Posts by 70 West Church of Christ (Page 2)
The church and city of Philadelphia
The city of Philadelphia is 25 to 30 miles southeast of Sardis. It is on a plateau extending from The north slopes of the Timolus/Boz Mountains toward the Hermus River, today called Gediz but along this specific stretch, Cogamis. They city was established in the second century B.C. and it was named in honor of the brother of Attalus II, king of Eumenes. The king loved his brother very much and thus one has the city of “brotherly love” or…
Is Abortion Acceptable?
Abortion from Society’s Standpoint…How does society view human life? The earliest generations respected the word that God gave us and saw human life as sacred. The values of human life have changed drastically because man is no longer seen as being made in the image of God but has downgraded so much that “the present generation sees man as a highly sophisticated miniaturized computer [sic] (Simpson, 1977).” They have lowered the importance of human life in general. Laws in the…
Enduring the Hardships of Life
How often do we go through life and think that we are blessed with the things that we have or go through because it could be worse? How often do we think that we are blessed when we go through hardships or persecutions? In Matthew’s account on the sermon on the mount, Jesus says (Matt. 5:10–11 KJV) “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile…
How Do You Show Love?
People see love in many different ways and in many different situations. This can be shown to those you have relationships with, or to random strangers that you meet. Love can be shown between a husband and a wife. Love can be shown between parents and children or siblings. Love can be shown within the brethren, the body of Christ. In English, we use the word love flippantly because that encases all types of love and we do not have…
Thank the Lord
Events in this life tend to get in the way of what we need to remember. We might remember that a sports game is playing on television today, or that we need to make a trip to the grocery store to pick up some milk. Maybe you need to pick up the kids from ball practice or take them to the doctor’s office. With all the things that we do in this life, are we remembering to pray to the…
Houma Letter 2021
70 West Family, We have been in touch this week with two of our sister congregations in Houma, LA, which were in the heart of where Hurricane Ida came ashore last month. As you can imagine, their recovery is going to be a long road and they still have significant needs. The Hollywood Rd congregation became one of the de-facto distribution centers for relief supplies for not only their members but the community as a whole and remains so. FEMA…
Sign Communication
Through Michael’s efforts in the community and online feedback from some of our community members, it has become glaringly obvious that the 70 West congregation is largely anonymous in the Hot Springs community. If we are to fulfill the mission God has appointed us, this is something we have to address. As a congregation, we are kicking off some projects and programs targeted towards 70 West having a larger and more public imprint on the Hot Springs community. 1. We…
Life After Death
I guess eternal life has been a much-debated issue for centuries. In fact, Socrates said, “All men’s souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are both immortal and divine.” Aristotle said, “Whatsoever that be within us that feels, thinks, desires, and animates, is something celestial, divine, and, consequently, imperishable.” Job said after his body was destroyed he would see God. (Job 19:24-25). Jesus assured us of life after death in John 11:25-26. Many ask before entering into anything…
Finding the Answers
In the online class BIBLE INVESTIGATION, I am doing my best to answer a host of questions that have been submitted by class participants. This past week one of the questions came from a young father living in Africa. His question was, ‘In the confusion of today’s religious world, can we have agreement & unity’? His question was generated from the frustration he has felt the past two years. About two years ago a denominational missionary visited his small village…
God’s View of Sin
It has been very well said throughout the years that sin will take you further than you ever wanted to go. Sin will keep you longer than you ever intended to stay. Sin will cost you more than you ever wanted to pay. Sin will require of you more than you ever wanted to give. In our modern culture, the word sin is rarely, if ever, used. However, God’s Word speaks plainly to the idea of sin. Sin is the…
Reflecting on Mom
This past April 16th was the 103rd anniversary of my mother’s birthday. That day on the calendar is always a tough day for me. Even though it has been almost 20 years since my mother left our world, hardly a week goes by that I do not think about her in some way or another. Memories of her flood my soul. My mother was the foundation for my faith. If I was picking cotton by her side in the fall,…
COVID-19 and Worship
We are living in very weird times. We are living in a time when a virus is sweeping over the world in a pandemic format. For the church, this time of quarantining our worship together looks very different from anything we have ever seen. It is a period of isolation and healing of our nation and yet we still see the Divine obligation to come together as a group of saints. All those things being understood, we need to understand…