By Wayne Doolin First Baptist Church...

By Minister Melanie Dees Campbell Ark Ministries...

by Lorel Box The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Anxious to prove himself on the high school track team a young freshman poured his heart and soul into preparing for the first meet. He practiced with his team as well as on his own. With all his hard work and determination his speed increased and his endurance grew...

by Pastor Mark Gooden Family Worship Center James 4:8 says, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." Who draws first? You do. You determine the level of your relationship with God ... not God. In fact, God is more passionate about drawing near to you than you are to him ... He is jealous for you! (James 4:5)...

by Richard DeFord, Associate Pastor Katy Park Baptist Church During a recent conversation with a chaplain trainer who is helping me be a better counselor, he asked me a very interesting question: "Do you have any fears right now?" I do not consider myself a fearful person. Growing up in Florida, my longtime fear was always sharks. That fear was not based on reality nearly as much as a certain movie that came out during my childhood...

by Rev. Dr. David Van Horn, President, Marshall Ministerial Alliance In the Gospel of Matthew 18:22, we find the subject of forgiveness. The question arises about how many times must one forgive someone who has hurt me, abused me, exploited me? This is Simon Peter's question in the text. How many times? Would seven times be enough?...

by Lorel Box The Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints I love watching children as they run headlong through each day, doing and saying the most amazing things. Often we can learn very profound lessons through little children. These experiences from my childhood demonstrate very important gospel principles...

by the Rev. Melanie Dees Campbell, Ark Ministries When we believe the truth that Jesus the Christ, Yeshua Messiah, died for the sins of all mankind and he is resurrected and lives, how are we to honor that? What does it mean to be a believer? James 2:19 states, "For even the demons believe and tremble (fear.)"...

by Randy Shannon Cumberland Presbyterian Church I went to the basement to look for a box that would be suitable for recycling and found an idea for this column instead. On the shelf in a large, clear plastic tub was a container marked "Out of Season Clothes." Peeking through the sides of the tub were wooly house shoes and sweaters that I cannot fathom any possible use for on this particular day. ...

by Pastor Mark Gooden Family Worship Center "Do not copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think." Romans 12:2 (NLT) One of my passions in life is to see others on a continual upward swing of transformation. ...

by Pastor Keith Jackson Marshall Church of the Nazarene As a missionary in Zambia, Africa, I enjoyed many opportunities to baptize new believers. One occasion in particular stands out. I had traveled the 650 kilometers from my home in the city of Kitwe to the small fishing village of Samfya, located on the shore of Lake Bangweulu. ...

by Richard DeFord Marshall Ministerial Alliance We have all heard this phrase and perhaps we have even said it ourselves. When asked, "Will you go to heaven when you die," the answer is often, "I hope I have been good enough." But when is good just not enough? The Bible makes it very clear that there is no one righteous, not even one person except Jesus Christ. ...

William Voelker, Pastor Our Redeemer Lutheran Church Our nation has experienced more than a few shocks in the past months. Anger is everywhere, it seems, and there is little peace to found in the public square. Old animosities, festering beneath the surface, have begun to spill out, while current injustices and frustrations pile up. There seems to be little that any of us can do, as individual people, to turn things around...

David Sitzes Westport Church As I was thinking about what to put together for the religion section of The Marshall Democrat - News, I got a really strong urge to write on the subject of 'The Church' as if it had come from God, which it probably did, so I thought, 'Ok, I can do this', so I set out and started doing a lot of research on the subject, "The Church'. So just what is the "church?"...

by the Rev. Melanie Dees Campbell Ark Ministries "The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he understands how weak we are: he knows we are only dust." (Psalm 103:13-14) One of the names of God is Erech Appayim, the one who, because of his goodness and tenderness, is not easily angered, is long suffering. We need to remember this when we've made a mistake by not witnessing to others...

by Dr. David R. Van Horn Marshall Ministerial Alliance One of the questions that is becoming more a mater of concern all the time is this one -- who can I trust? We live in a strange world. Did you know that you can now buy trust in a bottle? All of you aspiring politicians listen up ... ...

by Wayne Doolin First Baptist Church Those of us in religious circles, who keep track of these things, take note of the fact there is an increasing percentage of Americans who are classifying themselves as "none" when listing a religious preference...

by Pastor Mark Gooden Family Worship Center "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God's way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do."...

by Rev. Dr. David Van Horn Marshall Ministerial Alliance Over the past 10 days our community lost a giant! I am remembering in this article Chaplain Floyd W. Case, former Chaplain of the Marshall State School/Marshall Habilitation Center. After serving various congregations in Huntsville and Slater, he came to us and served for 35 years. ...

by Vernon Maxted Retired Baptist Minister We are living in perilous times in our nation's history, and the judgement of God hangs over us because of our sins against God and his holy laws. Politicians, social programs, technology and military power cannot save us. ...