Small Group Devotionals

Recently, we have gone through the painful experience of having to withdraw from one of our members because he refused to repent from sin and had left the assembly.

If you come to church regularly you will probably hear about 150 invitations to respond to the lesson or sermons a year. That means thousands of invitations in a person’s lifetime.

​On Father' Day while we are thinking about fathers in general, I want to share with you some reasons why I love my father. Not my earthly father, who I love and still miss more than 50 years after he died, no, my heavenly Father, who is alive and with whom I have a daily relationship.

​We have this unwritten rule in the church that when there is bad weather or a major holiday that falls on Sunday night or Wednesday night, we have a devo. Of course, a devotional is a good thing and edifying for the church but sometimes there is the impression that it is less than "real church" when the preacher preaches a sermon, have classes.

At this time of year our minds are focused on giving and receiving gifts. It is one of the fun things about Christmas.

“He who withholds his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.” The rod spoken of here was a very meaningful image in the Old Testament. It referred to the shepherd’s rod or staff, carved wood from a tree branch, usually the height of the man.

​One of the more gruesome characters on the national news is a man called "The Suicide Doctor" or "Doctor Death". Dr. Kevorkian. He helps people consciously and willingly commit suicide.

A while ago there was a movie called “Awakenings” with Robert de Niro and Robin Williams. It was about a man who, for some reason, was in a coma for years and then suddenly came out of it for a while with the help of this doctor. While unconscious he could have all normal bodily functions and was kept alive.

What parents and teens discuss a lot is what is or is not mature. Parents and teens do not have the same idea about what maturity means.

Seeking the kingdom was explained in terms that seemed even more demanding than the Law when one looks at it on the surface.

One of the best ways to learn about the Bible is to be involved in one of these competitions like Bible Bowl. There is a specific subject; there is the element of competition which forces you to study, memorize and think quickly under pressure.

I believe that the most sincere thing we can desire for someone else is their happiness. We believe, and rightly so, that whether rich or poor, healthy or sick, happiness is the most important commodity that we posses.

A Christian woman asked me what she could do for her father who was not a Christian and who was dying of cancer. Serious thought because I will have to face this problem and so will you. Maybe you are facing it now.

You hear about it at a lectureship or when you have lunch with some brother from another congregation... Brother so and so has quit preaching; selling real estate. Brother so and so burned out; run off on his wife; changed religion...