When you pick up the New Testament epistles, so many begin with a greeting like, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” And that was the common way for the Greeks to send greetings (“Grace”) and for the Jews to send greetings (“Peace”). The fact that these blessings are wished upon the recipients FROM GOD…
Let's Go Back to the Bible
Let's Go Back to the Bible
Posts by David Sproule (Page 145)
Some have tried to justify the appointment of women as deacons in the church (a.k.a. “deaconesses”) by referencing Phoebe in Romans 16:1. In fact some versions of the Bible translate the Greek word in this verse as “deaconess.” Is that not correct? The Greek word used in Romans 16:1 is diakonos. It is found 30 times in the Greek New Testament. It…
When one is baptized into Christ and becomes a Christian, he begins a new life (Rom. 6:4), in which he is to set aside those things of his old way of life (2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 4:22) and excitedly pursue his new life in Christ and his new relationship with his Savior and Lord. Jesus summarized His expectations and made this promise,…
You can’t go anywhere (it seems) without hearing some sort of profanity. It’s in our schools, workplaces and recreational centers, and is as accepted (and expected) as running water and air conditioning. Too often, sadly, children of God allow it to seep into our own vocabulary. In his article on “The Plague of Profanity” (on ChristianCourier.com), Wayne Jackson drew this convincing conclusion:…
The following conversation was overheard in a men’s restroom on a Sunday afternoon in another state: Little boy to his father: “Dad, why is everybody so fancy here?” Father doesn’t respond to the question. Little boy to his father: “Dad, why is everybody so fancy here?” Father: “Because they went to church this morning and dressed up for it.” Little boy: “Oh.”…
It probably does not happen as often in real life as it does in the movies (or at least, let’s hope not). Unbeknownst to the passengers, something happens to the pilot midflight and an announcement comes over the speakers in the cabin, “Is there a pilot on board?” At that moment, there is a desperate need for someone who can fly and…
It is not a new revelation to you that college is an expensive venture. It takes a significant sum of savings to pay for all that is involved: tuition, room, board, textbooks, labs, supplies, activities, clothes, transportation, etc., etc. It can cost an arm and a leg to get a degree these days! But, for the moment, put all of that aside.…
When my wife became pregnant with our first child, my prayers increased, and in a very specific way. When our girls were born, the prayers stepped up to another level. As they grew older and experienced life (including the teenage years), prayer seemed to reach an all-time high. My prayers could not (or so I thought) reach a level much higher. But,…