Sabbath we were able to meet with a very happy group in the idyllic town of Hixson just outside of Chattanooga. So it came as a bit of a shock to read about the shootings that took place on Thursday in the areas where we had been on Sunday. The shooter lived in Hixson. We…

you ever wondered if your life really matters much? Have you asked yourself, “Am I really needed?”. Such wonderments aren’t uncommon or unusual – we’ve all probably pondered such things from time to time. And these questions aren’t problematic, in themselves, provided we come to a godly conclusion in answering them. Christ said, “Are not…

ts essence unity flows from the Father through Christ and into His Church. It is a powerful force that emanates from the unity of the Father and the Son. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!” (Deuteronomy 6:4). It is to be mirrored by the unity of the members of the…

ng a very difficult period of David’s life before he became king, he evidenced characteristics that have been recorded in God’s Word for our benefit. We know that our Father is ever present in our lives. At least we know it academically. But sometimes it feels like we are alone – especially when we pray…

e is no doubt that we live in a world of changing morality. Over the years we have regularly talked about the steady – and sometimes rapid – decline in moral standards around us. We have noted that some people view the breaking down of barriers and taboos as progress towards a freer, more accepting…

ong>Repentance Man was created to have a relationship with his Creator. The Father desires to have and is the process of creating an eternal spiritual family and man was created just for that purpose. Christ is the captain and author of eternal salvation (Hebrews 2:6-10; 5:8-9). Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden…

Bible clearly makes the claim to be the Word of God and assures us that all scripture is given by inspiration of God. Moreover, the Bible itself instructs us that man is not to add to or take away from scripture. Some feel that this admonition in Deuteronomy only refers to the law (Deuteronomy 4:2;…

e would be general agreement that the weather patterns around the world are changing. The debate seems to center around the cause – is it man-made or is it a natural cyclical change taking place? It may be neither. Some fulfilled Bible prophecies might help us understand the incredible global weather patterns we currently observe.…

ian, along with her mother and I are in Dallas for a combined get together over this Pentecost weekend. The double Sabbath allows the opportunity for some extended fellowship for the congregations from Houston, Tulsa and Dallas. Over the past few weeks we have seen a number of deaths among the people of God. This…

week’s update has been prepared by Marshall Stiver. Perspective is a remarkable thing. It defines what an artist does when giving proper height, width, depth and position to various objects or scenes when viewed from a particular vantage point. The viewer sees the objects and scenes as they actually would appear in nature – no…

ay in the praise of mothers” has some quite interesting origins. Although we know it as Mother’s Day, its development came from two very different sources. Although now commonly referred to as Mother’s Day, the British/European day is the fourth Sunday in Lent – three weeks before Easter. Its origin is a religious festival known…

he Sabbath draws near, we begin to anticipate the “assembling of ourselves together.” Fellowship is shown to us as being an important aspect of being a part of the Body – the Church. The Body is a family or community of believers who are all working to “come out of her” – to live apart…

update this week is a report from Cliff Veal sent to us from Kigali, Rwanda: With the coming of evening darkness and calm fell over the verdant hills and valleys of a remote Rwandan village. With no light pollution from surrounding cities the blanket of stars in the night sky showed brilliantly — mesmerizing and…