In this issue of Point of Reference, Pastor Jack Bannister opens with a quick-fire survey of seven Pauline churches and what each needed to hear, followed by Grace L. Ferris's moving poem "The Refining" — setting a tone of suffering, gold, and divine completion. The main teaching, "The Day God Became Vulnerable," draws from Isaiah fifty-three and Mark fifteen to explore the full weight of Calvary: what it cost the Father, what it meant for the Son, where the devil fled, and how the Shekinah glory thundered the resurrection into reality. A second study, "A Documentary Concerning Bethlehem," walks through seven-fold patterns in Luke chapters one and two — seven shalls of the angel, seven reasons for the Incarnation, seven things about Bethlehem, the shepherds, Simeon, and Anna — revealing the intricate divine architecture behind the birth of Jesus. The episode closes with three brief pastoral wisdom sayings and a benediction.

In this issue of Point of Reference, Pastor Jack Bannister opens with his own identity poem "What I Am" — a quiet, firm declaration that he is simply a follower and lover of Jesus, nothing more and nothing less. A poem by Beula Clark, "Thoughts on Psalm Twenty-Three," sets the devotional tone before Pastor Bannister walks verse by verse through the twenty-third Psalm in the main teaching "Paths of the Shepherd." He unpacks what a true shepherd does — tending, feeding, leading, cherishing, guiding, and protecting — and draws out the rich spiritual meaning of green pastures, still waters, the valley of the shadow, the table in the presence of enemies, the anointing oil, and the overflowing cup. The episode closes with a luminous paraphrase of Psalm Twenty-Three written by Phyllis Nesbitt, bringing the whole study to a deeply personal and worshipful close.

In this issue of Point of Reference, Pastor Jack Bannister opens with two original poems — "Freedom Facts I and II" — celebrating the liberty every believer has through Christ's sacrifice. The main teaching, "Violent Faith," draws from Matthew chapter eleven to define a pressing, uncompromising, seizing kind of faith that refuses defeat and lays hold of God's truth no matter the opposition. Pastor Bannister walks through nineteen distinct points on why the Apostle Paul stands alone as the revelatory voice for the Church age — from claiming the Gospel as his own, to explaining the cross, ranks in the resurrection, the oneness of the body, and the heavenly position of the believer in Christ. This is a thorough, convicting, and exhilarating study for any believer ready to stop quibbling and start going for it in the things of God.

In this issue of Point of Reference, Pastor Jack Bannister opens with a bold declaration over Jehovah Rapha and a moving poem — "Paul's the Prisoner" — setting up a central paradox: the man most bound was the man most free. The main teaching unpacks seven dimensions of what it means to be a doulos — a love slave — of Jesus Christ, drawn from Romans chapter one and woven through Philippians, Colossians, First and Second Corinthians, and Matthew. From the example of servitude modeled by Christ, to the fellowship of an Epaphras praying with foam-covered fervor, to the liberty found only in willing surrender — Pastor Bannister shows that the love-slave of Jesus is the only truly free person in the world. The episode closes with two brief meditations on Ever Learning and Resurrection Life, ending in a worship declaration over the loveliness of the Godhead.

This issue of Point of Reference is taught primarily by Lois Bannister, who walks through the full life of the prophet Elijah as a study in faith under pressure — from his bold confrontation with Ahab, to the ravens at Cherith, to the widow at Zarephath, to the fire on Carmel, to his weary collapse in a cave on Mount Horeb. The teaching draws out the consistent pattern: God meets His servants in their exhaustion, speaks not in the wind or earthquake or fire, but in a still, small voice — and commissions them onward. Beula Clark's poem "The Still Small Voice" opens the study, and Pastor Jack Bannister contributes "Cave of the Wind," a poem written as God's own word to the hiding prophet. The episode also includes four types of listeners, pastoral wisdom sayings, and a Q&A on the difference between spirit, soul, and body drawn from Hebrews chapter four.

In this landmark one-hundredth issue from recent years, Pastor Jack Bannister opens with a majestic declaration — "Jesus is greater than any ruler, mightier than any warrior" — and his own poem "Jesus Is My Friend," setting a tone of total devotion before the main teaching begins. Drawing from Philippians chapter three, Pastor Bannister uses Julius Caesar's irreversible crossing of the Rubicon river in forty-nine B.C. to illustrate the kind of irrevocable, all-in commitment God calls every believer to make. He traces Paul's progression from initial fellowship with Christ to a personal holy calling to a total life-consuming high calling — and challenges every listener to stop dabbling and make their emphatic, eternal yes to God. The contrast between Israel's wilderness complainers and the committed overcomer pressing toward the prize is searingly honest, and the episode closes with a full-throated call to push the battle to the gates.

In this issue of Point of Reference, Pastor Jack Bannister takes us deep into Second Timothy chapter one, introducing us to a largely overlooked figure named Onesiphorus — a man who traveled from Ephesus to Rome at great personal risk simply to refresh the imprisoned apostle Paul. Through this study, Pastor Bannister draws on his own experience of abandonment by fellow ministers and reveals how his wife Lois became his personal Onesiphorus — a faithful rope holder who refused to let him run from his calling. The issue also includes a rich word study on the Greek "exodos," tracing its three New Testament appearances through Peter, Hebrews, and Luke to reveal the full, triumphant scope of Christ's resurrection. Two original poems — "Silent Gethsemane" and "To My Friend Lois" — frame this deeply personal and pastoral episode. A reminder that the hidden, faithful ones who hold the rope behind the scenes are among the most precious people in any ministry.