Some of us remember these statements: “The family that prays together stays together.” “The family is the backbone of the nation.” “The community is a reflection of the families who live in them.” When you hear the word FAMILY what comes to mind? Sadly, when some hear family in cause’s painful memories; others are filled with happy memories. From the first family—Adam and Eve—until the most recent family, families have faced challenges. Some families have grown stronger and closer together, while others have deteriorated.      Whatever happened to family?      “There is no such thing as society: there are individual…

In 1989 Stephen Covey wrote a national bestseller titled 7 Habits of Highly Effective People ® which continues to be a popular seller today. In the book, Dr. Covey listed 7 basic self-help principles which would help persons achieve business success, personal success, etc. in life. Here are those principles: Be proactive Begin with the end in view Put first things first Think win-win ® Seek first to understand, then to be understood Synergize ® Sharpen the saw ® As you may know, 7 is an interesting number related to short term and working memory, first popularized in a paper…

Have you ever wondered, as I have, what happened in the life of the Ethiopian eunuch, who was baptized by Philip (Acts 8:26-39), when he arrived back home in Ethiopia? Was there a congregation there with which he became identified with? Did he, as some think, start a new congregation? Regardless of what the answer might be, one thing is certain as a new Christian he had to make some attitude adjustments. Revisiting the Day of Pentecost when 3000 were baptized, we have the account of how, under the teaching and leadership of the Apostles, they began to adjust their…

I have been asked more times than I can remember why do Churches of Christ spend so much time on congregational singing? My answer includes, we sing because there are approximately 400 references to sing, singing, and singer in the Bible as well as 50 commands related to singing. Here are several biblical reasons WHY our congregation chooses to sing: We sing because Jesus and His disciples sang (Matthew 26:30). We sing because we are commanded to sing (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16). We sing because we are admonished to sing (James 5:13). We sing because we have examples of singing,…