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White Belts

Paul Dunk
5 Jan 2016
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A number of years ago, I took a karate class with my kids for fun. One day my class was sparring and the sensei walked onto the mat in between matches. Since we were on a break, one of the instructors shouted jokingly, “Who wants to spar sensei?” I volunteered. I figured it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to attempt to land a punch on a black belt who was morally obligated not to kill me. I thought it would be a great experience. Well, it was an experience alright. I threw a punch and before my fist […]

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On Your Mark…Get Set…GROW!

Dr. Tommy Boland
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(Scroll down to leave a comment on how you grow in Christ.) You stand at the threshold of yet another brand New Year. Have you considered what you would like it to look like by the time you come to the end of it, if God is pleased to give to you 365 more days of life? Have you spent any time considering what God would have you do in 2016 with all He has given you to do it with? To be sure, last year has run its course and a brand new year is calling you forward. So, […]

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Parenting the Parent

Vickie Estler
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Reversing roles with our parents is surreal. It is not easy to assist our parents as we witness their decline physically and mentally.  We find as parents age, the Mom who patiently taught us to cook or the Dad who taught us the no-fail way to parallel park are no longer the same. I recall my mother telling the story of my father being stationed in Korea. Knowing my father only by his framed picture, I greeted him with, “You’re not my Daddy!” when he returned from serving in the Korean War. If your parent is declining, you too may […]

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Fear ­ The Boogeyman Under The Bed

John Hawkins, Sr
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A new year and new opportunities. However, many only see new unknowns. The unknown and the unfamiliar tend to produce fear in most people. Fear of what will happen next and where? Fear, worry, anxiety, stress, they are all the same. These are issues people have faced since the beginning of time. The original terrorist was Satan with the fear he pumps into our minds.   What makes us afraid? As little children we are afraid of the dark and the boogeyman under our bed. Perhaps this is why a movie like “Monster’s Inc.” can be so successful. We all […]

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The Question of Friendship: Can Men and Women Really Be Friends?

Julie Woodley
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“If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble” (Ecclesiastes 4:10 NLT). Can men and women be friends? I’ve thought about this question a lot lately, and I’ve also had a few heated discussions about this age-old question. I believe that it is a crucial question for ministry and the holy works of the Church. Secular researchers suggest that deep, non-sexual male-female friendships are rare if not impossible (perhaps especially for men). For many people the idea seems charming but impossible. “It always leads to something else,” they argue. […]

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True Repentance

Jeremy McKeen
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In the movie the “Princess Bride,” Vezzini, one of the main villains, kept saying, “Inconceivable!” One of his partners, Inigo Montoya, finally had enough and said, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” And the same thing could perhaps be said about the word repentance. People keep using that word, but it doesn’t mean what many think it means. Many people think of repentance as simply a change of behavior, and so whenever they hear the word repentance they conjure up in their mind a picture of some cranky street preacher […]

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Trends and Insights for Millennials

Steve Davis
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When Grandma can’t figure out how to work that Smart Phone, what can she do? She simply asks her 5-year-old grandson or grand-daughter to help. They can do it. No problem. And when Grandpa was a boy, the comic book creators newly introduced the hero detective Dick Tracy…who actually had a telephone on his wrist. Ooooo! That was fantastic science fiction to Grandpa. Today, calling on the phone from the car is so the norm. We don’t even think about it. Technology on the wrist is our reality, now available at the local phone store. Grandpa thought Dick Tracy was […]

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Is Cruz Like Goldwater or Reagan?

Jerry Newcombe
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Ted Cruz is beginning to surge significantly in the polls in Iowa. Surely the evangelicals in Iowa are the key factor. Already, some of the political pundits are writing him off, likening him to Barry Goldwater, the libertarian-leaning firebrand, who was soundly defeated by Lyndon Johnson in 1964. Goldwater lost by a landslide. But, by the same token, Ronald Reagan won by landslides in 1980 and in 1984. And Reagan was perhaps more conservative than Goldwater. The question many are asking about Ted Cruz and his conservative values is: Will he be the new Goldwater or the new Reagan? Reagan […]

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Where Is Your Marriage Headed?

Patricia Hartman
1 Jan 2016
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Is your marriage what you hoped it would be? Are you on track with the goals you set for your marriage? Most will say “No,” to the first question, and “What?” to the second. When you marry, you have hopes and dreams for your lives together. Because you’ve found your soul mate, life will be good as long as your bride/groom is by your side. Reality check: hopes and dreams are NOT goals. Without goals, where will you end up? “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.” – Author unknown   Marriage is the vehicle, not […]

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Church in Cuba Finds Victory Through Challenge

Bob Woods
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As Cuba transitions to a new relationship with the United States, Americans have a renewed interest in learning how the church there has fared for the last 50 plus years. Not only has our government intentionally made strong efforts to normalize relations with Cuba, but God has sovereignly preserved his Church through more than fifty years of political oppression, an official atheistic and godless regime, and the spiritual darkness that has enveloped this beautiful island nation since 1959. CBN News recently visited Cuba to gather information on the spiritual condition of the Christian Church in Cuba today.   Comfort not […]

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