Category Archives: Discipleship

December 27, 2021 · 5:55 am

In Honor and Memory of Ed Harrell

2021 saw the passing of several gospel preachers. This March post in memory and honor of Ed Harrell received the 4th most hits of all the posts this year. It also provides a link to a post regarding a Florida College Lecture Ed presented that I believe you will enjoy.

ThePreachersWord

Author, historian, University professor, gospel preacher, and our beloved brother in Christ, David Edwin Harrell, Jr. passed from this life to his eternal reward last Monday afternoon, March 15th.

Today there will be a short graveside service for brother Harrell at 2:00 p.m. at Mandarin Cemetery in Jacksonville. Saturday, there will be an online service that you can register to view by linking here.

Almost 20 years my senior, I have known Ed Harrell since my college years. Like anyone who knew him, I was impressed with his unique intellectual insights combined with genuine humility. Sometimes preachers with educational credentials take simple truths and complicate them. Ed possessed the ability to simplify the complex.

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The Danger of a Bible App on Your iPhone

We are in the middle of a 2-week blogging break, However, we are reblogging the top10 posts of 2021 based on reader views. We resume today with #5.

ThePreachersWord

Many Christians have Bible Apps on their iPhones. I bet you never thought once about it posing any danger, did you?

It doesn’t. Unless you live in Afghanistan.

I’ve received two emails this week, one from my Rotary friend, John Grant, another from a preaching colleague, Max Dawson, reporting that the Taliban are going door to door demanding people’s cell phones.

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IT’S FRIDAY. BUT SUNDAY’S COMING! Black Friday

We’re taking a Thanksgiving holiday break this year. But reblogging some past posts. The post was one of 175 written for this column from 2012-2015.

ThePreachersWord

Today is dubbed as “Black Friday.” According to Wikepedia the term originally began in Philadelphia to “describe the heavy and disruptive vehicle traffic that would occur the day after Thanksgiving.”

In more recent years “Black Friday” describes the busiest shopping day of the year. It’s a day when retailers open early and close late. It refers to businesses who’ve been operating “in the red”, now turning a profit and operating “in the black.”

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November 18, 2021 · 7:40 am

Don’t Drink the Kool-Aid

Today is an ignominious day in history.

It was on this date in 1978 that 909 people died during a murder-suicide in a remote part of the South American nation of Guyana. The commune consisting of followers of Jim Jones, the founder of the Peoples Temple persuaded many “to willingly ingest a poison-laced punch while others were forced to do so at gunpoint.” Continue reading →

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October 13, 2021 · 6:46 am

A Passage To Ponder: 1Peter 1:13-21

Author and evangelical scholar, D. A. Carson, tells about a time he used to meet with a young man from French West Africa to practice the German language.

The young man was an engineer who need fluency in German in order to pursue a doctoral degree in Germany. His wife resided in London, training to be a medical doctor.

“I soon discovered.” Carson wrote, “ that once or twice a week he disappeared into the red-light district of town. Obviously he went to pay his money and have his woman. Eventually I got to know him well enough that I asked him what he would do if he discovered that his wife was doing something similar in London.” Continue reading →

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October 4, 2021 · 8:07 am

Word of the Week: Oneness

A Texas preacher, Bob Joyce, tells about a church split that began over an argument at a potluck supper.

The dispute started when one of the sisters brought a congealed salad made from cool whip instead of real whipping cream.

The reminds me of an old story Robert Jackson used to tell about a country church that couldn’t get along. Continue reading →

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October 1, 2021 · 9:47 am

Sunday Seed Thoughts: Back To Basics

Today Norma Jean and I are in the Memphis area where I’m beginning a meeting for the East Shelby Church in Collierville, Tennessee.

The Shepherds have asked me to preach lessons based on Ephesians 4 that speak to the issue of religious unity. We’ve entitled the series: “Christianity 101: Bible Basics for the 21st Century.”

Sometimes it’s good to get back to the basics. To the fundamentals. To the authoritative principles on which our faith is founded.

The story is told that the legendary football coach Vince Lombardi came into the training camp of the Green Bay Packers in the summer of 1961 taking nothing for granted. Continue reading →

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September 30, 2021 · 7:53 am

Three Life Lessons From “The Sultan of Swat”

Today’s the last day of September. Fall is in the air. And baseball playoffs begin next week, with the World Series just around the corner.

What team will rise to the top? What heroics will be talked about for years to come? Who will be Mr. October? And what stories will be retold from bygone years?

One name surfaces almost every year. Babe Ruth, known as “The Bambino,” or “The Sultan of Swat.” Continue reading →

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September 2, 2021 · 8:03 am

Three Lessons From a Man Raised by Homosexual Parents

“I never want to be a Christian,” declared Caleb Kaltenbach.

Kaltenbach, whose parents divorced when he was two years old, both went into same-sex relationships. As a result, he was raised by homosexual parents who were LGBT activists.

In a story by Christian Post, Op-ed contributor, Billy Hallowell, stemming from his podcast interview, he relates Kaltenbach’s spiritual journey. Continue reading →

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August 24, 2021 · 7:34 am