Author: Stan Cox

A few days ago I ran across the following illustration, penned by an anonymous author:

Several years ago a book was published entitled “Looking Out for Number One.” On the dedication page the author wrote, “Dedicated to the hope that somewhere in our universe there exists a civilization where the inhabitants possess sole dominion over their own lives.” There is such a place. It’s called Hell.

It is an interesting quote, and accurate to a certain extent. Men who seek to do their own will rather than the will of God most certainly will end up in Hell. We are not free to flout God’s will. To do so has consequences.

However, it is inaccurate to say that they possess sole dominion over their own lives. They may not be aware of it, but such men are slaves. “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?” (Romans 6:16).

So the question isn’t whether you want to be free to do your own will. The question is what do you want to be a slave of — a slave of “sin, leading to death”; or a slave of “obedience, leading to righteousness.”

The freedom to flout God’s will, thus “self-dominion” is an illusion — one that will be shattered at the judgment day.

This short lesson was preached by Brantley Gallman during our fifth Sunday night singing. Using the text of Hebrews 11, Brantley shares some lessons from the life of Rahab.

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The sermon uses the text of Galatians to establish that the gospel is singular, divine, united and life-regulating.

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Using Bible examples, the sermon shows the importance of personal humililty, integrity, involvement, concern and risk.

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This sermon examines the parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins.

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In the beginning, God created man. As recorded in the Genesis account, there was not a single animal in creation that would serve as an acceptable companion for man. So, God created woman. The text reads, “And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: ‘This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.’ Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:21-24).

There is a great significance to the phrase, “they shall become one flesh.” When a man and woman wed, they establish a lasting and intimate relationship. It is this relationship alone that God intends the sexual appetite to be satiated, and it serves the purpose of birthing and raising children. “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth’” (Genesis 1:28). “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge” (Hebrews 13:4).

Continue reading “The Importance of Family” →

(Note: The following article is written by one of the members at West Side, Justin Carrell. I commend it to you. SC)

Matthew 19:3-9

“And the Pharisees came near to him, tempting him, and saying to him, ‘Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?’ And he answering said to them, ‘Did ye not read, that He who made them, from the beginning a male and a female made them, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and cleave to his wife, and they shall be–the two–for one flesh? So that they are no more two, but one flesh; what therefore God did join together, let no man put asunder.’ They said to him, ‘Why then did Moses command to give a roll of divorce, and to put her away?’ He said to them–‘Moses for your stiffness of heart did suffer you to put away your wives, but from the beginning it hath not been so. ‘And I say to you, that, whoever may put away his wife, if not for fornication, and may marry another, doth commit adultery; and he who did marry her that hath been put away, doth commit adultery.’” (Young’s Literal Translation)

I’ve heard this scripture debated more than any other. We debate baptism with those outside the body, but this we debate without and within. Below are two arguments recently put forward to me, and my response.

Continue reading “Separating What God Has Joined” →

The greatest affliction of life is never to be afflicted.

– Unknown

Affliction is not pleasant. When we are the recipients of tribulation in this life we feel pain, sorrow and stress. We all would rather it not be our lot, “Let this cup pass from me…” (cf. Matthew 26:39). I recently came across a quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald that poignantly describes our perception of severe affliction:

In a real dark night of the soul
it is always three o’ clock in the morning, day after day.

And yet, such affliction is beneficial to the child of God. “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).

The apostle does not call such affliction light to minimize the pain and suffering we experience. It is light in the sense that it is temporal and fleeting. In contrast, our faithfulness through trial proves us “worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer” (2 Thessalonians 5:1). It is our lot in life to suffer. It happens to us all. The question is, will we have sufficient patience under such duress to prove us worthy of eternity?

A sermon expressing the importance of obedience to Jesus Christ.

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The sermon examines the proper attitudes toward God’s word.

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This sermon examines the text of Ephesians 4, which establishes a platform every Christian must accept, forming a basis for unity.

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This sermon examines the proper attitude toward the giving and receiving of admonition as Christians.

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The sermon examines some of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Christ, and their fulfillment in the New Testament.

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The sermon establishes three important truths regarding the relationshiop between temptation and sin.

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The only way, ultimately, to save your life is to live in such a way as to please God!

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