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by: Gary L. Hutchens God’s word is “living and powerful” (Heb. 4:12). God guides us and communicates His will to us through His word (Ps. 119:105). The gospel message of salvation is revealed to us in God’s word (Rom. 1:16). By reading His word we understand that it is through the gospel that we are actually called to salvation (2 Thess. 2:13-14). His word guides us as to how to live a faithful, productive Christian life after coming to salvation (2 Tim. 3:15-17). It is no wonder that God instructs us to diligently study His word in order to be able to correctly understand and apply it to our lives, and to stand approved before Him (2 Tim. 2:15).
by: Gary L. Hutchens We’re at the beginning of a new year. This is a time when people are contemplating making changes in their lives. They think about how things have been going and consider what they would like to change to make their lives better. Let me urge you to consider what could be one of the most significant changes that you could make. Resolve, make up your mind, to be in Bible classes every Sunday morning and Wednesday evening, as consistently as you possibly can. If you have children, resolve to bring them to Bible classes every Sunday morning and Wednesday evening.
by: Gary L. Hutchens This is the first Sunday of another new year. This is the forty-third bulletin article that I have written marking the beginning of a new year, eighteen of them with this congregation. I have had the privilege of writing four articles marking the beginning of new decades and the most unique experience of writing one that marked a three fold new beginning: a new year, a new decade and a new millennium.
by: Gary L. Hutchens This is a good time to think about your soul. When? Right now. Many people would think that statement probably has something to do with the holiday season. After all, a few weeks ago we celebrated the Thanksgiving Day holiday. That certainly sounds as though it has spiritual overtones, and for many people it does. They focus on all of the blessings with which God has blessed them, and they make a special effort to give Him thanks. That’s a good thing.
by: Gary L. Hutchens Peter wrote, “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps” (1 Pet. 2:21). We are supposed to learn from our savior, not only from His teachings but also from the example of how He lived as a human being in this world.
by: Gary L. Hutchens We’re in the midst of what is commonly called the Holiday Season. Personally, I like the holidays. I’m not crazy about the extreme commercialization that has progressively developed around them, but I like the holidays themselves. People seem to refocus, somewhat, and reflect more on their spiritual lives than they normally do during most of the rest of the year. That’s a good thing, but unfortunately, for a great many, it’ll only be a matter of becoming “faithful for the holidays."
by: Gary L. Hutchens We all make choices everyday. Many of them are rather routine, not terribly significant. What will I wear today? What do I want for lunch? But some choices can have life-changing effects. Marriage. Buy a home. A job change. A decision to change locations. After leading the people of Israel into the promised land, and then through battle after battle to secure the land, Joshua called upon the people to make the most important decision of their lives: “And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…” (Josh. 24:15).
By: Gary L. Hutchens On the night of His betrayal Jesus issued “A new commandment…that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (Jn. 13:34-35). On this occasion Jesus was speaking specifically to His apostles, but the intended application to all who would become His faithful followers is obvious. Why is loving our brothers and sisters, our brethren, in Christ so important?
by: Gary L. Hutchens On the night of His betrayal, Jesus was in the “upper room” with the apostles. In one of the longest immediate contexts of scripture in the entire New Testament (Jn. 13-17), and just before the events that led to His leaving them and going back to Heaven began to unfold, Jesus gave the apostles a great deal of instruction and encouragement. That very evening He was taken into custody and run through a series of mock hearings. The next day He was on the cross.
by: Gary L. Hutchens Ready or not, we are full swing into the Holiday season. Thanksgiving day is just ahead. That means that Christmas and then New Year’s Day are not far away. Of course, not all of us view all of the holidays with the same emphasis as do many people, but it can be a pleasant, even rather exciting time of the year. The holidays seem to come faster as the years go by, and preparations for them begin earlier.
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March 2019
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