Opinion

In Profile – Leon M. Roberts

The Good News
2 Feb 2011
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Name:  Leon M. Roberts Birthplace:  Jacksonville, FL Job title:  Senior Pastor How and when did you come to know the Lord? It was July 14, 1974 at church camp that I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior.  I had an awareness of the Lord all of my life and had spent a week being taught by men of God.  I knew the Holy Spirit was drawing me and so on the night of July 14, 1974 the invitation hymn was “Trust and Obey” and I put one foot out in the aisle and then stepped back in.  Brother Thompson, […]

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The gift of time

Allen Baumgarten
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Some unexpected things happened to me at the close of 2010.  To begin with, I found myself on Christmas Day embattled with a rather aggressive stomach virus which for two days prevented me from keeping down foods or liquids of any kind.  Soon after, I learned of the untimely death of friend.  I then received the News that one of my high school teachers had finally lost his bout with cancer, leaving behind a wife and two daughters.  While my stomach flu was nothing more than a mere inconvenience, the loss of those I knew affected me deeply. Time, it […]

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Controlling the cash flow

Rob West
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Cash seems so slippery these days. Didn’t you just put a $20 bill in your wallet yesterday – and now it’s gone? Well, that’s not a new phenomenon. The Bible says money takes wings like an eagle and flies away! (Proverbs 23:5)  Everyone is – or should be – concerned about controlling cash flow. It’s one thing to have a budget and make a financial plan. It’s quite another to control the flow of money in order to accomplish your plan. The only way to accomplish your long-term goals is to generate a cash flow margin – and that only […]

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Teaching my child the discipline of goal setting

Bob Barnes
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It’s an interesting time watching as a whole culture seems to be paying the price of short term goals.  Live for today, buy what you want and pay for it, literally and figuratively, later.  Are we the by-product of not growing up on a farm, where the work was done with the promise of a reward in the future?  Many people in our generation have heard and seemed to believe the phrase, “Just do it!”  Too many people today have grown up with a lack of understanding about setting goals; deciding what you want and having the discipline to sacrifice […]

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Are you still hiding behind fig leaves?

Dr. Tommy Boland
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(Scroll down to leave a comment on the gospel has freed you from your fig leaves.) We are heading into the second month of a New Year.  How are you doing?  Are you on track or off track in the pursuit of all that God is calling you to this year?  One of the great stumbling blocks to living the life God has called us to live is our tendency to continue hiding behind fig leaves.  Let’s take a look. Go back with me to the Garden of Eden, and with the eyes of faith, picture our first two parents […]

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Are you a lukewarm Christian?

Cory Nickols
1 Feb 2011
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Most Christians have heard the term “lukewarm Christian” and understand its negative connotation. In fact, a lukewarm Christian can have an interest in God, such as going to church or reading the Bible and may look spiritual outwardly, but he does not allow God to have full access to every area of his life. In many instances, Christians are blind and indifferent to God and His ways. The Bible says, “But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I […]

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Define Love

Anitra Parmele
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As we move into the month of February, our thoughts (and hearts) move to the subject of love. As believers, we turn to the Bible and immediately encounter questions. What does it mean when Jesus says in Matthew 5:44, “Love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you.” Our response is immediate and totally understandable in today’s society. Love my enemy? Won’t that leave me vulnerable? Open to actions of someone who by definition is my enemy- someone who does not have my best interests at heart. You say that you’ve been hurt before and because you have tried to […]

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Loving your gay neighbor as yourself

The Good News
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My heart pounded as the Sunday school teacher asked us to break into small groups and discuss how we might reach the homosexual community for Christ. I had often wondered if everyone knew my secret. Now I would find out for sure. In my group of four, Rachel spoke first, stating, “I don’t have any compassion for homosexuals.” My heart sank. Mark chimed in, “I don’t have any compassion for homosexuals either, and I think AIDS is God’s judgment against homosexuals.” These two seemed so smug, so arrogant. Anger burned within me and I vowed not to speak. But my […]

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In the beginning

Dr. Tommy Boland
14 Jan 2011
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beginning

There is nothing like new beginnings.  A new job.  A new address.  A new friendship.  A new possibility.  A new opportunity.  A new vision.  A new goal.  A new year.  And that is exactly where this month’s message finds each one of us: Standing at the threshold of yet another new year.  An old year has run its course and a brand new year is calling us forward.  Are you ready to make this year your best year ever? For far too many, disappointments from the past year carry over into the new year, casting a shadow over all that […]

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Not the same thing in 2011

Anitra Parmele
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How often have I heard it, read it on a plaque, or even repeated it myself? Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). This verse has provided me the framework for the transition from one year to the next. Jesus is the same yesterday…. What is the common saying? Hindsight is twenty-twenty? First on my agenda for the New Year is to take an objective look at the past year. Looking back on 2010, my experiences form a mountain range as I review both the terrifying valleys and staggering peaks of the past twelve months. From […]

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