Tri-Annual Singing!
June 20, 2026
7:00pm - 8:30pm
Category: Subject Index
Study Material Categorized by Subject
Sermon: 9 Tools to Handle Challenges
It helps to have a spiritual “toolbox” with all of the tools needed to effectively handle the challenges of life. Fortunately, God has supplied us with those tools.
The Patternists: The Chastisement of the Lord
Hosea prophesied during a very dark period in Israel’s history. To show to Hosea and the people how far they had fallen from Him, He had the prophet take a harlot as a wife. The reason? “For the land has committed great harlotry by departing from the Lord” (Hosea 1:2).
Hosea married the harlot Gomer, and she conceived and bore him children. The name of each child was given by God, as a means of emphasizing the broken relationship between God and His people. Hosea’s first son was named Jezreel, “for in a little while I will avenge the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu, and bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel” (1:4). His first daughter was named Lo-Ruhamah, “for I will no longer have mercy on Israel, but I will utterly take them away” (1:6). Hosea’s second son was named Lo-Ammi, “for you are not My people, and I will not be your God” (1:9).
Continue reading “The Patternists: The Chastisement of the Lord”
Do Not Worry
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will drink; nor about your body, what will you put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25).
The world looks at money as the means of escaping the cares of the world. The rich can better handle the difficulties of life, or so it is believed.
In reality, the rich have their own baggage. Anecdotally, you read and hear of the unhappiness and discontent of the rich, powerful and famous every day.
It is not money that brings happiness. Rather, it is a trust in God. When our focus is on serving God, and the hope He has given us, our perspective changes. And, perspective is the key.
The Christian says, “I know that God will take care of me. He is sufficiently powerful and He loves me. I may not be rich, but if I serve Him I will have what I need.” He goes through his life laying up treasures in heaven. That is the focus of his heart (cf. Matthew 6:19-21).
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these (needful things) will be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:33-34).
Click below to…
Sermon: Raising the Widow’s Son
A discussion of Jesus’ miracle in Luke 7:11-17, where he raised from the dead the son of the widow of Nain. Lessons about compassion, and the Lordship of Jesus are applied.
Sermon: Congregational Autonomy
A discussion and defining of the scriptural concept of congregational autonomy, coupled with an examination of historical abuses.
Sermon: Lessons from Peter
Speaker: Brantley Gallman
Lessons learned from the life of the apostle Peter, with applications to our own lives.
How to Become Wise
“Listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter days. There are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand” (Proverbs 19:20-21).
In these two verses is a concise explanation regarding the origin of wisdom. There are three aspects to gaining wisdom. Young people consider this carefully!
“Listen to counsel and receive instruction”
Wisdom is gained by listening to the wise. The wise have either themselves listened to others, or they have learned from their own mistakes. The problem with learning from your own mistakes is that those errors may have consequences. To avoid sadness and heartache, listen to those who have already obtained wisdom!
“that you may be wise in your latter days”
Wisdom is gained with time. The young person who recognizes his relative inexperience and ignorance is ahead of the game. Rather than embarking on any endeavor with a fool’s confidence, he seeks counsel.
“nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand”
It doesn’t matter a man’s age or experience, if he departs from God’s will, he is a fool. True wisdom has its origin with God, not man. Never depart from it!
Click below to…
Sermon: The Man with a Withered Hand
19th in a series on the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. This text of Mark 3:1-6 examines Jesus’ healing of a man with a withered hand in the face of the ungodly opposition of the Pharisees. Hard hearts and deceitful plotting did not keep the Lord from doing what was lawful and good.
Sermon: Thinking like the World
Worldliness troubles every generation of God’s people. The cure is to identify what aspect of our thinking is influenced by ungodly influences, and to transform our mind and will to mirror the mind and will of God.
Sermon: Uriah – Victim of Treachery
Most discussions of 2 Samuel 11 center of the adultery committed by David and Bathsheba. However, a discussion of the impact David’s sin had upon the husband of Bathsheba reveals some important lessons for us.
Sermon: Teachers and Bible Classes
The lesson begins with a discussion of how the use of Bible classes by a local congregation is authorized by God, and ends with an exhortation for members to prepare to teach, and for members to understand the importance of attendance to such efforts.
Sermon: Lessons Learned from a Fish’s Belly
An examination of Jonah, chapters 1 and 2. The lesson examines what we can learn and apply from Jonah’s time spent in the belly of a great fish. 1) You can’t hide from God; 2) God hears our prayers as we turn to Him; 3) God disciplines us so that we will turn to Him; 4) Salvation is of the Lord; 5) Obedience without thanksgiving is empty.
The Thessalonian Example
The apostle Paul obviously considered the church in Thessalonica to be a faithful congregation. “We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father, knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God” (1 Thessalonians 1:2-4). They had received the gospel of the Lord from Paul and others, and through their obedience to it had become “examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe” (1:7).
The concept of faithfulness is married to an acceptance of truth, coupled with an effort to conform to it. Consider Paul’s description of the Christians in Thessalonica, “For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe. 14 For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus” (1:13-14).
The Patternists: Bound by Promise
The Hebrew writer speaks of the promise God made to Abraham. “For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, ‘Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you’” (Hebrews 6:13-14). We know that God kept His promise to Abraham. We know this because it has been revealed through scripture. However, the promise was certain to be fulfilled as soon as it was made, because God was the One who made it! Consider the writer’s point: “Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, 18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us” (Hebrews 6:17-18).
Only one thing was needed to show Abraham the surety of the future promise. God cannot lie. The oath He swore by Himself simply showed it “more abundantly.” Because of His nature, what God promised was assured. In this we rejoice, because He has promised hope to those who are His. “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast…” (Hebrews 6:19).
