Introduction After Jesus was resurrected, He revealed himself to His disciples, twice, and John the concludes chapter 20 with this statement, And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.   (John 20:30-31) If the miracles, signs, and wonders that Jesus performed were so important, why didn’t John list the others? In this article, we look at the real purpose of the miracles.   To Confirm the Identity of The Christ It’s easy for someone, anyone, to claim that they are The Messiah. We see a lot of that here in the 21 st Century with zero proof to back it up. Even after the church was established there were some claiming to be The Christ. In Acts 5:34 and following; Gamaliel, a pharisee, speaks of two men; Theudas and a Judas of Galilee, both claiming to be some...

    Introduction When you hear or see the word, ‘addiction’, your mind immediately goes to substance abuse like: tobacco, alcohol, or drugs; or other devices like: gambling, pornography, or sexual intercourse. But anything in a person’s life, even if legal, can be an addiction and thus lead a person down the path to sin. Nowadays, it’s chocolate, caffeine, video games, social media, and anything associated with the internet. Most seem harmless, but when you become obsessed with it, it’s an addiction.   Definitions Habit: a settled tendency or usual manner of behavior Addiction: a strong inclination to do, use, or indulge in something repeatedly. Obsession: a persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling . For example, if you drink coffee in the morning every day because you enjoy it, and it gets you going, that’s a habit. If you drink coffee every morning because you know you can’t function without it, that’s an addiction...

  Things NOT found in the Bible, part 1   Series Introduction Over the next several weeks we’re going to ask the question, “Is that in the Bible?” We’ll look at some things that people think are in the bible and then we’ll look at some things that people may not have realized are in the bible. This first group are things that you won’t find in the bible.   Introduction Many statements people have made over the years they claim come from the bible; usually by saying, “That’s in the bible!” But when challenged, they couldn’t tell you where it’s found in the scriptures. One of the things that I’ve learned, early on when I became a Christian, is to demand book, chapter, and verse for the things that we believe in. If it is in scriptures, they should be able to show you where it is.   Wash Your Hands One of the first things we’re taught as children is to wash our hands before a meal. Even if we didn’t play outside, or get dirt on them, our mothers wo...

  Little Things, Part 3   Introduction As children, we’re first taught the basic bible stories: Adam and Eve, Noah and the Ark, Moses and the Ten Commandments; from the Old Testament. The Life of Jesus from the New Testaemnt. All have valuable lessons for children as they learn about the bible. In Proverbs 22:6, it is written, Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. In the story of Moses, Pharaoh, and the Ten Plagues; we’re all familiar with the phrase, “Let my people go” and the different plagues that God brings upon the people of Egypt. But notice a “little thing” in Exodus chapter 8 concerning the second plague; the frogs.   Here Come the Frogs The purpose of the ten plagues was to prove that God (Jehovah) was the one, and only, God. In Egypt, they had many gods that the people worshipped. Each god of theirs controlled certain parts of nature. For example, in regards to the second plague (Ex. 8:1-15), Hek...

  This week's lesson is on the Day Laborers of Matthew 20. The speaker is Greg Gwin of Collegevue church of Christ

Introduction I’m sure you’ve heard, at the conclusion of a sermon, a preacher makes a plea for those who desire to become a Christian. This is what’s known as the invitation. However, some don’t know what the plan of salvation is and they create a shortcut by telling people to: Accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior, say the Sinner’s Prayer, then attend the church of your choice. Do we read anywhere in scripture that a person is saved by prayer? The answer is No. But let’s look at the idea of the Sinner’s Prayer and compare it to what the bible says. What is the Sinner’s Prayer? The origin of this type of prayer goes back to the mid-1700s when a preacher used the text of Rev. 3:20 in the first person; in other words, instead of Jesus saying this, the preacher was. Let’s look at the text… Revelation 3:20, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. (NKJV...

Introduction I sometimes wonder how it is that preachers run out of material from the bible that they have to resort to other sources of information to keep the interest going in their local congregation. Just preaching on a Psalm a week would give you almost half a year’s material with 150 Psalms! In addition, you could dig further into the Psalms and create even more sermons. But for some preachers, the bible just isn’t enough as they feel that you can only talk about Jesus and disciples for so long that people would get bored. Is it possible? Yes! Should you seek outsides sources? NO! Now Playing at a church near You Once a week, whenever I pass by this church on my way to work, I like to read the title of the upcoming sermon that are going to have. It’s a denominational church but, it’s amusing to see the titles and wonder what they will talk about in regards to the subject. During the summer of ’98 I was caught off guard by a couple of titles. The ...

Introduction Since the late 20 th Century we find female preachers becoming more frequent in the religious world. If it were to be challenged by someone, the phrase “Women can do it too”, or “Equal Rights for Women” might be used in answer to these challenges. I am not saying that women aren’t capable of preaching, nor am I saying that they cannot teach. But if you want to do what’s right, we have to consult God’s Will and that is found in his scriptures. Order of Authority Let’s establish the order of authority to see where a woman is placed in rank. The apostle Paul writes of this in 1 Corinthians 11:3, But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. From this verse, we see that God is first, followed by Christ, then man, and finally; woman. This order goes all the way back to the beginning; God (Gen. 1:1), Christ (Gen. 1:26; Jn. 1:1-3), Man (Gen. 2:7), and Woman (Gen. 2:18, 21-23). T...

The Caravan will be back on the road this Monday, July 15th. For now please enjoy this sermon on Mark 16:16 from me, Chris Mentzer.

This week's lesson is on the biggest word in the English language. It is preached by me.

Introduction There are times when we believe in something because it’s been instilled in us since we are children. For example, we are told about the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, and The Tooth Fairy. We believe in them because our parents tell us it’s fine. And although it’s adorable when we are kids, as we get older, it changes us. Sometimes kids are too smart and eventually figure it out, other times when they are finally told it could devastate them. Some children can’t handle the truth and want to reject it, or blame their parents for years of lying. However, when it comes to spiritual matters, when the truth is shown them, they’d rather believe what they were taught then to change. And that lack of change might cost them their soul. Guess I’m going to Hell We talked last week about my discussion on social media in regards to musical instruments being using in the assembly. I only hope the people involved took the time to read both articles. One of the f...