Shadyside Church of Christ

God has always emphasized groups of people. From the first family to Noah's family in the ark to the Hebrew nation, God has shown that we do better when we are in community. The church today is just another extension of God's mind where the fellowship of the members is stressed in caring for one another, worshiping in an assembly, working together and sharing life's experiences. Jes...

What with all the self-fulfillment rhetoric being preached and "me" stuff on social media it's easy to see that not many people are pursuing a life of servanthood. But it was prophesied that our Savior would be a servant, and Jesus proved to be the most loyal servant ever. He served His heavenly Father by listening only to Him and doing what He told Him to do, and He served all the...

Jesus is acclaimed a master teacher by virtually everyone who seriously considers His life. How did He teach? What did He do? What was His motivation? These and other questions about Jesus the Teacher are important for His disciples to consider for all of us are called to be teachers of someone, somewhere, at some point in our lives. We may not teach formally in front of an assembly or a class, bu...

When some Christians get up in years, they fall into the "retirement trap" and tend to ease off in the service to the Lord. But scripture gives us numerous examples of older folks who did great things for the Lord. Actually, senior saints are better qualified than those who are younger to do some of the teaching and service of the Lord. God has promised to be with us from birth through o...

Many early Christians were forced to choose between life and death because of their faith. Even some today who live in hostile environments must do the same. What kind of faith would move a person to choose death before they would deny their Lord? What things did they believe? What did they know to be true about life and the world? Do we believe the same as they did?

Just as our country has come through a difficult election process and now needs to focus on unifying behind our new President, the church need to step back and refocus on its mission. Even though Mr Trump's policies may be more favorable toward Christians, the world is still against us, and we need to be strong and courageous to move forward with the word of God and stand against every form o...

Freedom is precious, and many have died to achieve and maintain the freedoms we have in this country. But how many people, even in the USA, do not have the true freedoms of heart and soul which on Jesus can give: freedom from the power of Satan; freedom from sin; freedom from guilt; freedom from law-keeping and freedom from death. Jesus truly came to set us free!

The Bible is very revealing about God's servants. Not only are their great exploits recorded, but their failings are also. Abraham, Moses, David, Peter, et al, failed at times. Some failed terribly. Yet God still used them to accomplish His purposes and even praised them for being righteous! What does this tell us about our God? About you and me?

As citizens of both an earthly country and the kingdom of heaven, Christians often find themselves in conflict because of the differing values between the two entities. Such is the case when it comes to choosing fallible people for public office, and this year's presidential election is a prime example of this. Should a Christian vote for either of these candidates? Is it merely the lesser of...

The Word of God became flesh as Jesus of Nazareth and revealed to us the true God. Just as Jesus demonstrated great power while on earth, so the Word of God in scripture has great power in the lives of people. It reveals the thoughts and intents of our hearts. It can strengthen and revive us when we are down. It illuminates the path to God, has power to produce faith in a person, is able to save a...

We find in scripture that Christians are "sons of God", but it seems we don't pause to reflect on all that means - both the privileges and the responsibilities. When we draw an illustration of how "sons of God" become part of the fellowship of God (the Trinity) Himself, it is an astounding picture, one which we cannot forget and should never forget.

Prayer can effect things which one person or group is unable to do because God Himself is called in to help. We are told by James that we don't have because we don't ask. How sad that Christians languish in need simply because they won't pray to God. Even today's prayers seem puny and lifeless compared to those we read in scripture. It's past time to pray.

Many view grace as only pertinent to salvation, but Paul learned the need to rely upon God's grace or favor to overcome every adversity in life which he had to face. Paul's "thorn in the flesh" caused him to come to rely on God's favor and not upon himself. Only in this way was Paul able to accomplish great things for Christ. That power is available to Christians today as...

Sin has never been a popular subject, but in our world today it is a non-subject! Sin implies wrong or guilt, and nobody wants to consider such things. However, God's love for us is deep and rich so He speaks of mankind's sin frequently and plainly in His holy word. Sin is our problem, really our only problem. We don't realize the great power that sin has over a person and just how...

Generally, most of us don't like to waste things whether it's food, money or our time. Yet, the most precious gift that God has given to mankind is wasted on a regular basis. We're talking about the cross of Christ, the sacrificial death of the Son of God which brings salvation, freedom and eternal life. Yet, so many reject the cross outright, minimize it through man-designed worshi...

To hear some Christians talk, life is about being "sober sides" and "sour faces." Certainly, we are to take life seriously, but God has provided balance in life with things to enjoy and pleasures which come directly from Him. We can certainly over indulge ourselves in the "fun stuff," but we can also become one dimensional beings by burying ourselves in work and worry...

Everyone's watching the Olympics these days, and we marvel at the total devotion these athletes show to their sport and to winning a medal for their country. Years of sacrifices and training are required for these competitors to qualify for the games. In the same way, Christians are called to sacrifice and self-discipline in their race for something even more precious than a gold medal. We st...

Baseball player Adam LaRoche walked away from his sport and $13 million this Spring. Matthew stepped away from his tax office, and Peter & John left their fishing business. What causes people to make such drastic changes in their lives? Is it for religion? Even more money? A cushy job with a fine-sounding title? Or is there something deeper and more profound that gets into a person's hear...

A lot of kids (grown ups, too!) are spending a lot of time and energy looking for Pokemon these days. Wouldn't it be great if people would be searching for Jesus with the same dedication and excitement? Jesus can be found. He wants to be found. He is not hiding. And when you find the Lord Jesus, you will find out that you didn't really find Him, but that He found you!

The Word of God speaks a lot about being able to "see" properly. We tend to see what we are looking for. Some people look for the bad in others; some look for the good. Depending upon what we have been taught and upon our experiences, we tend to look for certain things. We have "trained" eyes which are connected to our hearts. We all need to see the world and other people with...