“Husbands,” Peter says, “in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers” (1 Pet. 3:7, NIV). This teaching came to mind several years ago when…

Most churches maintain a membership list. It makes church-goers feel good to know that they belong to a group whose professed goal is heaven. However, a piece of paper in a church office filing cabinet is no indication of God’s favor. The only membership list that matters is in the hand of God. Thinking of…

Introduction: Labor Day weekend Americans enjoyed the holiday that annually marks the end of summer. People visited relatives, camped at the lake, watched the first college football games of the season, grilled hamburgers. But Kim Davis spent the weekend in jail. Davis is a Democrat, an elected official in Kentucky, the Rowan County clerk. She…

Written by Eric Welch [Eric is the preaching minister of the Hamburg Pike congregation in Jeffersonville, IN.] You wake up in the morning and sit at the computer before going to school. You get to your Facebook page and notice that you have a friend request from Satan. He really wants to be your friend.…

Note: My understanding of training up children has been influenced by Dr. James Dobson’s book Dare to Discipline. Introduction You are sitting in a restaurant with your wife and children. The kids are not behaving perfectly, but they are behaving. If you tell them to sit down or stop whining, they listen. Before the meal…

When Mike Yankoski was 22, he wrote Under the Overpass. In this book he described his fascinating experiences as a homeless man. Mike took a break from his college education and lived on the streets of several large U.S. cities. Yankoski prepared himself for this unusual experiment by reading books about homelessness, working at a…

In one of his letters to the Corinthians, Paul divides everything in the world into two basic categories. Faithful Christians “look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18). Material…

My good friend Charlie once told me about an interesting saying he had seen posted on a church sign. It read: “God does not call the qualified. He qualifies the called.” What did this mean? The first part of the saying reflected the Lord’s teaching at a dinner party. Jesus “saw a man called Matthew…

Written By Eric Welch [Eric is the preaching minister of the Hamburg Pike congregation in Jeffersonville, Indiana.] 16 There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that make…

A Loving Church A healthy congregation is known not only for its firm biblical convictions but also for its loving attitudes. Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34). If the selfless love of Jesus…