Shadyside Church of Christ

When the woman in the parable lost one of her ten coins, she lit a lamp and swept the floor until she found it. Then she called friends and neighbors to rejoice with her because she had found her coin. In the same way, angels rejoice when a sinner repents and returns to God. Just how diligent are we at "sweeping our floors" and how thrilled are we to rejoice with angels?

Today's world, rooted in progressivism, is characterized by uncertainty as people do not believe in absolutes.  So people focus their lives on just about anything from social justice to patriotism.  None of these things fulfill the soul's deepest longings and offer an unstable, ever-changing, environment.  Only one "thing" is a sure foundation for life, the One who calls Himsel...

Through the years, when God saw the need, He would bring about change and renewal.  As Israel wandered further and further from keeping the moral and love commandments of its covenant with the Lord, He knew it was time for a change, an upgrade as we would say today.  So He brought in a "new and living way" so that people could confidently draw near to Him and become the kind of people He...

Nothing too serious.  No calls to repentance.  No suffering.  None of that holy living.  This is especially true around Christmastime.  Let's just keep the Babe in the manger along with that nice story about no room at the inn, shepherds, wise men and that little drummer boy.  That's enough Jesus for me.  Only one problem with Jesus "Lite" - He's not the real Jesus.

It has always been considered a great honor to be invited to eat at the King's table.  In several places, scripture speaks of the Lord having His followers sit down at His table in His kingdom.  It will be a great dinner with all the family there and the Lord as host.  Everyone is invited.  Will you have a place at the table?

A good bit of our lives is involved in placing a value on things.  What groceries will I buy?  Is that car worth it?  How will I spend my time this evening?  Even this - What will I do with my life?  Judas thought Jesus to be worth only thirty pieces of silver.  What is Jesus worth to you?

On His way to Jerusalem for the last time to face the cross, Jesus heard the cries of Bartimaeus calling for Him to have mercy on him.  Jesus stopped the entire procession in order to attend to Bartimaeus' call for help.  This event is about so much more than Jesus' healing another blind man.  There are several take-aways here for us to learn from.

Paul had trouble communicating with the church at Corinth.  He told them that they were "men of flesh," still carnal, and were not seeing and living life from a spiritual perspective.  He tries to correct this by teaching them that all things are about God and the Lord Jesus, and that they were "the temple of God," but in danger of destroying it!  Didn't they know that thr...

Jesus welcomed a rich man's inquiry about how he might have eternal life.  He had been on the right track by keeping the commandments, but when Jesus told him what else he had to do, he went away sorrowful.  He would not pay the price.  Since the blessings of the kingdom of heaven are so incredible, the cost to enter is very high.

Surveys and observations indicate that real faith is declining in the world.  Many churches are absorbing secular beliefs and practices.  Jesus wondered whether He would find faith on the earth when He returned.  Scripture records the amazing things God did with just a few people who had real faith.  What was their faith all about?  Can we have that faith today?

From the outset, the early church assembled on the first day of the week. This is God's design, and it serves several purposes with attendant benefits. If we fail to assemble, we miss out on those benefits, and the entire church suffers.

Believers know that God has divine power and can do anything which is consistent with His character. But when God decides to work through His people (which He does a great deal of the time), He is, in effect, willing to limit His power to what they will do. This should cause every disciple to seriously consider their work in the kingdom.

When Jesus was on the earth, people had questions for Him. Some were sincere in their questions, but others were just trying to find accusations against Him. However, Jesus also had questions for those who heard Him. These were questions of life and death. And today, you and I still need to answer these questions.

We all have unanswered questions about life. Why did this happen and not that? Why did this happen to me? Etc. - our questions are many. Asaph had questions, too, about all the evil in the world, and these weighed on him so much that he nearly lost his faith. Then God brought him out of his despondency by reminding him of the final end of both the wicked and the righteous.

When God gave mankind the right to eat meat, He told Noah that the life of the flesh was in the blood. Consequently, the eating of blood was forbidden. Later under Moses, animal sacrifices were established as their blood would provide atonement for the soul of the sinner. But atonement is only a covering since the blood of bulls and goats cannot remove sin. Now what?

Timothy received glowing praise from Paul about his devotion to his work in the kingdom. Timothy had worked hard and demonstrated a willingness to sacrifice for the cause of Christ. But Timothy still had difficulties to overcome, and he needed continuing instruction and encouragement from Paul.

Over the centuries, people have tried to out think and out maneuver God.  They have ignored Him and His word.  But, no matter what men and women might do, God just laughs and does whatever He wants and needs to do.  This is especially obvious when God established Jesus as the Christ as King in His kingdom.

John's third letter is a "snapshot" of early Christian life. Some in the church were living the truth of God, and some were not. It shows people have not changed. And this unchanging life principle was holding true: Love is not demonstrated by what a person believes or by what they know, but by what they do.

It seems that too many Christians live joyless lives of drudgery and worry.  Certainly, we have our times of trouble and grief, but what of the joy in being a Christian?  Scripture states that one reason Jesus could endure the cross was because of "the joy set before Him."  What's that all about?  And does it mean anything for the Christian?

Doubters want evidence that there is a God.  The Almighty has given mankind three powerful witnesses to affirm His existence.  It is up to each person as to whether or not they will believe the testimony of these witnesses.

What are the marks of the body of Christ, the church which Jesus is building?  Although we might point to a list of certain things believed and practiced (as some do), these marks run much deeper than that.  They all connect with the One who gives the body its very life.

Every civilization has had its gods, many of which were associated with idols.  Israel had trouble forsaking its idols and serving only the Lord God.  Obviously, scripture warns of idol worship, but it also warns that it is more than just an external act.  This is where the real danger lies - anything can become an idol.

In these days of so much bad news and opposition to truth and common sense, we all need to hear good news which also keeps us in touch with reality.  The gospel is the good news from God and is as relevant today as ever.  The church needs to regularly be reminded of it, and the church needs to be telling everybody about it!  Here are four points from Jesus' gospel which everyone needs to hear...

Jesus tells us that only God is good.  In the beginning, God said that all He had created was "very good."  It seems these days there is so much evil happening that we forget to think about all the things that are good, and, believe me, the scriptures are filled with a great number of things which God calls good.  Here we'll look at some things which are good, and which will be good...

Although, as we saw in our last message, baptism is a very necessary part of the way to salvation, it is not the end of the way.  It is not "fire insurance" as some would have us believe.  There are some vital things beyond baptism which the Christian must still do in the journey to life eternal.