Strength for Today & Bright Hope for Tomorrow - Reasons Not to Give
Posted February 13, 2020 by SMBC in Discipleship
There are lots of reasons not to turn in a commitment card to the church on Pledge Sunday, February 16. Let's look at some of them:
The Ethics of Giving: The Invisible Benefits of an Institution
Posted February 10, 2020 by Greg Funderburk in Discipleship
All over the world there are good people who don't give generously to their local places of worship. It's a common word for people of good will to say that they want their energies and their resources to go to the truly needy, not a big organization which requires a myriad of administration and property costs. One of the things this view fails to uncover is that whenever the church opens its…
The Ethics of Giving: The Psychology of Automation - Defaults Matter!
Posted February 6, 2020 by Greg Funderburk in Discipleship
You probably make dozens of money decisions everyday: Should I save more? Pay off debts? What about these expenses for the kids? How should I invest? Have I paid the bills on time? We tell ourselves, "I'm going to get control of all this. I'll start saving, stop spending as much, keep a budget, invest smarter and give to the church." Consider the possibility that it's not about willpower. More…
The Ethics of Giving: Generosity - The Virtue of Giving, Not Taking
Posted February 3, 2020 by Greg Funderburk in Worship, Discipleship
Greek philosophers like Aristotle wrote of the idea of a virtuous life, using the word, Eudaimonia, translated as living well or flourishing. Living a virtuous life, Aristotle argued, led to flourishing in human beings. Generosity is one of the virtues which these philosophers, and now, modern social scientists, as well, tell us contribute to such thriving, this sense of well-being.
Advent Devotional December 25: Written by Matt Walton in 2019
Posted December 25, 2019 by SMBC in Advent
Sometimes we need to look back in order to see clearly. We need to remember. When we remember, we perceive our present circumstances with a redeemed clarity. The hymn, "O God, Our Help in Ages Past" reminds us that the God who has helped in the past is the hope of all our years to come. The Psalms are replete with songs that urged God's people to look back and remember. Through generations the…
Advent Devotional December 24: Written by Isaiah Zamarripa in 1999
Posted December 24, 2019 by SMBC in Advent
After his conversion, Paul became a good example of having the more abundant life. One of his experiences portrays this beautifully. While shackled in the dark depths of a Roman dungeon, he prayed, he sang, and he was delivered. As a result, the jailer and his family accepted Jesus Christ. Then he washed Paul and Silas's wounds and set a meal before them.
Advent Devotional December 23: Written by Jeanette Heard in 1988
Posted December 23, 2019 by SMBC in Advent
One of the great joys of Christmas when working in the SMILE program is seeing the blessed season every year as if it were for the first time through the eyes of some young Japanese women who have never before heard the glorious story.
Advent Devotional December 22: Written by Carl Wilks in 1992
Posted December 22, 2019 by SMBC in Advent
Romans 5:1-5
Having worked as a home missionary, hospital chaplain, pastoral counselor, and therapist over the past fifteen years, I have had the opportunity to be with many people who view the holiday season as a time of sorrow and depression. In the Christian church we view the season of Advent as a time of anticipation, a time of waiting with great expectancy. Unfortunately, there…
Advent Devotional December 21: Written by Mary Lucille Jackson Rogers in 1992
Posted December 21, 2019 by SMBC in Advent
The busy, hurried days before Christmas are over. The shopping has been done and the packages wrapped. The Christmas tree has been decorated. Around the house there are symbols of Christmas, ornaments, and decorations. The Christmas baking has been done. Pre-Christmas parties have been attended and given. The choirs have sung inspiring Christmas music. The family has gathered on Christmas…
Advent Devotional December 20: Written by John Unger in 1995
Posted December 20, 2019 by SMBC in Advent
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Christmas of 1991 lives in my memory as a world pulled asunder. We were in the first crushing weeks following the December 1 accidental death of our 17-year-old son, David. With a sharpness that I thought was gone, David's death had brought back the memory of our daughter, Cathy, who died two days after Christmas many years before.
Advent Devotional December 19: Written by Dorothy Daniels in 1996
Posted December 19, 2019 by SMBC in Advent
Luke 2:11
Advent Devotional December 18: Written by Charles Lively in 1996
Posted December 18, 2019 by SMBC in Advent
Psalm 46:10
South Main is a special Baptist church. I had come to Houston as an organist here in early December, 1956 when Dr. Westmoreland suggested we have a silent Lord's Supper in the later afternoon on Christmas Day with no spoken word - just quiet organ music leading our thoughts through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I found myself not only playing a…
Advent Devotional December 17: Written by Betty Phelps in 1989
Posted December 17, 2019 by SMBC in Advent
Matthew 2:2b
The verse popped into my thoughts as I read the invitation to write one of the Advent devotionals this year. Since I haven't been able to forget it, I reflected on it more seriously.
Advent Devotional December 16: Written by Rique Carson in 1999
Posted December 16, 2019 by SMBC in Advent
Matthew 18:3-4
As we go through the Christmas season, we need only to look at children and see how excited they become as all the events unfold. That enthusiasm becomes infectious. Before long, entire families, including adults, are excited too! Most of us can remember our childhood being enhanced with the coming of Christmas. The Christmas season brings out the child in all of us.
Advent Devotional December 15: Written by Ward and Carolyn Hill in 2001
Posted December 15, 2019 by SMBC in Advent
?Did you talk to Jesus'? When our oldest grandson was just two years old, as he was playing he passed through the room where his mother was making a telephone call, and naturally he wanted to know whom she was calling.
She answered, ?I?m calling the church.?
As the little guy passed back through the room a few minutes later he asked, ?Did you talk to Jesus'? She said that the…
Advent Devotional December 14: Written by Sarah Lee (Cole) in 1998
Posted December 14, 2019 by SMBC in Advent
As I was thinking about Christmas and the Advent season, I was trying to find a brief way to express what Christmas means to me. What one word best expresses my feelings about Christmas? Is it Giving? God gave me the greatest gift I will ever receive when He came to earth to live among men. So joyfully we give gifts at Christmas; and I give and give and love every minute of giving.
Then…
Advent Devotional December 13: Written by Wanda Jackson in 1988
Posted December 13, 2019 by SMBC in Advent
Luke 2:10
A few years ago, at a family gathering, someone dragged out the old videos of Christmases past. At first there were giggles and grins at how young everyone looked, how much they had changed, and how pretty everything looked in our house...especially the Christmas tree.
Advent Devotional December 12: Written by Roberta Torn in 1988
Posted December 12, 2019 by SMBC in Advent
It was a week before Christmas in 1979, and I was visiting my friends at M.D. Anderson Hospital. The decorations were all up, and a high school choir was singing carols in the hallway. Even old Santa Claus was ringing his little bell as he went into each room, where a Polaroid picture would be taken of the patient with Santa. It was a ?fun? time for even terminally ill cancer patients.
Advent Devotional December 11: Written by Kenneth Chafin in 1977
Posted December 11, 2019 by SMBC in Advent
Christmas is a very special time of the year for everyone. There is so much color and music and laughter and festivity. At South Main Baptist Church there are so many enjoyable activities during Christmas sponsored by a host of various groups.
Advent Devotional December 10: Written by Thad Roberts in 1977
Posted December 10, 2019 by SMBC in Advent
Psalm 100:1-5
Long before there was a Bible, the ancient people of Israel sang their songs - regardless of how they felt: sad, afraid, lonely, happy - and they sang from their hearts. The Book of Psalms is usually referred to as the ?hymn book? of the Bible. This particular ?song? is a song for giving thanks! The early worshippers expressed in this song their six great beliefs: The Lord…
