Blog: June 2019

The Letter of James has been very frank about the existence of dis­harmony and con­flicts in the church—such as:  Ÿfailing to bridle the tongue (1:26); Ÿplaying favorites (2:1-7); Ÿhaving “faith” that yields no works (2:18); Ÿbless­ing and cursing with the same mouth; Ÿacting out of selfish ambition (3:14).  And that’s just up through chapter 3. To address these kinds of relational problems, let me recommend a terrific short article (pick up a copy from the ledge in the lobby): “Seven Princi­ples for Healthy Relationships in Church,” by ...

Samuel had anointed Saul as king over Israel, but it wasn’t long before Saul’s disobedience led God to reject him as king. God sent Samuel to Bethlehem to meet Jesse—a man in the family line of Judah. God had chosen one of Jesse’s sons to be Israel’s king. When Samuel saw Jesse’s oldest son, Eliab, he thought, “This must be the one God has chosen!” Eliab was likely tall and good-looking. Why wouldn’t God choose someone like that? But God doesn’t make decisions like people do. Read what God said to Samuel in 1 Samuel 16:7. Jesse’s sons ...

When God confronts us about the way we talk, he strikes a nerve.  Let’s be honest—we all struggle with sins of the tongue.  Whether we’re prone to say too much or too little.  Whether it’s gossip or boasting or exaggeration or slander or judging or criticism or complaining, or whatever.  It’s every believer’s battle (James 3:2, 8). And words are a big deal.  We may say “talk is cheap,” but it’s not.  It’s costly; words have a powerful impact. Of course, Christ-centered, truth-telling, love-spreading speech has immense value for good. Just ...

Gossip involves talking behind someone’s back and saying things you wouldn’t say if he or she were present.  Talking about rather than to others is like walking on a frozen pond on a warm day in March—dangerous!  Don't go there. So why do people gossip?  Because they—we—desire attention and power.  Believers who gossip exhibit spiritual immaturity; it shows we’re not satisfied with acceptance by Christ and not ready to entrust our lives to his strong, loving hands.  What’s more, when we willingly listen to gossip, it corrodes our conscience ...

This Sunday we’ll dive into a Bible passage about the power of our speech to do harm, great harm.  In 3:1-12, James stresses how much damage our words can do:  “the tongue is a fire, a world of unright­eousness”; the tongue is “set on fire by hell”; “no human being can tame the tongue”; “it is a restless evil”; it’s “full of deadly poison.”  Simply put, our words are capable of inflicting devastation. The Bible is not subtle here:  when we give into the tempta­tions of gossip, slander, lying, and any other speech sins, we dishonor our ...

The Gospel Coalition recently published a collection of twelve mini-bio­graphies of Christians who share their experience meeting Jesus and following him along his counterintuitive path:  unless we lose our lives for his sake, we’ll never discover our true selves.  “Writers from around the world tell their stories of healing and hope amid many hardships.”  They also unpack God’s Word and help us see what it looks like to take God seriously when life goes sideways. The book is Lost and Found:  How Jesus Helped Us Discover Our True Selves, ...

June 23 will be "Celebration Sunday" here at Goshen--come join us! Several things will be happening that day: Summer Schedule begins:  Sunday School for all ages at 9:30 a.m., and ONE worship service at 10:30 a.m. Our Combined Adult Class begins at 9:30 a.m. in Fellowship Hall (see here for the schedule for this ten-week series). We'll hear reports on God's leading and working thru our VBS and Waypoint ministries taking place during the preceding week. We'll witness the ordinance of Baptism during the worship service.  If you are a ...

The time of the judges was turbulent for God’s people. The Israelites had conquered the promised land of Canaan, but after Joshua’s death, they fell into a cycle of sin. This was the culture in which Hannah and her husband Elkanah lived. They were ordinary Israelites—Elkanah, a devoted worshiper of the Lord; and Hannah, a woman who wanted nothing more than to be a mother. But the Lord had closed her womb. (1 Sam. 1:5) One year, when Elimelech went to make sacrifices and worship God, Hannah went too. She could no longer hide her grief over ...