What Made You Do It ?

You can tell the folks who went through the prescribed form of becoming a
Christian, motivated solely by the fear of Hell, by the stingy and joyless way
in which they serve the Lord. While not presuming to deny that fear of
punishment is a strong motivating force in religious service, it should not
be the sole or even chief motivation. John, apostle of Christ, wrote: “There
is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear; because fear hath
torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love” (1 Jn 4:18).
Some…

“THE LORD HATH NEED OF THEM”
(Jim McDonald)

Acts 12 records the death of the first apostle, James. It also records the third imprisonment of Peter. James and John, sons of Zebedee and Salome, were among Jesus’ earliest disciples. They were apparently the first disciples of John the Baptist. John pointed Jesus out to them and John 1 tells that John and Andrew then sought Jesus out.

Spiritual growth and development was as much a part of the lives of the apostles as it is in our…

View Full Content Source:
http://www.stoneridgechurchofchrist.com/resources/bulletins/2023/08/18/bulletin-august-20-2023

WHO ARE YOU TO JUDGE?
(Albert Brown)

Probably the most well-known verse in the Bible besides John 3:16 is Matthew 7:1. If anyone knows anything at all about the Bible they have probably memorized this verse. This is the verse where Jesus is quoted as saying, “Judge not, that ye be not judged” (ASV). For those who are caught in a sin this verse is their rallying point. They know that all they have to do with many Christians is to point to this verse and say, “You can't judge me!” They take comfort…

View Full Content Source:
http://www.stoneridgechurchofchrist.com/resources/bulletins/2023/08/12/bulletin-august-13-2023

For You Have Promised . . . Do I Believe?

In the second temptation of Christ as recorded in the gospel of Matthew
(4:5-7), Satan takes Jesus to a high temple and provokes him by saying, “If
you are the son of God you can jump from here. For it is written ‘He shall
command his angels concerning you and, on their hands, they shall bear
you up.’ ”
As I was growing up, I knew this as sin, because its source was the mouth of
the accuser. The problem is that Satan is not always so easy to be perceived.

Genesis Genealogy

The records of genealogy in the Bible are often the parts that we skip over.  The names are confusing, hard to pronounce, all of the “begats” start to run together, and honestly -- it’s just not that interesting.  But there are a few parts of Genesis, where the genealogy helps explain other passages in the Bible, and I’ve found them to be very interesting. We read in Jude that Enoch was a prophet who declared that God would execute judgment on the ungodly: …

Joseph stands as a worthy role model on how to resist temptation. We have in mind the episode when he was seduced by Potiphar's wife (Genesis 39:6-14). It is obvious that Joseph was susceptible to the temptation, but he kept himself from sin. He did so by:

1. Resisting the temptation from the very beginning.
   "Joseph was handsome in form and appearance ... (and) his master's wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, "Lie with me." But he refused …”
2. He remembered his loyalty to his master,and did not want to wrong him. But, most of all,…