• Sharing the Gospel

    Keeping Our Sword Drawn and Sharpened 

    Published on 05-07-2012 12:17 PM  Number of Views: 38 
    1. Categories:
    2. Rightly Dividing the Word,
    3. False Doctrines,
    4. Sharing the Gospel,
    5. Homosexuality

    By Tom Wacaster

    My first preaching work was in a small farming community in south central Oklahoma. It was not uncommon to arrive at church services and find someone out front whittling on a stick with a pocketknife. Most of the time there was no definite purpose for "whittling," and the end result was a shortened stick with a sharp point at the end. But every now and then a good brother would be whittling away     ...
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    "RECONCILIATION" 

    Published on 02-19-2012 12:48 PM  Number of Views: 280 
    1. Categories:
    2. Christian Living,
    3. Faithfulness,
    4. Sharing the Gospel

    by Tom Wacaster

    There are certain words in the Bible that astound the mind and thrill the heart. Words like "redemption," "forgiveness," "grace," and "salvation" are among those words. The worldly minded can never appreciate the magnitude nor the depth of those words as they relate to matters eternal. But those who have been rescued from the bondage of sin have an appreciation that cannot be expressed in words. The word "reconciliation" ...
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    Working With Jell-O 

    Published on 02-18-2012 09:25 AM  Number of Views: 276 
    1. Categories:
    2. Liberalism,
    3. Sharing the Gospel,
    4. Evangelism

    By Tom Wacaster

    Senator John Boehner used this analogy some months back when referring to attempts to "negotiate" with the President and his staff in matters concerning the economy, taxes, and balancing the budget. More precisely the Speaker of the House pointed out, "Dealing with them the last couple months has been like dealing with Jell-o," Boehner said. "Some days it's firmer than others. Sometimes it's like they've left it out over night." I have ...
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    Ten Reasons to Reach Out to People 

    Published on 02-14-2012 03:41 PM  Number of Views: 316 
    1. Categories:
    2. Christian Living,
    3. Sharing the Gospel

    1. Unless God was mistaken in His concern, we must reach out to people.
    2. Unless God’s revelation of Himself in Christ was a meaningless gesture, we must reach out to people.
    3. Unless Jesus was mistaken when He created the church, we must reach out to people.
    4. Unless the disciples misunderstood what Jesus told them to do, we must reach out to people.
    5. Unless no one is presently in bondage to sin, we must reach out to people.
    6. Unless the penalty for     ...
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    How Often Does God Talk to You? 

    by
    Travis Main
    Published on 01-24-2012 11:30 AM  Number of Views: 232 
    1. Categories:
    2. Christian Living,
    3. Thus Saith the Lord,
    4. Christianity,
    5. Sharing the Gospel,
    6. Authority of the Scriptures

    Prayer stands as a key component of a Christian’s life. When a Christian prays they share their gratefulness, reverence, thoughts, concerns, and needs with the Eternal Father. Even non-Christians talk to God at times in their lives. However, prayer represents only one side of communication with God. Men need to let God talk. Unfortunately, the wide majority of the world refuses to give God the opportunity. If they would let Him talk, they would be much better equipped for the lives that they ...
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    An Aged Preacher - "Seeking an Answer" 

    by
    Travis Main
    Published on 01-23-2012 04:09 PM  Number of Views: 201 
    1. Categories:
    2. Preaching the Word,
    3. Christianity,
    4. Sharing the Gospel,
    5. Evangelism

    Baptisms and burials, over a lifetime the preacher performed a great number of these. From Genesis to Revelation, his words carefully uttered the precepts of God. His hair was once full and his face youthfully smooth. Now the hair sports only grey and wrinkles outline his face. God called him through the gospel and the preacher answered. He knows spiritual peace as every day brings him closer to his Heavenly Father. Yet, the preacher seeks answers. How long will he be able to continue preaching? ...
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    The Seeking Preacher - "Seeking a Congregation" 

    by
    Travis Main
    Published on 01-23-2012 08:19 AM  Number of Views: 258 
    1. Categories:
    2. Preaching the Word,
    3. Christianity,
    4. Sharing the Gospel,
    5. Evangelism

    “Seeking a preacher” appears to be a one sided affair. A congregation shuffles through some resumes, does a few interviews, allows a preacher to bring a few messages, and then they take their pick of who they want in the pulpit. But reality begs to differ. While a preacher may not put out ads “Seeking a congregation”, he does choose where he will preach. A great number of preachers receive interest from congregations, only to tell them, “No thank you”. Some preachers take proactive steps ...
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    Replacing a Preacher - "Seeking a Preacher" 

    by
    Travis Main
    Published on 01-19-2012 11:41 PM  Number of Views: 248 
    1. Categories:
    2. Preaching the Word,
    3. Christianity,
    4. Sharing the Gospel,
    5. Evangelism

    The preacher shares his final words, steps down from the pulpit for the last time, and after gathering his things leaves the building for good. Preachers come and go, often more frequently than they should. The Church moves forward with or without a regular preacher, because the ability to worship God does not rely upon the presence of any particular man. Yet, this does not dismiss the wisdom of having a local preacher. A sound preacher blesses a congregation in many ways a typical member does ...
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    Becoming a Preacher - "Seeking to make a Difference" 

    by
    Travis Main
    Published on 01-18-2012 02:07 PM  Number of Views: 274 
    1. Categories:
    2. Preaching the Word,
    3. Christianity,
    4. Sharing the Gospel,
    5. Evangelism

    As a boy, the opportunity existed for me to learn how to preach. The congregation I attended held classes specifically for men and boys to develop themselves and prepare to share the Word of God with the world. I can remember providing a short lesson at one point and more than likely I gave more, though I do not recall them. After that time, preaching sort of left my mind. It was not until the age of thirty-two that I sought out the opportunity to preach again. My family and I attended a congregation ...
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    Raising a Preacher - "Seeking the future" 

    by
    Travis Main
    Published on 01-17-2012 06:32 PM  Number of Views: 166 
    1. Categories:
    2. Preaching the Word,
    3. Christianity,
    4. Sharing the Gospel,
    5. Evangelism

    Every mother and father dreams of the future for their son or daughter. Of course, the son or daughter also does some dreaming of their own. As they grow their visions evolve. Even as adults, we understand about a change of passion. However, a love of God should always remain through every age. Yes, there is a difference between boys and girls and the expectation God established for them. Boys growing to fulfill their purpose turn into leaders. They lead their families. They lead in the ...
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    Wash Yourselves: Plead for the Widow (6 of 6) 

    by
    Travis Main
    Published on 01-03-2012 04:41 PM  Number of Views: 288 
    1. Categories:
    2. Christian Living,
    3. Thus Saith the Lord,
    4. Old Testament,
    5. Obedience,
    6. Christianity,
    7. Sharing the Gospel,
    8. Sin

    “Plead for the widow”! Isaiah directs the people of Judah to vigorously defend these women. As with the orphan or fatherless, the leader of their family no longer exists. However, their defense differs. Unlike the fatherless, the widow typically does not need to be trained and guided to know how to follow the laws of God. Without dismissing the need for the spiritual, the more immediate concern for widows centers on provision of their material needs and protection from ...
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    Wash Yourselves: Reprove the Ruthless (4 of 6) 

    by
    Travis Main
    Published on 12-20-2011 04:54 PM  Number of Views: 246 
    1. Categories:
    2. Christian Living,
    3. Thus Saith the Lord,
    4. Old Testament,
    5. Preaching the Word,
    6. Obedience,
    7. Christianity,
    8. Sharing the Gospel,
    9. Sin,
    10. Authority of the Scriptures,
    11. Evangelism

    Why “reprove the ruthless”? God’s inspired words to Isaiah in Isaiah 1:16-17 are words that are part of patterns of direction to correct the behavior of wicked Judah. There are many scriptural examples devoted to enabling the ruthless to repent. The patterns and examples of God’s Word are needed to strengthen the community of men in a walk of godliness. Jesus is queried by a Pharisee lawyer in Matthew 22:34-39:

    “Teacher which is the great commandment in the law.” Jesus replies: “Thou
    ...
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    Wash Yourselves: Learn to Do Good (2 of 6) 

    by
    Travis Main
    Published on 12-14-2011 01:43 PM  Number of Views: 445 
    1. Categories:
    2. Christian Living,
    3. Thus Saith the Lord,
    4. Old Testament,
    5. Obedience,
    6. Christianity,
    7. Sharing the Gospel,
    8. Sin,
    9. Authority of the Scriptures

    During the time of Isaiah, the people of Judah thought about God. They offered sacrifices of bulls, lambs, and goats. They recognized the sabbaths and celebrated their feasts. Yes, they even lifted up their hands to God in prayer. Yet, God did not recognize them (Isaiah 1:11-15). But weren’t these good things they were engaged in? How could God not acknowledge the good?

    The first article in this series (Wash Yourselves: Cease to Do Evil) examined how the people needed to ...
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    Humbled by a Teenager 

    by
    Travis Main
    Published on 12-03-2011 02:53 PM  Number of Views: 260 
    1. Categories:
    2. Christian Living,
    3. What Must I Do To Be Saved?,
    4. Thus Saith the Lord,
    5. Faith Only,
    6. Preaching the Word,
    7. Christianity,
    8. Sharing the Gospel,
    9. Authority of the Scriptures

    Life sure can be funny. You have ups, you have downs, and you have to be certain not to get hung up anywhere along the way. I have been blessed over the years to teach, preach, and write for a variety of venues. Whether it has been large or small congregations; classrooms with little kids, teens, or adults; a prison facility; outdoors in a park; VBS gatherings; camps; senior centers; online forums and websites, or in someone’s home, the gospel has been spread in earnest. Sometimes folks ...
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    Labels 

    by
    Travis Main
    Published on 11-28-2011 06:25 PM  Number of Views: 363 
    1. Categories:
    2. Christian Living,
    3. The One Church,
    4. Liberalism,
    5. Anti-ism,
    6. Moderates,
    7. Christianity,
    8. Sharing the Gospel,
    9. Authority of the Scriptures,
    10. Postmodernism

    Over the years, it has been my pleasure to worship with many brothers and sisters in many different locations in the United States. If I asked someone to visit these congregations and describe them to me in two words or less, there would no doubt be a great variety of descriptive terms. Some of these terms would likely be: Liberal, charismatic, institutional, non-institutional, fundamental, one-cupper, mainstream, non-cooperative, Holy Roller, legalistic, anti, instrumental, non-instrumental, ...
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    The Faith Once Delivered (The Bible as Law) 

    by
    Travis Main
    Published on 11-18-2011 06:54 AM  Number of Views: 300 
    1. Categories:
    2. God, the Bible, Heaven and Hell,
    3. New Testament,
    4. Old Testament,
    5. Preaching the Word,
    6. Christianity,
    7. Sharing the Gospel,
    8. Authority of the Scriptures

    ...
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    Can We Grow? 

    Published on 07-11-2011 03:01 PM  Number of Views: 665 
    1. Categories:
    2. Sharing the Gospel,
    3. Evangelism

    by Tom Wacaster
    Discussing church growth is as relevant today as it was 20 years ago, or even 2,000 years ago. Peter admonished us, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). If individual Christians grow as they should, it is not unreasonable to expect churches of which they are a part to grow as well. If not why not? Admittedly churches are not growing at the same pace as that which was experienced ...
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    What Does the Bible Say About Salvation? 

    by
    Travis Main
    Published on 05-24-2011 01:24 PM  Number of Views: 841 
    1. Categories:
    2. Christian Living,
    3. Rightly Dividing the Word,
    4. Thus Saith the Lord,
    5. Faith Only,
    6. Christianity,
    7. Sharing the Gospel

    Some individuals and groups claim that the salvation coming by God is accomplished by a singular thing such as grace, belief, or faith. The Bible refutes such teaching. Salvation absolutely includes these items and they are integral to it, however, considering the full scope of the teachings of Jesus, shared by Himself and the Holy Spirit through the apostles and prophets, a much clearer picture is displayed. Neither by grace, belief, or faith alone shall man be saved.

    ...
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    Having an Answer (Part 2) 

    by
    Travis Main
    Published on 04-07-2011 04:28 AM  Number of Views: 331 
    1. Categories:
    2. Christian Living,
    3. Thus Saith the Lord,
    4. Preaching the Word,
    5. Christianity,
    6. Sharing the Gospel

    All of the following are important questions. Would you be able to provide an accurate, scriptural answer?

    1. How did the world begin? How did I (mankind) begin?         Genesis 1:1–2:4; Nehemiah 9:6; Job 33:4; Psalm 100:1–3; Isaiah 45:12; Colossians 1:15–17; Hebrews 1:1–2

    2. Who is God? Exodus 3:13–15; Numbers 23:19; Nehemiah 9:6; Isaiah 43:10–11; 45:5, 12, 22; 66:1-2; Jeremiah 32:17; Matthew 28:19; John 17:20–21; I Corinthians 8:6; I John 5:7 ...
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    Having an Answer (Part 1) 

    by
    Travis Main
    Published on 04-04-2011 09:43 PM  Number of Views: 368 
    1. Categories:
    2. Christian Living,
    3. Preaching the Word,
    4. Faithfulness,
    5. Christianity,
    6. Sharing the Gospel

    by Erik Smith

    A teacher stands in front of her classroom of students. She begins to review some of the previous day’s homework that she assigned her students to study and complete. She asks: “Can someone give me the answer for question #1?” She then adds with a smile: “Remember to raise your hands if you have the answer.” The response is mixed. Some of her students almost literally jump out of their seats as their hands shoot skyward. With great enthusiasm they chime in: “I know ...
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    The High Dive 

    by
    Travis Main
    Published on 03-30-2011 01:41 AM  Number of Views: 350 
    1. Categories:
    2. Christian Living,
    3. Preaching the Word,
    4. Christianity,
    5. Sharing the Gospel

    Every summer, sprinklers, pools, ponds, lakes, creeks, rivers, and oceans are invaded by swarms of people looking to escape the heat. Water is wonderful! It offers a refreshing playground in which to frolic. Great memories are had around water including fishing, skiing, surfing, tubing and swimming. Many swimmers have feelings of fear and joy when it comes to remembering the high dive. It doesn’t matter if the high dive was the standard board 12 feet above the water, a rock outcropping, ...
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    Got Courage? 

    by
    Travis Main
    Published on 02-28-2011 11:48 AM  Number of Views: 337 
    1. Categories:
    2. Christian Living,
    3. Faithfulness,
    4. Obedience,
    5. Christianity,
    6. Sharing the Gospel

    Our society definitely honors those who show “courage.” Medals are given to the soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and coast guard personnel who go “…above and beyond the call of duty” and exhibit great bravery while completing their assigned missions. Many times, the people who are so recognized did these actions at the risk of their own lives. Thus, the military awards decorations to these brave men and women according to their level of valor. With much pomp and ceremony, these “heroes” ...
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    Benefit of a Literal Indwelling of the Holy Spirit? 

    by
    Travis Main
    Published on 02-25-2011 02:05 AM  Number of Views: 403 
    1. Categories:
    2. Rightly Dividing the Word,
    3. Preaching the Word,
    4. Christianity,
    5. Sharing the Gospel

    Holy Spirit Indwelling Series – Part 5
    Benefit of a Literal Indwelling of the Holy Spirit?
    Going against the illustrations presented in the four previous articles which argued against a literal non-miraculous indwelling of the Holy Spirit in favor of a representative indwelling, this article will focus on examining “what if”. What if there was a non-miraculous indwelling of the Holy Spirit as some believe today? What purpose would the indwelling serve? Some kind and earnest ...
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    Sealed with the Spirit! Indwelling? 

    by
    Travis Main
    Published on 02-19-2011 02:10 AM  Number of Views: 284 
    1. Categories:
    2. Rightly Dividing the Word,
    3. Preaching the Word,
    4. Christianity,
    5. Sharing the Gospel

    Holy Spirit Indwelling Series – Part 4
    Sealed with the Spirit! Indwelling?

    As this series has progressed the indwelling of the Holy Spirit has been presented as representative and not the same as the “gift of the Holy Spirit” or being “filled with the Spirit”. This article will focus on the idea of being sealed with the spirit, what it means, and whether or not it is an indwelling as some suppose. In conjunction with examining the terms ...
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    Being Filled with the Holy Spirit and Indwelling 

    by
    Travis Main
    Published on 02-17-2011 01:12 PM  Number of Views: 1115 
    1. Categories:
    2. Rightly Dividing the Word,
    3. Preaching the Word,
    4. Christianity,
    5. Sharing the Gospel

    Holy Spirit Indwelling Series – Part 3
    What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit?
    The previous two articles focused on Biblical associations with the topic of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In the first article, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit was demonstrated to be non-miraculous representation of the Christian’s obedience to God’s will and not a literal indwelling. In the second, it was demonstrated a literal indwelling is not what the term “gift of the Holy ...
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