On Easter Sunday, April 1 2018, I delivered the following sermon at the Church of Christ in Friona, Texas. No recording was made, but I have included my outline below.
On This Day
Scripture Text:Luke 24:1-3
Introduction:
As a teacher of Christian History at Sunset International Bible Institute, I have the opportunity to teach about the various controversies in celebrating Easter that occurred in the early centuries of the church.
Controversy was primarily over what date it should be celebrated.
The questions and differences first appeared in the 2nd century.
It is interesting to note that no evidence exists for or against the New Testament (1st century) era church keeping an annual specific day, but only Sunday itself.
It is also important to note that there was no doubt in the 2nd century about the actual historical event of Jesus’ resurrection. Only the heretical Gnostics rejected its truth. Mainstream Christianity only squabbled over what date they should celebrate it on.
Now Christian history does tell us is that three practices of the church go all the way back into the 1st century of Christianity – and all three of these practices declare the historical truth of Jesus’ resurrection. We will speak more about these 3 practices in this lesson.
As I write this, “Easter” is two weeks away on April 12. For the eighteen years I preached at Tanglewood in Odessa, Texas I delivered a message specifically for that holiday almost every year. Over the next two weeks I want to share a few of those messages.
I am not suggesting that this specific time each year is exactly when the Lord was resurrected. We don’t know the real day of the year other than that it was on a Sunday. But I do know this time each year is an opportune time to remind our people and our visitors of the truth and importance of His resurrection.Continue Reading
News keeps coming in daily of the spread and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools, churches and businesses across our nation are closed for at least the near future. But not all the news is bad. In our city of Lubbock many people, organizations and businesses are stepping forward and giving and serving our community with no strings attached. I like to think this is at least partly the result of the strong influence that Christianity still exerts in our city and region. Hopefully those reading this in other parts of our nation are seeing similar generosity; perhaps some are even part of Christian churches involved in such service.Continue Reading
As I write this, our city, state, nation and world are dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Already over 10,000 deaths are attributed to it, and projections are that those numbers will go much higher. In this nation our national and local leaders have instituted numerous laws and requirements to try and slow the spread in our population.
I am not writing this either to stir up further hysteria or to make light of this very serious threat to us all. Instead I have been thinking for several days about the lessons we can draw from our own Christian history and what our response as followers of the King of Kings should be. As both a teacher and student of church history, other times in our history when the church faced similar circumstances easily come to mind.Continue Reading
A project at Sunset International Bible Institute that I have been involved with since its planning stages is the Sunset Digital Library app. At Sunset we have a large archive of older video and audio recordings of our instructors and ministers dating as far back as 1970. Some of the well-known names (now deceased) include Cline Paden, Gerald Paden, Ted Stewart, Truman Scott, Doyle Paden, Abe Lincoln, Richard Rogers, Norman Gipson and Richard Baggett. Others still with us include Ed Wharton, Truitt Adair, Ken Jones, Dan Rouse and many others.Continue Reading
Satan is the “god of this world” and the “ruler of this world,” reflecting his tremendous power and influence over the earth – 2 Corinthians 4:4; John 12:31
However, he has limits. He is not all-powerful, all-knowing, or omniscient. In fact, he is severely limited to only what his Creator allows him to do.
How does he then do all that he does? The Bible indicates that he has under his direction a large number of other spiritual beings, variously identified in Scripture as “his angels” (Matthew 25:41), “demons” (Mark 3:22), “evil spirits” and more!
As with the angels and Satan, we are quite limited in what the Holy Spirit has chosen to reveal to us concerning these beings associated with the devil. I accept that there is quite a bit of room for different opinions and views even within the limited documentation and teaching we have in the Bible on this topic. What I present here is what I presently believe the Scriptures teach.
Some religions and media just confuse this subject with movies, TV shows, faith healings, exorcisms, sensationalist books, etc.
My Sunday morning Bible class at Sunset Church of Christ is studying the Book of Galatians this quarter (March – May). To help my class get the “big picture” I created a brief outline of Galatians.
Outlines of Bible books are very useful for seeing and following the author’s flow of thought. Especially is this valuable for the epistles written by Paul since his logic, doctrinal points and applications are so tightly woven together. Using the well-worn expression, “you can’t see the forest for the trees,” a teacher or student may focus on a single passage or section of a Bible book or epistle without ever grasping how that passage fits into the overall purpose and design of the writing. Below I have reproduced my outline followed by comments on how one section of Galatians – specifically 2:11-21 – fits in.Continue Reading
Last week I substituted for the regular teacher in the early Wednesday night Bible class at Sunset Church of Christ. My topic was one in the series concerning Jewish feasts and holy days. It was on The Day of Atonement, a copy of which is available just before this current lesson.
Here now is the second lesson which was taught tonight on the Feast of Booths. I have included my handout here, followed by a link to listen to the audio of the lecture.Continue Reading
The Wednesday night class at Sunset Church of Christ that meets at 5:30 is being taught about the Feasts of Israel by Brian Garnett, one our our instructors at Sunset International Bible Institute. This past Wednesday, I was the substitute for Brian as he has left for the Philippines for some short-term mission work.
My topic was The Day of Atonement, the most solemn and holy celebration under the Law of Moses. It is spoken about in detail in Leviticus 16 and 23. What follows is the handout I created to accompany my “lecture.”Continue Reading
Today (02/16/2020) I taught my Bible class at the Sunset Church of Christ. We are studying from a guide by Scott Franks called, Practical Proverbs. This is a lesson on “Quarreling.” Last month I taught on “Gossip,” and reproduced that outline earlier here. Below I have reproduced the handout I provided for the class today.
Dissension, Strife and Quarreling
INTRODUCTION:
Remember what “wisdom” means in the Book of Proverbs: “Seeing life as God sees it and then living out our life in a way that honors and glorifies Him.”
We notice that several of the other topics in Proverbs may be connected to, or else lead to, strife: wrong use of the tongue, money, inappropriate sexual relationships, honesty, friendships, and anger.
I greatly enjoy reading about archaeological discoveries that have some connection to Bible history. Archaeologists who are also Bible believers often state that their science is not intended to “prove the Bible true” but does often coincide with or even illustrate some aspect of the writings of Scripture.
Earlier on this website we highlighted materials from Ray Vander Laan which are an example of this illustration of the Bible by archaeology. This week I want to highlight the website www.archwithtal.com (Archaeology withTalmadge). According to his profile, Talmadge Gerald is an archaeologist presently pursuing his doctorate at Andrews University while also serving as Assistant to the Curator of the Museum of Archaeology at Andrews and participating in digs during the summers in the Middle East.Continue Reading
That I am a serious student of the history of Christianity is clear. A significant part of my print and digital libraries consist of many varied texts and works on the subject. I presently teach a “Christian History and Doctrine” course at Sunset International Bible Institute. I often tell stories from Christian history as illustrations in my sermons and Bible classes. One of my study guides available in this website’s store is entitled, “Pictures from Christian History.” And reading earlier posts on this website shows a real bias in this same direction.Continue Reading
As I write this, “Easter” is two weeks away on April 12. For the eighteen years I preached at Tanglewood in Odessa, Texas I delivered a message specifically for that holiday almost every year. Over the next two weeks I want to share a few of those messages.
As I write this, our city, state, nation and world are dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Already over 10,000 deaths are attributed to it, and projections are that those numbers will go much higher. In this nation our national and local leaders have instituted numerous laws and requirements to try and slow the spread in our population.
A project at Sunset International Bible Institute that I have been involved with since its planning stages is the Sunset Digital Library app. At Sunset we have a large archive of older video and audio recordings of our instructors and ministers dating as far back as 1970. Some of the well-known names (now deceased) include Cline Paden, Gerald Paden, Ted Stewart, Truman Scott, Doyle Paden, Abe Lincoln, Richard Rogers, Norman Gipson and Richard Baggett. Others still with us include Ed Wharton, Truitt Adair, Ken Jones, Dan Rouse and many others.
INTRODUCTION:
My Sunday morning Bible class at Sunset Church of Christ is studying the Book of Galatians this quarter (March – May). To help my class get the “big picture” I created a brief outline of Galatians.
Last week I substituted for the regular teacher in the early Wednesday night Bible class at Sunset Church of Christ. My topic was one in the series concerning Jewish feasts and holy days. It was on 
The Wednesday night class at Sunset Church of Christ that meets at 5:30 is being taught about the Feasts of Israel by Brian Garnett, one our our instructors at Sunset International Bible Institute. This past Wednesday, I was the substitute for Brian as he has left for the Philippines for some short-term mission work.
Today (02/16/2020) I taught my Bible class at the Sunset Church of Christ. We are studying from a guide by 
I greatly enjoy reading about archaeological discoveries that have some connection to Bible history. Archaeologists who are also Bible believers often state that their science is not intended to “prove the Bible true” but does often coincide with or even illustrate some aspect of the writings of Scripture.