By: Zach Collins His name was “Raccoon” John Smith. He spent much of his life as a Baptist preacher. From a young age, he sought the Lord through Calvinistic theory. One day, a Baptist preacher told him the Lord had called him to be one of His “elect.” Immediately, he began to preach. He studied the Bible restlessly. When he preached, he would quote entire scripture passages, much more than his fellow Baptist preachers. However, there was a significant moment that changed his life. One night, a fire consumed his family’s cabin and burned two of his four children. For the next several years, a thought occurred in his mind that he could not escape. Were my children part of the “elect of God,” or were they doomed to the fires of Hell? In 1822, this soul-consuming thought came to a breaking point. While preaching at Spencer Creek, he told his audience, “If you believe Jesus is God’s son and obey Him, you will be saved. If you disobey Him, you will be lost.” That day, it dawned on “Raccoon” John Smith that the statement he had just declared was foreign to the Calvinistic doctrine. This was a turning point in the life of “Raccoon” John Smith. Eventually, after studying the New Testament, he saw that the Baptist church was not the church of his Lord and that the theories preached by Baptist preachers were not the gospel of Jesus Christ. Of course, “Raccoon” John Smith would become instrumental in …

By: Zach Collins You might be wondering, “What exactly is an epithet?” According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, the word is defined as, “an adjective or descriptive phrase expressing a quality characteristic of the person or thing mentioned.” As you walk through the aisles among the tombstones in graveyards, you will see thousands of these epithets. Engraved in stone or marble are descriptive phrases of those who have been laid to rest. However, epithets are not only for the dead, but they are also for the living. We are walking epithets. Our lives are encapsulated by certain descriptive words. For instance, my life could be encapsulated in the words “Christian, husband, and father.” These descriptive words give meaning and purpose to my life while painting a picture of who I am as a person. In our conversation, you might refer to my title in the church, “Preacher.” This descriptive word, even though it is a positional title, adds depth to my life as it carries a functional overtone of ministering, teaching, and compassion. In a similar manner, there are many adjectival epithets attributed to various men and women in the Bible, by the Holy Spirit, that help us to understand more about God and His people.  When Moses died atop Mount Nebo in the land of Moab, he carried with him his Epithet, “Moses, the servant of the Lord” (c.f., Deuteronomy 34:5). When Abraham was raised to rest by Isaac and Ishmael, his epithet was etched for all eternity into the pages of holy scriptures, “Then Abraham breathed his last and died …

By: Zach Collins He brushed his teeth twice a day and he went to the doctor religiously – twice a year he followed through with a check-up. In favor of snack cakes, he treated himself to fruit. When it snowed outside, he always made sure to wear his boots.  He stuck to the proper diet. With great inspection, he overanalyzed every label on every product he digested. He identified all the fats – poly and unsaturated – and every other ingredient that might injure his body. He walked, jogged, and worked out at the local health club.  He slept eight hours a day. He never smoked, drank, used substances, or lost his temper. He prepared to live to be 100 years old.  His funeral will be held on Wednesday. He was only 53 years old. He is survived by 10 specialists – 4 health institutions – 6 gymnasiums – and a host of food manufacturers.  He followed all the rules and imposed upon himself the strictest of standards. He did everything he was told to do to live a long life – work, exercise, and eat healthy – but he still failed in attaining his goal of living a long life. He sought to be complete in this world.  Paul wrote, in Colossians 2:8-10, “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of …

 By: Zach Collins Have you ever heard the story of the preacher who was trying to illustrate the ill effects of alcohol and tobacco? In one sermon, to illustrate this fact, a preacher decided to put a worm in some alcohol and a worm in a sealed jar of cigarette smoke. By the end of the lesson, the preacher showed the assembly that both the worm in the alcohol and the worm in the cigarette smoke were dead. So, to bring home the application in his sermon, the preacher decided to illicit a congregational response by asking the question, “Someone please tell me, what does this mean?” To which, a young boy replied, “If you drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes, you will not have worms.”  We can all reasonably conclude that this was not the message that the preacher was trying to elucidate to the congregation. Nevertheless, in the response of this little boy, we see a common struggle in the church today, the ability to communicate.   Though unintentional, I often find myself sticking the metaphorical “foot in my mouth”, not with the words that I use, but by the sentences that I form with those words. I suppose that it is just a characteristic that is innate to imperfect human beings. Peter often stuck his foot in his mouth. On one hand, Peter confessed Christ as “the son of the living God”, while on the other hand, he denied that Jesus would be resurrected from the dead (c.f., Matthew …