a Christian. He thought the truth...Continue reading
Life – Good to the Last Drop!
I don’t like the taste of coffee, but the Maxwell House people sure make me wish I did. Anything that’s good enough to enjoy to the last drop is worth getting in on. A life well-lived is like that. Some people hang up their spurs in the middle of the rodeo; others go out with their boots on, sitting in the saddle. Some shrivel up on the vine; others save their sweetest fruit for the final picking. Christians should make the most of their days –all of them. Moses wrote, “So teach us to number...Continue reading
Misconceptions of Godly Parenting
Barry Gilreath, Jr. One of the wisest men to ever live once wrote, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). But it is the training that we as parents so often struggle with. We are so bombarded by humanistic, worldly, parenting philosophies that many Christian parents are confused about how to bring their children up in the love and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). And just as misconceptions have arisen in the denominational world concerning the Lord’s...
Interesting Facts About the Bible
B.C. Goodpasture Deceased About forty men were engaged in the writing of the Bible during a period of about sixteen hundred years—that is from 1500 BC to AD 100. These men wrote as the Holy Spirit moved them (2 Peter 1:21). They wrote not in words of human wisdom, but in words divinely taught (1 Cor. 2:13). The Bible contains 3,566,480 letters, 773,746 words, 31,102 verses, 1,189 chapters and 66 books. The Old Testament contains 39 books; the New Testament, 27 books. In point of length, the average word of the Bible contains fewer...