Shadyside Church of Christ

Life is filled with struggles of all kinds.  We struggle within ourselves with choices and responses to life situations.  We struggle with relating to others.  We even struggle with trying to understand God, and why He does or does not do certain things.  Jacob's life was one struggle after another.  His life is a picture of the life of every believer.  When he returned to Canaan, he wrestled...

 Our giving on the first day of the week is often misunderstood.  We tend to think our contribution is about material things and the rest of our worship (singing, prayer, Lord's Supper, etc) is about spiritual things.  Nothing could be further from the truth!  Our giving is a highly spiritual endeavor and is a reflection of our faith and trust in God who supplies our own needs.  It is grounde...

"Dishonoring God" - When one thinks about the cross, suffering comes to mind.  But humiliation and shame were also part of being crucified.  Hebrews (12:2) tells us that Jesus despised the shame of the cross so as to complete His work.  But Jesus was dishonored and shamefully treated even before His actual crucifixion.  We would do well to consider how He was dishonored so as to avoid do...

Global warming has been in the news a lot lately. Proponents warn that in 10, 12, 20 years that the earth will be uninhabitable. Could this be true? This is not an examination of the arguments on both sides of this issue, but a common sense inquiry from a biblical perspective. What of God's promise to Noah? What about the promised Day of Judgment? Would God just sit idly by in the heavens and...

 "Facing the Ugly" - The world is filled with ugly - sin, evil, wickedness, etc.  Sometimes we find it in ourselves!  How do we handle ugly?  How do you handle ugly?  Some people are so disgusted with it they just ignore it and don't want anything to do with it.  But if we want to overcome it, we have to face it no matter how awful it is.  We need to fight against it in ourselves an...

 The scriptures caution us about judging others.  A person's assessment of another must be honest, thorough, and with their own selves in view.  Examine yourself before judging others is the watchword.  What is your motive in judging?  How does your own life measure up to the Word?  The incident in which the woman taken in adultery was brought before Jesus sheds a lot of light on this topic o...

 Why do you believe what you believe?  Why do you not believe certain things?  Why do we worship a certain way or insist that a person responds to the gospel in a certain way?  We go to the Bible, God's holy scriptures, for direction in these things and so much more.  His word affirms that He has given us all we need for life and godliness.  It gives us guidelines for proper understanding of...

 From beginning to end, the Bible insists there are basically two groups of people - the righteous and the wicked.  We read of the believer and the unbeliever; the just and the unjust; those who obey and those who disobey; the disciple of Jesus and the follower of the devil.  What are the characteristics of each group?  What causes them to be one or the other?  What is the final end for each?  Do...

 There have been some "great" days in the history of the earth: the fall of Rome; discovery of how bacteria caused disease; man on the moon, et al.  From a biblical perspective: creation, the incarnation of God, Jesus' death and resurrection.  There is yet to come one day which is arguably greater than any of these other days because it will be the culmination of all that God has be...

 As Christians who follow in Jesus' footsteps, we are to become like Him in all ways including our thinking and desires.  When it came to saving humanity, God went "all out" in sending His Son who gave up privileges and humbled Himself to the death of a cross.  This is the great demonstration of the Father's love for humanity.  He desires all people to be saved.  Are we on the...

 Much of the world is barely familiar with Jesus.  Some don't know of Him at all.  Much of the world sees Him as a good man and founder of the Christian religion.  Even many Christians fail to see the high standing and central position which Jesus has been given in regard to all the affairs on earth and the powers that be in heaven.  He is the focal point of the history of all that has happen...

Many young people start out in life wanting "to make a difference."  This is a commendable aspiration and should be pursued, but usually this involves big dreams like solving the homeless problem or finding a new source of clean energy.  Christians are called by the Lord to make a difference every day in the lives of others.  As "the salt of the earth" and "the light of th...

 Fellowship means to share in, to participate.  But this means much more than just getting together to talk and share a meal, although this is an aspect of fellowship.  This sharing together begins with faith in the same Lord Jesus Christ which makes us part of the body of Christ, the family of God.  This fellowship then extends to caring for our brothers and sisters in need, in working together t...

The Holy Spirit, His work, and how He goes about it are often misunderstood.  There is frequently too much speculation and too little application of the scriptures.  If we do some good study of relevant Bible passages, we can come to a good understanding of what the Holy Spirit does and how He goes about His task.  Christians need to know that He still works today to accomplish His work just as He...

With all of the "bad news" in the world and personal problems we experience, it really is easy to get "down" and walk around in doom and gloom with a grim look on our faces.  But we Christians need to counteract all of the bad by putting a smile on our hearts.  In Christ our Savior, we have complete forgiveness of sin; are without condemnation; have been given the power to over...

One of the recurring themes in the Bible is that people need help from God to do His will. Sarah received strength from God in her old age to conceive Isaac. Moses was given the power by God to perform miracles and stand before Pharaoh to lead Israel out of Egypt. There are numerous others. Paul was forced to rely upon God when he was given his "thorn in the flesh." When the Lord told hi...

God gave Jesus the name which is above every name because of His willingness to empty Himself, become a man and go to the cross. As such, the name Jesus (which stands for Him) has great power and brings great blessing. Only in the name of Jesus is there salvation, and believers are to be baptized in His name. Christians serve and teach in His name, and suffering in His name is considered an honor....

Choosing to follow Jesus means some things in our lives must go.  It means things could get dicey at times, and our own devotion to Him will be tested.  But we each will need to choose to be devoted to the Lord, no matter what.  We might be devoted to church, to Bible reading, to good works, etc., but if we're not devoted first of all to Jesus, everything will turn into ritual and empty obedi...

Truth is that which conforms to reality, be it material, abstract or of the spirit.  We want to explore two important questions in this lesson.  1)  What is it that makes truth so valuable?  In other words, what is that truth can provide or do which nothing else can?  2)  What, then, should be our response to truth when we encounter it?  The right response to truth will honor God who is the origin...

 When Jesus brought up the subject of "truth" before Pilate, the governor responded with this famous question:  What is truth?  That question has been around since the very beginning, and it continues to be a debated question today.  Just what is "truth?"  Is there such a thing as objective truth?  If so, what are its origins?  (Perhaps you never thought that truth had a source...

 Jesus asserted that no one was taking His life from Him, but that He would lay it down for the sheep, and that He would take it up again.  Paul affirmed that Jesus gave Himself up for us.  Although this is all language which fits with the language of sacrifice, events surrounding the crucifixion indicate that Jesus willingly yielded up His Spirit.  No one took His life.  And He endured all of thi...

The vine imagery is used several places in the Old Testament to refer to Israel, a vine which God planted but produced only worthless grapes.  Jesus says He is the "true vine", having been planted by His Father the vinedresser.  He affirms that the branches which are in Him will be cleaned and pruned to bear much fruit.  Those branches which do not remain in Him cannot bear fruit and wil...

All of us have sent out invitations and received invitations to special events: weddings, graduations, anniversary celebrations, etc.  It's most interesting that God, also, invites people to come to Him for life and all its goodness.  He does not coerce nor threaten but gives us freedom to choose.  He does encourage us to come and receive all of the blessings He wants to give.  He does warn o...

Friends are a great blessing, and a good friend is hard to find.  Jesus told His disciples that He would no longer call them slaves but friends.  As such, He was elevating the status of their relationship, and also informing them of the expectations He had for them.  He was doing all of this because of His love for them.  All of these are marks of true friendship which we today still need to obser...

 When Jesus' tomb was sealed, the disciples thought it was all over.  They went into hiding.  But God had other plans which had been in the works since the beginning.  He raised His Son from the dead.  A Man had come back from the grave!  The disciples couldn't believe it at first.  What did it mean?  Who was this Jesus of Nazareth?  What does the resurrection of Jesus affirm?  What does...