Shadyside Church of Christ

Speaking in place of the vacationing Jeff Kent, is one of our Church Elders, Mike Bassaro. His lesson is titled, "Is satan laughing?" Enjoy.

When the infant church was about to undergo severe persecution, the glorified Lord Jesus came to John to encourage him and the church, and to provide a revelation about what was to happen soon. Everything was in the hands of God, the Alpha and the Omega. Today's church needs the same encouragement as we face opposition and distress of all types. Keeping our hearts fixed on our Savior and Lord...

Racism continues to rear its ugly head in America, and prejudices of all types exist. What is the origin of such things? How long have they been around? Are we born with such attitudes? What does God say about the hatred of another person simply because of their race, skin color, religion, culture, nation of origin, etc.? What is the answer for such attitudes and actions? 

Many lessons have been taught about the Bible. Things like the number of books, authors, etc. Some have suggested it's a rule book and others that it's a "blueprint" for living. But what is the theme of the Holy Scriptures? What is the Bible really about? Since the Bible is the holy, inspired word of God, should we not want to know what is its intended purpose and message? Othe...

OUR RETURN TO THE CHURCH BUILDING!!! "Jesus proved Himself to be a Man of His word. He always did what He said He'd do and promised that His words would come to pass. When He told His disciples that He would suffer and die, but rise on the third day, they didn't understand what He meant. But Jesus kept His promise anyway, just as He said. He's a Man of His word."

Have you caught yourselves asking.. Why is the coronavirus here? Why is it spreading so quickly and far reaching? In an unprecedented time like this, are you turning to God for comfort and the strengthening of your faith? Will simply praying be enough? We need to turn to God’s word, His Holy Scriptures to replenish and solidify our faith that HE WILL SEE US THROUGH THIS CRISIS… 

Some biblical scholars have put forth the idea that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were not real people but mythical figures developed from later oral traditions and rewritten back into an earlier time frame.  Does it matter whether Abraham was a real person in real time in a real land interacting with real people and receiving promises from a real God?  The question just begs for a "yes" answ...

Over and over, scripture teaches that the kingdom of God is open to all people - that God wants all persons to be saved.  It matters not what race, culture, country of origin, education level, economic status, etc.  It matters not what sins or how many a person has committed - all are welcome.  Yet, the kingdom is also exclusive.  There will be no universal salvation of mankind.  Those who will no...

The wounds of sin on the soul go deep.  If untreated, these wounds continue to fester, to cause pain, and to haunt us.  They ultimately render us ineffective in our service to the Lord and to others.  Jesus encountered a woman who had many, grievous wounds on her soul, and He healed them, every one.  Only He can do such a glorious thing!  What of your wounds? 

When Jesus ascended to the Father, the apostles were standing there gazing into heaven.  Two angels appeared to assure them that Jesus would come back and to prompt them to get on with their Master's work.  Perhaps we need a couple of angels to show up and remind us that Jesus is coming back, and that we need to get on with the task of proclaiming the gospel and tell the world of a coming jud...

We all like a good love story, even us guys if it's got some action in it.  God made us to love.  God is love, and the two great commandments are about loving God and our neighbor.  And love is about relating to others.  We all look for certain things in our relationships: to be understood, to be on equal footing, to have needs met, loyalty, et al.  In becoming a man, a human being, Jesus exe...

When life is "treating us" bad, and we think that nobody cares, what do we do?  You may be in such a situation right now!  Most of us have been at some time.  Scripture gives us the story of Leah who found herself in a very difficult and unenviable spot in her life.  She kept trying to make the best of it, but things didn't improve.  What did she do?  More importantly, what did the...

 Jesus affirmed that "you shall love your neighbor as yourself" is the second greatest commandment (Leviticus 19:18).  What does that mean?  Some people interpret this as "love your neighbor as you love yourself", but no where in scripture is this rendered that way.  In fact, some people are so totally self-centered they have a difficult time loving others, while some people lo...

In lesson one of this two part series, we talked of old things which will not change in 2020.  And we're glad they won't!  But many things will be new in 2020, and we will need to live each day in anticipation with a keen eye and open mind to fully benefit from them.  Each morning, the Lord's mercies will be new; He will be ready to bless and guide us through the day.  God will prov...

Everyone looks forward to new things in a new year - new opportunities, new achievements, new possibilities.  But some things won't change in 2020, and we should be thankful that they don't.  They are old, well-tested and proven to be reliable.  In this first lesson of two, we wish to consider some of these old things which will still anchor us in 2020…here’s Jeff. 

Why was Jesus born in Bethlehem?  Is there a reason He was born among the animals and laid in that manger?  Why were the shepherds the first to be told of the birth of the Savior by angels themselves?  God's rich salvation tapestry was all woven together on that night long ago - one on which He had been working for generations.

In war, soldiers and equipment are often redirected to plug a gap in the line of defense where the enemy is breaking through.  Through the prophet Ezekiel, the Lord sought for a man to stand in the gap of Jerusalem's broken spiritual wall so He would have reason not to bring destruction upon the entire nation.  No one was found worthy!  Today, Christians are called by their Lord to stand in t...

Everybody likes to go home.  Whether it's after a long trip or just a day at the mall, we all look forward to going home.  God knows about home - He invented it!  Home is where you are accepted, you can be yourself, and you feel secure.  Jesus is preparing a heavenly home for His people with all that's good, and where all the troubles of this life are gone.  Best of all, He will be there...

In life, we need to maintain the balance of what's important for the now-- while at the same time preparing for eternity.  Our God is concerned about both since what we do today-- and how we do it-- affects our eternal future.  He is God of the now and the forever, and as such He blesses us with what we need for both endeavors.  David was well aware of all this as he so beautifully tells us i...

"If I Were the Devil" - The devil is a very real being whom scripture depicts as our adversary and an opponent of God and all that's good.  Knowing what we know about people (ourselves included) and what the scripture teaches - if I were the devil, what would I do to destroy people's lives, families and churches, and turn them away from God?  What would be the strategy to cause...

The Bible records in Genesis the Beginning of this space-time world.  But the Scriptures speak in many places of what was here before the Beginning, namely God and all that was associated with Him.  And as we consider the characteristics and the character of God, we can plainly see them infused in His creation, especially in mankind who was made in His image.  Much was going on before the Beginnin...

Episode 127…"Death in Two Acts" - When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, did they die?  God had said they surely would, but Adam lived to be 930 years old!  What's with that?  To understand what happened with Adam (and with all of us), we need to understand that we are two-part beings made of both body and soul.  God cursed Adam and said that he would return to the dust from whi...

(Episode 126) Jesus challenged His listeners (us today as well) whether they had a healthy/good eye or a bad eye.  By that He meant whether we looked for what is good in people and the world or what is evil.  With all of the evil and distressing distractions in the world, it is often difficult to see the good.  This is a ploy of the devil to keep us distraught.  We must learn to cultivate a good e...

Our "two chairs" visual represents two worldviews.  One is the atheistic naturalist view of reality, and the other is the theistic supernaturalist view.  The first excludes God altogether, and the second has God at the center of everything.  Each one of us will sit in one of these chairs and view life from one of these perspectives.  A person's worldview is the "lens" thro...

Jesus and His apostles ministered to the whole person - people were fed and healed, and they had the good news of the kingdom of heaven preached to them.  We seem to do rather well at taking care of the needs of the body, but often we neglect the soul.  Some of Jesus' final words demonstrate where our prime focus must be - to proclaim the gospel to all creation.  To fill the bellies of thousa...