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The true Christ of Christmas
BY PASTOR JACK WARD “And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” John 1:5 A person without Jesus is not only spiritually dead, he is also spiritually darkened. Jesus said in John 8:12: “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who…
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An unexpected journey
BY DAWN REED At work. That is where it started. On a regular, boring, nothing-ever-happens-around-here night. Suddenly, the sky exploded with light, and they were face down, surrounded by glory. It was the very first Christmas. Luke 2:8-20 reports the exciting and terrifying event in detail. The shepherds – considered outcasts of society – received…
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Just Say No! Part 2
BY GREG CRUM “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” Galatians 5:16-17…
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Faithfulness
BY PASTOR JACK WARD Faithfulness is a dirty word among people today. Standing up for what you believe and being faithful to a cause is almost unheard of today especially among God’s people. Half-hearted effort and lack of interest plagues our society and even our churches today. During the 1995 college football season, 6-foot-2-inch, 280-pound…
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An unexpected calling
BY DAWN REED Many times in the Bible, God showed up on ordinary days. Moses was a shepherd when he saw the burning bush. David was also tending sheep the day the prophet Samuel came to his house. Gideon was secretly threshing wheat, and Elisha was plowing a field when their lives changed forever. It…
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Just Say No!
BY PASTOR GREG CRUM “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” I Corinthians 9:27 Paul’s message to the first century believers in Corinth was simple—Christian, keep your body in check. Why? Because Paul understood…
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Blessing or curse
BY PASTOR JACK WARD Genesis 12:1-3: “Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great;…
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An unexpected gift
BY DAWN REED Tuesday evening, I had the opportunity to spend some time with the ladies of Allen Baptist Church. It was their annual Christmas party. The cooks and bakers of ABC had outdone themselves; tasty treats lined several tables. Women of all ages in brightly colored sweaters and shirts milled about the fellowship hall.…
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Our Common Call to Generosity Part 2
BY GREG CRUM “There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.” Proverbs 11:24-25 Last week, we wrote about how upside-down the life of faith is compared…
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Do not take no for an answer
BY PASTOR JACK WARD A story came across the wires from Reuters about a family of ducklings that fell down a sewer grate in Vancouver. Their mother did what any parent would do: She got help from a passing police officer. The mother duck grabbed the police officer by the pant leg while he was…
