The Gooch Lane church of Christ is a group of people in Madison, Alabama seeking to study the Bible and put God’s teachings into practice. We’d love to have you join us for Bible study and worship.
All in Study
This gets to the heart of the problem of brethren who don't study the word of God publicly or privately. They simply aren't interested.
“I hate studying history.” This is a statement I have heard on more than one occasion when someone learns that I spent much of my life teaching history. Over the years I have learned it is not really that a person hates “history”; instead, it is a hatred of the way history was taught. Likely, the one making such an assertion had a “just the facts” teacher who relished in dates, names, and filling-in-the-blank but had a gaping deficit in the ability to tell the story. Interestingly, the same thing that can lead one to “hate” history can also lead to “hating” Bible study.
For the past few weeks, several have joined in a study of seven churches described in the opening pages of John’s Revelation. This has been a thought-provoking and challenging study, as attention was focused on the Lord’s words to these groups of saints who lived over 2,000 years ago. In studies such as this, it is very easy to simply approach the topic academically, with a focus on definitions, links to other parts of the Bible, and the place the topic holds within its respective book. To do so, however, fails to understand that these were real churches comprised of real people who faced the daily challenge of faithful living amidst a pagan culture. Churches of the 21st-century do well to heed the words spoken by the Lord to these churches that belonged to Him.
Yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of the destruction of the Twin Towers in New York City, the attack on the Pentagon in Washington, and the heroic downing of United Airlines Flight 93. I remember getting dressed to go to work that Tuesday morning when the newscast came on the television showing the first tower had been struck by an airliner. While watching the newscast, I saw another airliner crash into the second tower. In shock, I continued getting ready for work as I watched the news coverage. Numbly, I drove to work. When I arrived, I found the two ladies who worked for me at their desks and unaware of the events that had transpired that morning. One of them asked me if I was okay. I could not formulate a response because of the lump in my throat. I simply indicated that they needed turn on the television.
Character studies have long been a staple of Bible teaching and preaching. This is certainly a God-approved plan since the divinely inspired New Testament writers reached back into ancient times to discuss people like Abraham, Sarah, Noah, and Moses to bolster their points about faithful service to God. In consideration of this type of teaching, consider three thoughts:
