Shadyside Church of Christ

God has confounded the wise men of the world at every turn in the road. And He has certainly done this in the way He has chosen to save the human race - through a man dying on a cross! The Jew stumbles all over this idea - "Cursed!" he says. The Greek says it makes no sense - "Foolish!" But the Christ of God dying on a cross is the wisdom and power of God - so that no one may b...

Many people have a "bucket list" of things they want to accomplish before they die (or "kick the bucket"). These could range from traveling to some foreign country or famous city to seeing some natural wonder like the Grand Canyon or some man-made structure like the pyramids. Maybe something like sky diving or skiing in the Alps. In the Bible, God gives us a different kind of &...

Kings, presidents, princes, etc. have always boasted of their accomplishments. Whether it's been wars waged, jobs created or people helped in disasters, credit is taken by those in power. All such leaders would do well to remember that the Lord God still rules the nations and uses them to accomplish His will. It was true for the King of Assyria in the days of Hezekiah, and it's still tru...

In His last hours, Jesus prayed for unity of believers and said such unity would be a powerful witness to the world that God had sent Him. Often we speak of such unity in terms of having the same beliefs and practices as set forth in scripture. Although these are a must, Paul wrote of unity which was based on spiritual truths but expressed in another way - through humility with self-effacing conce...

It is custom in various situations to stand up to honor an individual. In the military, when a senior officer enters a venue, the troops come to attention. We stand up at a wedding when the bride enters. Although God loves all people, some of His own have given Him special delight, and He honored them in various ways, often speaking about them personally or through a prophet. In one instance, it i...

Despite the railings of people of the world to the contrary, God is good and has given us all things to enjoy. From life itself, daily comforts and family relationships to the opportunity for eternal life, every good thing is from God. "Taste and see that the Lord is good."

The psalmist ponders: "What is man that you take thought of him?" It is a question which we all need to consider. What is our purpose here and God's reasons for creating man and giving him life? To simply assume our own existence is to risk missing the reason for our being here. A better question might be: Who is this God who would create a being in His image and offer glory to him?...

In the days of Elisha the prophet, only one person was cleansed of their leprosy, and that was a Syrian by the name of Naaman. God performed many miracles through Elisha, so how did it come about that this man was the only leper cleansed? And he was not an Israelite! It's an intriguing story with many players involved. It also holds a great lesson for us today.

The rule of Satan in the world has brought about the oppression of mankind in hundreds of ways: bondage to sin, disease, hunger, hopelessness, wasted lives, abuse, distortion of reality, coercive religion - you name it, he's done it! Jesus came to free us not just from our mire of sin but from all oppression of the devil. We see Him healing, teaching the truth about life and challenging the o...

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...