First Christian Church - Elizabethtown, Ky

Recently, a tornado ripped through parts of Oklahoma and left behind a path of destruction. Homes and businesses were destroyed and at least one person was killed. Chase Rhodes, a high school student from Moore, Oklahoma snapped a picture of a broken power pole that was left hanging from power lines and it was in the perfect shape of a cross. Rhodes tweeted his picture along with the message, “Just found this after the tornado. God is with us.” The cross on which Jesus was crucified has been a symbol for Christians for hundreds and hundreds of years. The cross, originally was a symbol for harsh and brutal punishment and execution, but became the symbol for hope and salvation for Christ followers worldwide. The most recognizable symbol of Christianity is undeniably the cross. The cross of Christ is so much more than an icon or symbol. It is the core of our salvation and the cornerstone of Christian life because it represents the fact that God sent Jesus to earth to die for the sins of all mankind. God has gi

Prayer is one of the necessities of the Christian life. The word of God challenges us with the promise found in Jeremiah 33:3, “Call to me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” Yet we do not pray as we should. Why is that? Perhaps Bill Hybels, in his book, “Too Busy Not to Pray,” identifies our problem when he says, “To people in the fast lane, determined to make it on their own, prayer is an embarrassing interruption. Prayer is alien to our proud human nature.” James 5:13-20 gives us some direction regarding the importance of prayer. Verse 16 tells us, “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” Prayer is powerful. Prayer changes things. Every believer has the capacity for powerful and effective prayer. Ordinary people who believe in the power of prayer come into the presence of God because He has invited them to and then God provides a supernatural intervention into their prayer because of their belief. How is

The word patient means to bear a provocation, annoyance, misfortune or pain without complaint, loss of temper or irritation. Patience in the face of unfortunate circumstances is often fleeting and short in supply, even for Christians. We don’t like to be out of control. Discomfort is painful. The feeling of helplessness when we face a crisis turns our world upside down. We often have two primary reactions when things turn against us. We want to find some way to fix the situation or we want to find some way to get back at the person for the reason we are in this position. Patience in the midst of trouble requires us to stand firm on all we believe and know to be true. In 1 Corinthians Chapter 15, Paul tells the church “hold firmly to the word I preached to you.” It is in the times of trials, tribulations and crises that these words are most important. The book of James reminds us that life won’t be a bed of roses. He cautions us to not overreact and lose sight of the big picture in those times of trouble.

The American dream, that game we play. You know the one, “What would you do if you hit the Lottery, the Power Ball, that huge jackpot?” Oh the ideas we come up with…cars, boats, houses, vacations and of course, “the first thing I’m going to do is quit my job.” But there is a downside to that big win. The National Endowment for Financial Education estimates that as many as seventy percent of Americans who experience a sudden windfall will lose that money within a few years. People handed a hefty check usually experience erratic emotions ranging from elation to resentment to anger, according to the NEFE. One study found that nearly one third of lottery winners encounter financial trouble or bankruptcy within five years of winning. Researchers from the Paris School of Economics determined that the overall health of lottery winners did not improve once they won. In fact, in certain cases, lottery winners experienced worse health after being granted “financial comfort.” The results of these modern “dreams co

No matter where you get your news—online, newspapers, radio or TV—one thing is sure. Every day you learn of people who started their day with plans, dreams and expectations. Then, in an instant, it all changed. Accidents, acts of terror, crimes, storms and unimaginable events occur every day and lives change, lives end. This isn’t meant to be a downer. It’s simply a reality we need to consider. We are all one phone call away from having our world turned upside down. To disregard this truth is arrogance. We make a grave mistake when we fail to recognize that God is in control. “As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.” James 4:16 (NIV) While there is certainly nothing wrong with planning, we need to keep our plans in perspective. We need to seek God’s will as we plan. Our plans need to honor God. When our plans work out, we need to give God credit and thanks. When they fail, we need to trust God. Here’s the best news. God is in control. He loves you and has plans for you

During the week of deep snow and children at home instead of being in school, parents may have observed a few struggles, maybe even a few fights. Children battled over who would play with a particular toy or game. The adults probably shook their heads and then stepped in to break up the battle. They may have wondered why their children, who were always eager to tell them the stories of Jesus that they heard Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings, couldn’t be more loving and generous with their possessions. Where and how did they learn to be selfish with the things that others had given them? James 4:1-2a NLT shows us what we can see among ourselves even now: “What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them.” While we may not wage war or kill to have what we want, James tells us

Once, two young mothers came to King Solomon begging him to solve a bitter dispute. These mothers lived in the same home and both had newborn baby boys. During the night one of the women rolled over on her baby and killed him, so she traded her dead baby with the other woman’s living son. When morning came, the mother recognized the dead baby beside her was not the son she gave birth to, so she confronted the other woman and demanded her baby back. They could not reach a compromise, so they went to King Solomon and asked him to help solve their dispute. The king was happy to do so and immediately ordered the baby boy cut in two so that both mothers could have half. When the actual mother heard this, she immediately said to let the other woman have the baby because she realized the baby would be killed and she would rather the child live, even if she couldn’t raise him. The king then knew who the real mother was, and she was awarded the baby. Solomon’s wisdom was known far and wide and Israel flourished unde

How many times have we said something we wish we could take back—mean, hurtful, proud or ugly words? In James, Chapter 3:1-12, we get a warning about our words. He does not just come out and say “watch your words” or “be careful how you talk to each other.” Instead, he chooses to spend his time telling us how powerful, evil, uncontrollable, sinful and inconsistent our tongues are. Here are some examples of what our tongues can do: • Is small but makes great boasts (verse 5) • Corrupts the whole person (verse 6) • Can set the whole course of a person’s life on fire (verse 6) • Cannot be tamed by man (verse 8) • Is a restless evil, full of deadly poison (verse 8) • Can be used to praise God and curse men (verse 9) This passage paints a pretty discouraging picture. Our tongues are messed up; they are broken. When we read these verses, we should have a couple of responses. First, since it is so powerful, we need to be careful how we use our tongue. We should guard our words and be slow to speak. Our second res

Baseball legend Ernie Banks passed away last month at the age of 83. Banks was the first African American to play for the Chicago Cubs. He went on to play 18 seasons for the Cubs from 1953-1971. there is arguably no player who was more renowned and beloved in the city where he played than Ernie Banks. That love and admiration continued to the day he died. Banks was nicknamed "Mr. Cub." Some called him "Mr. Sunshine" for his optimistic and joyful outlook on the game he played and for life in general. he was recognized for his play on the field with induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977. But the story of Ernie Banks didn't end when his playing days were through. Yes, Ernie aged to the point that he couldn't compete against younger and stronger players on the field. But Banks remained an icon, a leader and an inspiration to many through his work as an unofficial member of the Cubs organization throughout his lifetime. In 2013, Banks was awared the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Ernie Banks is a great

How do we treat those with plenty and those with little? Do we treat them equally, look away from the wealth and look beyond poverty? Or do we assign value and importance based on the possession of worldly bounty? We all want to say, “Oh no, I treat everyone the same!” James anticipated our response. He predicted our thoughts and the challenges we face when he wrote: “My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?” (James 2:1-4) NIV James is pointing out in very clear terms we are judging people before even knowing them. We make assumptions about people. Our stereotypes and pre

Take a moment to think about what the world was like when James wrote these words. “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.” James 1:19-20 (NIV) If someone blurted out careless or harsh words, who heard them? If someone lost their temper, who knew about it? The audience was limited to the people who were close enough to hear what was said or see what happened. There were no newspapers, radios or TVs. Still, thoughtless words and quick reflex anger could produce damaging results. Now, think what the audience looks like for your careless or harsh words and your angry outbursts. We can only wish that newspapers, radios and TVs were the only places our embarrassing moments might show up. Have you ever wanted to reach out and retrieve words in an email or text after you hit the send button? Have you ever tried to get something off of the Internet after it’s out there for everyone in the world to see?

Have you ever started to read the book of James and in the first chapter, second verse find the following: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds?” Having been through a few tests or challenges in your own life, you think “Who would ever consider it pure joy?” Think back, though, to what you learned, what you gained from those trials. Did you have a serious health crisis which caused you to take better care of your body, God’s temple? Did a broken relationship cause you to depend more on your relationship with Jesus? Did a financial downfall cause you to realize that material things are not as important as you once thought? You may be more than a little curious about why James considered trials pure joy. James 1:3 says that the tests you go through are really tests of your faith, that they produce perseverance, which, in turn, helps us to be “mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James even goes ahead to tell us what we need to do when we’re facing lif

There is a story about a father who was attempting to teach his young daughter about the importance of tithing. He placed ten dimes on the table, laying them side by side, all the while telling the child about the goodness of God and how He created all the world. He explained how God sent his only son, Jesus, to earth and how Jesus had died on the cross to save all of humanity from their sins. The father then pushed one dime to the side, leaving nine of them behind. The father explained, “This one dime belongs to God, it is His. The remaining nine are ours.” The little girl began to cry and her father was shocked as he asked her why she was crying. The child replied, “Is that all God gets?” (Author Unknown) Tithing is an Old Testament concept and was a requirement of the Law. “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. ‘Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not

In Mark 10:17-31 (NIV) we read about the rich young ruler. He had a simple question to ask Jesus. “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus’ answer surprised the man. Jesus was talking to a man that claimed to be keeping the commandments throughout his life, but he was missing one important thing. Jesus calls him to leave his possessions behind, saying, “You will have treasure in heaven; then come follow me.” We are the ones who suffer when we let wealth cut us off from other people and remove us from a relationship with God. The solution is not to try harder to be good, but to accept God’s love. If we do this, we learn that we can trust God for the things we really need in life and not hold on to our possessions and positions for security. Author Max Lucado in his book Cast of Characters: Common People in the Hands of an Uncommon God, says: "What costs far more than you can pay? You don't need a system, you need a Savior. You don't need a resume, you need a redeemer...God does not save us

Another Christmas has come and gone. The gifts have been purchased and opened. Some of us received just what we wanted and what we had requested. Others of us ended up with that sweater with the funny markings that was about two sizes too small. Each of us had decisions to make about our gift buying this Christmas. We had to decide who was on the gift list. How much were we going to spend on someone? Were we going to purchase a personal gift or one of those generic middle of the aisle gadgets to give to someone? While we don’t like to admit it, many times our gift purchase decisions boil down to our perception of the worth of the person to us and the worthiness of the person based upon their position, attitude and actions. We don’t spend the same amount of money on everybody and we don’t give everyone the same type of gift. Thankfully, God doesn’t practice His gift giving to us with those attitudes and limitations. God has a gift for each of us. It is the same gift. God offers us the gift of grace and m

No matter if we are young or old, or in between, we have memories of Christmas. What are those memories made of? Presents, joy, anticipation, excitement; the list of Christmas memories could go on and on. While Christmas is about many things, the greatest of these is hope. Christmas is about the hope of a son, the Son of God, coming to save the world. This hope was revealed well before Christmas day. Isaiah the prophet proclaimed, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.“ Isaiah 9:6 (NIV) The arrival of the King would be joyous, but foretold more than the victory that would come. The child would not live a long life. This King of Kings would bear the weight of the world. This Lamb of God would be tortured and die a gruesome death. As Isaiah promised of this King, “He will reign on David’s throne and over His kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice an

Within moments of the last line being delivered and the last note sung in “An Unplugged Christmas,” parents will blow up Facebook with videos from their phones. Later in the day grandparents will share links to their photo albums and great grandparents will be on their landline phones telling friends how cute the children were. Christmas plays create good news that people are eager to share. While the methods of sharing may change with the generations, the enthusiasm is always there. We can’t wait to tell the stories about the sweet, joyful way that children tell “The Story.” If you like to see people smile, “An Unplugged Christmas” is a great place to be. There will be smiles on the stage and even bigger smiles from the people watching their children. But the biggest smiles of all will be smiles of relief on the faces of the directors, costumers, choreographers and tech team members. The work back stage is often overlooked. Overlooked doesn’t mean unimportant. In fact, the backstage story is vital to what we

The Old Testament contains stories of individuals and events that helped people living in the New Testament times to accept the birth and life of Jesus as truth which, in turn, helped them to receive Him as their Savior. If you had lived in New Testament times, would it have been easy for you to accept this man, this carpenter called Jesus as the Messiah and to receive Him as your Savior?- Do you remember how you first learned about Jesus? - Was it because a relative told you about Jesus? - Your best childhood friend invited you to Vacation Bible School? - A co-worker asked you to go to a life group? - Your neighbor invited you to a Christian concert? - Someone gave you a Bible and you started reading it? - A friend told you how his relationship with God got him through a difficult time in his life? Did that invitation or special someone pave the way for you to develop a relationship with Jesus and help accept the gift that only Jesus can give? If it did, then you have a duty to introduce your relatives, frie

When John Elway, Denver Bronco’s top executive, managed to sign Peyton Manning as the team’s new quarterback, replacing Tim Tebow, a reporter asked him, what he would do if Manning got hurt. “What is your Plan B?” A shocked Elway answered, they didn’t have a Plan B, and were sticking with Plan A. That is, Manning was their first choice for quarterback, so they are sticking with him. Sending Jesus to earth to die and save humanity from their sins was not God’s alternative plan of salvation. Jesus was meant to die for our sins from the beginning. Jesus was there with God in the beginning and God knew then what His son would do for the world. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:1-5 (NIV) As Christians, we rejoi

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV) says: “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Prayer is a powerful tool that we have to communicate with God and He desires to have this intimate relationship with us. In our “Life on Mission” we have an opportunity to connect, serve, share, grow and pray. We can pray for others to find that relationship with Jesus and we can pray for ourselves. We need to pray at all times, good and bad. We have a tendency to save prayer for those tough times we go through and not pray before those tough times happen. And many times we forget to pray when times are going great. Paul writes the following in Ephesians 3:20 (NIV): “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to Him be glory.” God can do more for us than we ever dreamed possible. Whatever we ask, He can do. He can give peace in stressful circumstances. He can bring salva