Equipping University

How many billions of people wander through life without noticing the glorious God who created them and the world in which they aimlessly live their lives? How many millions attend houses of worship each Sunday and do almost exactly the same thing? It is so easy to live our lives distracted by our to-do lists and all the technological and social demands that we place upon ourselves. We are so consumed with the mundane that we do not even notice that we are surrounded by the inexpressibly beautiful. While that is part of life here on earth, it is a completely different story in the presence of God in heaven. If we could manage to catch a glimpse of what it means to stand in the presence of God, our lives would forever be changed. We would no longer view the world the same way. We would no longer walk blindly through life with misplaced priorities and neglected worship. Instead, if we could steal a glance into the worship of glory, we would begin to see what life is truly about and live up to the very purpose f

For many families in the centuries since the King James Bible was completed, it was the only book they owned. Most learned to read from the well-worn pages of the family Bible and found their language shaped forever by the words they read. Simply put, the King James Bible has influenced the English language more than any book ever written and has done so completely out of proportion to what a single book ought to be able to do. We often do not even realize how many of our proverbs and maxims are direct quotes or allusions to this copy of God’s Word. How many times have you uttered “an eye for an eye” or “fell flat on his face” or “the salt of the earth” or asked “Am I my brother’s keeper?” without even thinking of how you know those words? Without the King James Bible, there would have been no Paradise Lost, no Pilgrim’s Progress, no Handel’s Messiah, no old Negro spirituals, and no Gettysburg Address. How did we come to possess this remarkable book?

The one primary factor about which each pastor and church member should be concerned is not the size, wealth, or style of the church. Instead, each should be concerned about their church's health. There are certain aspects that determine whether a church is healthy or unhealthy. If these marks are present, the church is healthy. If these marks are absent, the church is unhealthy and will eventually die if they are not addressed. Sadly, our country is filled with unhealthy churches. Even more sadly, this is nothing new. Not long after the ascension of Jesus Christ, we find that the first churches to exist were just as fouled up as ours are today. We even suffer through the same types of problems. There is one other church that is so well known for its errors that it is now stereotypical of the unhealthy church. In fact, this church is in such bad shape that it threatened to make Christ sick! This church is the church in Laodicea. The words Christ spoke to the believers there are the words believers in Ame