Do You Love The Lord?
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- Last Updated on Monday, 30 April 2012 07:29
- Published on Monday, 30 April 2012 00:00
- Written by Patrick Swayne
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While I was preaching in Jefferson City, TN, our congregation used to hold worship services every Sunday at Jefferson County Nursing Home. One lady with whom I became acquainted while doing this was Ms. Perna Noland, a sweet and gentle southern woman who loved to see a man wearing a suit and complimented me every time she saw me. While not a member of the Lord’s church, she was a woman who respected the Bible and came to every service she could before she passed away.
How Shall The Young Secure Their Hearts?
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- Last Updated on Monday, 30 April 2012 07:28
- Published on Monday, 30 April 2012 00:00
- Written by Patrick Swayne
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I don’t often buy a newspaper, however I saw a cover story a while back in the Herald Sun that piqued my interest enough to purchase one. The article, “Show Us Respect” by John Ferguson and Megan Miller, is about a message from Victorian Premier John Brumby regarding Australian youth. Brumby says, “I am concerned about an emerging culture of alcohol and a lack of respect.” How does Brumby plan to take care of the problem? In typical government fashion, he plans first to pour money on the problem: “Mr Brumby plans a mutli-million-dollar campaign to steer young Victorians into volunteering for key fire, rescue, welfare and community groups.” A second tier of effort involves the changing of school curriculum and a changing of the government’s social agenda. As a part of this, the article reports that, “Experts and parents will meet to find a way to teach the young right from wrong.”
How Can One Find Comfort In The Face of Death?
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- Last Updated on Monday, 23 April 2012 07:24
- Published on Monday, 23 April 2012 00:00
- Written by Patrick Swayne
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“The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Approached with the dilemma of death knocking at the door, many individuals are filled with disdain and discomfort. There seems to them to be no practical answer for the inevitable call of death, and certainly no comfort to be found. Many people live their lives without considering the prospect of death, adopting, as two songs respectively stated, a “Live and Let Die”/ “Que Sera, Sera, Whatever Will Be Will Be” mindset. Unfortunately, unless death comes suddenly and unexpectedly, this mindset must be abandoned when the call of death is near, because it offers no comfort in the face of a vast unknown. Many, who lived their lives without considering the prospect of death, die acknowledging and yet fearing the fact of a higher power and an afterlife. Truly, “God hath shewed it unto them [;…] the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, […] even His eternal power and Godhead.” (Romans 1:19, 20). However, even these rarely understand the true import of Paul’s statement, “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
How Big Was That Fish Again?
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- Last Updated on Monday, 23 April 2012 07:24
- Published on Monday, 23 April 2012 00:00
- Written by Patrick Swayne
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John Steinbeck wrote of his first visit to Montana, “It seems to me that Montana is a great splash of grandeur. The scale is huge but not overpowering. The land is rich with grass and color, and the mountains are the kind I would create if mountains were ever put on my agenda. Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
Having A Meeting With God
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- Last Updated on Wednesday, 18 April 2012 10:06
- Published on Monday, 16 April 2012 00:00
- Written by Patrick Swayne
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Are you one of those people that can’t get anything done unless it’s in your day planner? I’ve never been great when it comes to organization (as anyone who knows me well will say), but I’ve known several people that live by these things. A brother in Christ once related the anger and surprise that his wife felt when she saw that a planned lunch with her had been written into his planner. She didn’t like it at the time (“You have to schedule time with your wife!?!?”), but later understood that by writing her in, her husband was making their lunch a priority.