We often talk about the dangers of intoxication. However, for the person who is struggling with substance use, they may feel that there is no benefit to coming off the substances. Many people who resort to substance use do so because they are trying to escape the painful realities of their life. For that person, being sober is scarier than the inability to think straight when intoxicated. With that in mind, let's examine some of the benefits of sobriety...

Cost-benefit analysis is an important skill that most of us use in every part of life. When looking for a job we ask, “Is the expected income worth the time and stress?” When considering a large purchase, we ask, “Is this item worth the money it will cost?” When considering dessert, we ask “Is the taste worth the calories?” When deciding if we will travel in the snow we ask, “Is my reason for getting out today worth the chance of a car accident?” We do cost-benefit analysis a

Imagine for a moment a basketball team in which each member was trying to gain all the glory for themselves and saw the other players on their team as competitors. No matter how skilled those individual players were, the team would lose. For a basketball team to succeed, the individual players must work together, coordinate, and pass the ball. When they work as a team, they can overcome anything. The same is true in marriage...

It is common to hear marriage spoken of in derogatory ways. And I understand why. The world does not promote healthy or Godly attitudes about self, others, or relationships. Thus, many people end up being selfish and sinful in their marriages, and then (little wonder) they have negative experiences with marriage...

Marriage was designed by God to be a beautiful union of man and woman. However, as with every good thing, the enemy tries to twist and corrupt that union into something that destroys people and their relationship with God. We as God’s people have the ability, and even duty, to reject the enemy’s corruption and follow God’s beautiful design for union between man and woman...

Ever heard of a theory called the Documentary Hypothesis? It’s popular among sceptic scholars who claim that the first five books of the Bible (called the Pentateuch) were not written by Moses. They claim that the Pentateuch is instead a compilation of four different documents, assembled by a later redactor or editor. But, honestly... does it even matter who wrote the Pentateuch? In short, yes, it matters. Firstly, in numerous places, the Pentateuch itself claims that Moses

Life is full of distractions: They may be pleasant or unpleasant, but they are distractions never-the-less. Interestingly, what constitutes a distraction differs for people greatly since it is based on an individual’s goals. What a motivated, goal-oriented person sees as a distraction could be the perceived purpose in life for an unmotivated, aimless person. What a righteous person sees as a sinful distraction, an unrighteous person might see as the only thing worth pursuing.

When people go through hard times, they will often ask something like, “Why is God letting this happen to me?” They may even state it as an accusation: “How dare God put me through this?” These questions and the ideas behind them can easily shake or even topple a person’s faith. You may notice that these questions are phrased as though the person is a victim in the situation. The accusation is that God is acting unfairly against them...

“Anything that makes me this happy could not be bad for me.” “Surely, God wants me to be happy, right?” “It feels too good to be wrong.” From a humanistic point of view these comments sound accurate, and are common among people trying to justify sin. But, are these statements biblical and correct? To answer that question, let’s look at what John the apostle says...

The beginning of a new year is a fascinating time. Many people optimistically make plans and resolutions for the coming year, deciding what they want to accomplish and feeling excited about what the year may bring. Others might feel indifferent about the new year, anticipating another year of the same old grind. Some people may even dread the new year, fearing some unknown event or dreading challenges it may bring, and feeling concerned that they will not live up to some stan

It was the night before Christmas, when all through the house people were grumpy, even Aunt Gail. Uncle George brought up politics without any care, grandpa lost his temper right then and right there. Grandma hid in her room consumed with dread, while visions of disaster danced in her head. Aunt Jill and Uncle Tom were fuming that James brought that girl to dinner, and his sister was stoking the fire with her sarcastic ire...

According to certain theologians, some of God’s commands seem to unequally impact those who have been harmed by cruel people. Because of this the argument is made that God’s commands don’t pertain in certain situations. These are often presented in hypothetical “what if” statements. These statements are formed in such a way where following God’s commands looks like the cruel option, and going against God’s law seems like the merciful option...

While sin in general hinders the work of ministry, one specific sin will absolutely destroy a person’s effectiveness: the sin of pride. Pride is probably one of the hardest sins to overcome, because the prideful person doesn’t think they have anything to overcome. As the old saying goes, “Admitting you have a problem is the first step in recovery.” The Bible has a lot to say about how pride will hinder the work of ministry.

We live in a very negative and pessimistic society. Doom and gloom permeate every aspect of culture. Unfortunately, that pessimism has also permeated the church. Many Christians will only look at the negatives of any given situation. They see how hard it is to resist sin, so they despair of ever being able to overcome their bad habits. They see how difficult evangelism is, so they start to think that the church can never grow...

There was a time in the not-too-distant past when members of the church of Christ were known as people who knew the word. Sadly, that cannot be said quite as confidently about us in more recent decades. Too many people make excuses for not memorizing Scripture. They may say that they are not smart enough or that it is too difficult. They may say they are too busy. Regardless of which excuse someone uses, they are refusing to put the work in - but it can be done...

Most religious groups want to be holy. And God’s word teaches us how to be holy (c.f. 1 Peter 1:15-16). If those desiring to be holy simply did what God says to do, then the world would be a much better place. But for many, just “doing what the Bible says” seems oversimplified and they feel that there must be more to it than that.

For many years we have hosted an annual Apologetics seminar in November. Two important questions often arise about this practice. The first question is, what does apologetics mean? The second is, why do we host these seminars on such a frequent basis? These are great questions! This brief explanation will help everyone better understand the value of these seminars and hopefully motivate us to share this opportunity with everyone we know...

Many people think that Bible reading and Bible study are the same. They are not. Simply reading the Bible is great for familiarizing ourselves with scripture, and for setting our minds on things above, rather than on things bellow. Bible study, however, goes deeper than Bible reading.

Many of us struggle with feelings of self-doubt and insecurity. These feelings impact many different areas of our lives. The area that we are going to discuss today is our Bible study.

The doctrine of Premillennialism relies on the false premise that Jesus failed in His mission when He came to earth two thousand years ago. The claim is that Jesus was supposed to set up an earthly kingdom in Jerusalem. When the Jews rejected Him, they thwarted God’s plan and the church was set up as an emergency backup plan. It also relies on the false premise that the return of Christ will be preceded by various signs, which will alert the faithful that His return is immine