The audio is now available from our special series of lessons from Gary Henry on October 4-7.

This morning at a Bible study we talked quite a bit about the thoughts that go through our minds at worship service. On Sunday morning one might be thinking about his Sunday afternoon nap. Another might be thinking about all the yard work he has to get done in between services. Or another might be thinking about getting on the road for vacation or a business trip.
Although we all have these thoughts from time to time, we often recognize that when our mind is in the wrong place at the …

In the sermon on the mount, Jesus told those listening “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees you will never enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20) In this article, we want to look at just one of the ways to exceed the scribes and Pharisees: our motives.

The physical persecution of Christians may happen sooner rather than later. This realization has caused many local churches to highten their security. My question is this: Is it important for us to protect the preacher or members of a congregation from these acts of violence?

If you’re bored with Christianity, I want you to stop and think about this. Maybe you think boredom is just the way it is supposed to be. It’s not. It is a symptom of a critical condition. So like any good doctor would do, I’m going to give it to you straight. If you’re bored with Christianity, what that indicates is that Christ is no longer in the center of your life! That’s right, and as you might have guessed, the consequences of that are serious. Open your eyes to what your Savior did for you, crucify self, and let Christ take hold of the reigns. Do that and I can promise you… you’ll never be bored again!

This world offers a wide variety of things that vie for our attention: homes, cars, clothes, music, sports, careers, etc. While many of these things are not what we would typically classify as “ungodly”, these things can act as thorns (or weeds) by choking out our spiritual life so that we become unfruitful. It’s very easy to be consumed by these things (in the same way that weeds can easily consume a lawn). We can become so busy chasing after the world that we have little energy or enthusiasm left for God.

Leaving home for the first time presents real challenges to the hopelessly disorganized (like myself), but the most significant challenges are spiritual in nature. Believe it or not, your mother is more than just the person who helps you keep up with things and your father is more than just the guy who pays for stuff. They’ve done a lot to teach you and train you and guide you. And for some of you, they’re not going to be there to do that anymore a few short months from now. They’ll still call you and you’ll still see them during breaks, but they won’t be there day in and day out to help direct your spiritual life. You’re going to be on your own, and the choices you make the next few years will be critical. Your college years can either set you back or help propel you into faithful spiritual service as an adult. With that in mind I want to give you a few choice words of advice.

How can we know whether we have “set our minds on things above and not on things on the earth?” We can start by looking in our closet. While it may be true that “the clothes don’t make the man” they often do say a lot about him (or her). So what does your wardrobe say about you?

Do you really believe in God’s wisdom? Even when it’s difficult? Do we continue trusting in God’s way when we’re being knocked around, or do we retreat to the easy path?

We are “members of one another” (Romans 12:5). If you are not in regular contact with other members of the body you are in serious danger. Are you connected?