No Contest – Why the Argument Over Genesis?
One doesn’t have to be religious to know that a great controversy surrounds the first chapter in the Bible. The…
No One Knows When Christ Will Return
The Bible nowhere tells us, directly or indirectly, when Jesus Christ will return. When Jesus returns is not as important…
Nobody Prepares You
I work for a parachurch organization called Youth for Christ. Recently, several co-workers and I had an enlightening conversation during…
Not Ashamed of the Gospel (Romans 1:1-17)
In the year A.D. 57, Paul was on his third missionary journey, getting ready to go back to Jerusalem with…
Not Long Now…
Not long now,” the nurse says. Can’t say I’ll be sorry when it comes. I don’t want to die. I…
Not Putting Your Gift in Storage
“Being ordained gave me a sense of responsibility that I felt I could not put in storage. I had something…
Nothing Is Unclean in Itself (Romans 14:13-18)
Avoid offense Paul now speaks to the strong, to those who eat everything, and encourages them to be careful about…
Now Wash Your Hands
Do you lend a helping hand? Togetherness is a strong tradition in African society. The idea is that no one…
Numbers: Life as a Pilgrimage
Organization for Worship: Chapters 1-10:10 Moses numbers the tribes: chapters 1–2 One month after setting up the tabernacle, Moses and…
Nurture Children in the Way of Jesus
In this series we’re addressing five principles for effective ministry to children. We’ve discussed blessing children with Jesus’ love, relating…
Nurturing Believing Children
The Holy Spirit helps believers grow as disciples of Jesus who are becoming more and more like their Master. This…
Nurturing Young Believers
The great joy of those who minister to children, teens and college-age young adults is seeing them in fellowship with…
Obeying God
Some people worry that if we emphasize God’s grace, that people will stop caring about how they behave. Well, they…
Oh Come, All Ye Wasteful
No kidding—I really did see “Oh Come, All Ye Wasteful” on a store window! The message is no longer subtle…
Oh No… I’m a Mother-in-law!
I’ve heard a number of women say this, always accompanied by a grimace of distaste. There are many derogatory jokes…
Old Testament Laws Before Moses
Although the laws of Moses are the focus of this series, the story doesn’t begin with Moses. It begins in…
On Being a Child of God
Jesus’ disciples sometimes had delusions of self-importance. They once asked Jesus, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”…
On Death and Dying
Death is a reality of life. To some, death is a horrible unknown. For others, it is a time of…
On Mission in the Bahamas
In the video below, GCI Mission Developer Charles Fleming interviews GCI Pastor Robert McKinney about the disciple-making approaches Robert and…
On Theology of the Word of God
Karl Barth’s concept of the threefold form of the Word of God may be stated as follows: The Word of…
Once Pagan, Always Pagan?
Does Deuteronomy 12:30-31 mean that it is sinful to have Christian celebrations on days that used to be celebrated in honor…
One ‘Mere Christian’ in Church History Clive Staples Lewis
He was listed as one of the 10 most influential Christians of the 20th century by Christian History magazine, along…
One and Three
The first Christian missionaries preached the gospel in a pagan, polytheistic world. They preached that there was only one God,…
One at a Time, Please (1 Corinthians 14:26-39)
What did first-century believers do in their worship meetings? The Bible gives us only a few glimpses into the details….
One in Three and Three in One
Chapter 5 of God Is… The Bible never compromises the fact that God is one. Yet, Jesus’ incarnation and work…
Only One God
The Bible proclaims plainly and clearly that there is one and only one God. When the Bible says that God is…
Only One Name
Many Christians believe that all people who do not accept the gospel before they die are eternally lost and without…
Open Arms: Welcoming the Worldwide Church of God
It happened one evening early February 1996. I was reading the magazine of the Worldwide Church of God, a group…
Open Letter to a Wealthy Man
“Sell everything you have and give to the poor,” said Jesus to a rich man (Luke 18:22). Jesus’ demand is…
Opening the Eyes — A Step at a Time
Christians are occasionally challenged to study afresh some subjects we thought we already understood. And when we think we understand…
Ordinary People Who Changed the World
When we ask God to let his will be done in our lives, how much do we mean it? Though…
Ordination of an Elder
Ordination to the office of elder should normally take place during the worship service in the congregation where the elder…
Organizing the Collection (2 Corinthians 8:16-24)
Three trustworthy men To help the Corinthians be confident that their offering would be used in the right way, Paul…
Our Adoption As God’s Children
In joyous praise the apostle Paul writes of our salvation in Jesus Christ: Praise be to the God and Father…
Our Adoption Story
Eric and I always wanted a big family. We already had two boys when our third child, Stuart, was born…
Our Allegiance Is in Heaven (Philippians 3:17-4:1)
Good examples Paul has a reason to explain his eagerness — he wants the Philippians to share his approach. “All…
Our Bulgarian Connection: Interview With Nikolay Nikolov
During the Communist era, Bulgaria was one of the regimes hostile toward Christianity. In spite of constant harassment and persecution,…
Our Children’s Heroes
I waited anxiously for my father to come home. I was 11 years old at the time, and I knew…
Our Goal: Christ Formed in Us
It is always helpful to look at our goal. Just what is it that we are working toward? What is…
Our Greatest Needs: Prayer and Study
What is the greatest need that the church has? I believe that our greatest need is to draw closer to God. This…
Our Mission and Ministries
Our mission: Living and sharing the gospel Grace Communion International is committed to living and sharing the good news of…
Our Mission and Vision
We are sometimes asked to describe a vision for our future in the way a CEO might cast a vision…
Our Mission: to Disciple
A call and challenge for every Christian is to share the good news of Jesus and make disciples. As disciples…
Our Need for Spiritual Training
We encourage lay members to become more involved in ministry, in doing the work God has gifted them for. The…
Our Relationship With God
Part 1: Learning to be like Christ God has created us “in his own image,” and that this image is…
Our Relationship With Jesus Christ
Doctrine is only one portion of authentic Christianity. It is important — it is essential that the church teach right…
Our Resurrection With Christ
Each year, we celebrate that Christ our Lord has risen — and he is alive forevermore as our Savior, our…
Our Strange Dead God
From the various medals, statues and drawings adorning his car, it was obvious that my taxi driver was Hindu. He…
Our Sure Foundation
A story near the end of the book of Judges is a legacy to the emptiness of religion that is…
Our Upward, Inward and Outward Responsibilities
“Built together.” That’s how Paul describes the church in Ephesians 2:22. Throughout the Bible, we are confronted with the fact…
Our Values
What we value most reflects what we are as individuals and as a church. Members of our denomination are diverse…
Our Values, Emphasis, and Ministries
We look to the future with hope and vision… We find ourselves at a historic crossroad. As we follow Jesus…
Overcoming Alcohol Abuse
Why is the abuse of alcohol one of the greatest causes of loss of human productivity, and of suffering and…
Overcoming Alcohol Abuse – A Series of Articles
This post exists because a “book” cannot be in a category. This post redirects to a book. It’s time to…
Overview of Doctrinal Errors in Herbert Armstrong’s Mystery of the Ages
Shortly before his death in 1986, Herbert W. Armstrong, founder of the Worldwide Church of God, compiled many of his…
Pacifism and the Church of God
During the American Civil War, Sabbatarian Adventists in the state of Iowa petitioned their state legislature for official recognition as…
Pacifism Series – Summation
We have now completed our journey through the Bible’s treatment of war and peace. We began with the Edenic ideal….
Paganism — Where Should Christians Draw the Line?
Paganism is a controversial subject. Can we use pagan customs in the church of God? We already do. Simply because something…
Paganism, Pagans and Pagan Customs
Rather than address the subject of Christmas directly, this article will consider the broader topics of paganism, pagans and pagan practices in…