Mineral Springs Church of Christ Podcast

Jerrie Barber of Nashville, Tennessee, encourages listeners to do what they can with what they have where they are. Using the text of Mark 14 that tells of the criticism a woman receives for anointing Jesus with an expensive perfume, Barber reminds the audience that Jesus quieted the critics and told them, "She did what she could do." She did what she could do with what she had where she was. Everyone's service will not look the same. The widow gave her two mites; Dorcas made clothes for those in need. Jesus expects us to serve however we can with whatever we have wherever we are.

Steven Morris of River City Ministries in Little Rock, Arkansas, talks about the importance of letting ours lights shine in our daily life. Using scriptures from Matthew and Ephesians, he reminds us that we as Christians show the world who we are through our words and actions.

Harding University professor Kraig Martin uses the text of Philippians 2 to outline the keys to joyful living. Connection to others, creative work, obedience and humility on the way to the cross, conformity into the likeness of Christ, and completion of our obstacles and struggles will help guide us on the path of a joyful Christian life.

Matt Carter, the Director of Admissions at the Harding School of Theology in Memphis, Tenn., uses the story of Bessie Coleman and Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 to discuss how we use the various times and seasons of our lives. Asking what we can pour our lives into right now that has never come  before and will never pass this way again, he concludes by urging listeners to live well and wisely in the present, for this is the gift of God.

Brent Franks, minister from the Antlers, Oklahoma, church of Christ, shares thoughts about faith: what it is, and what it is not. Using Ephesians 3 as a text, he shows how Paul ties faith and love together, praying this prayer in Eph. 3:14-21 (NIV): "For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.  I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,  may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

Dale Manor, a professor at Harding University in Searcy, uses examples of Bible lands archaeology to explain how understanding ancient times can deepen our understanding of the stories we read in the Bible.

Speaker Ken Dye encourages listeners to have hope and relates an Old Testament story to our covenant with Christ. He recalls the story of the covenant between David and Jonathan, the son of Saul, and how that covenant affected the future treatment of Jonathan's son Mephibosheth following Jonathan's death. Like Mephibosheth, we experience better treatment than we deserve because of our covenant with Christ.

In and following the model prayer that Jesus gives His disciples he emphasizes forgiveness. Gary Jackson reminds us that there are things Jesus wants us to pay attention to, and this is one of those things. If we are unwilling to forgive, God will be unwilling to forgive us. God's mercy is not based on my sorrow for my sin, my potential future behavior, or whether I have a good excuse for what I've done. God just forgives us, and so should we be willing to forgive others. 

Is God just a chapter in your story? Or, is He more than that? God's story is a story of our salvation. Our greatest obligation is to share our testimony with others, but if our Bibles are barely, rarely, or never read, how do we know what God's will is? Stan Little of Flippin, Arkansas, discusses the role of God's story in the Christian life, explaining why it is so important. 

Mike Ireland, retired from Harding University, uses Ephesians 1:3-14 to explain what God has done for us through His son Jesus. He has chosen us. He has adopted us. He has accepted us. He has made known the mystery of His plan regarding Christ. He has given us a purpose to bring praise and glory to Him. He has given us assurance, and he has purchased us; we are possessions of God.