Can you believe that the 27th edition of the Southside Lectures is just two months away? It seems like such a short time ago that Paul Earnhart closed last year’s program with a stirring and memorable sermon. But here we are again, ready to make the final push to what is sure to be another wonderful week.

There is continual confusion about what the church is in this generation. People want to “up-grade” the church, to make her more culturally acceptable, more “up- to-date.” Please allow me a few minutes of your time to examine what is and what is not the church. And please be advised, I am not answering this question as it pertains to what man thinks, but what God says. After all, the church didn’t originate in the mind of man, but in the mind of God, according to His eternal purpose (

I recently read a story that had much implication. Four preachers met for lunch one day. One of them proposed the idea of sharing their weaknesses; so they did. The first preacher said he had trouble refraining from going to the movies. The second said he smoked cigars, and the third said he often played cards. The fourth wouldn’t confess his sins so the others pressed him saying, “Come on, we confessed ours, let’s hear what you have to say.” Finally he answered, “I’m a gossip and I can hardly wait to get out of here.”

The “Christian walk” is one of the major themes of the book of Ephesians. Paul uses similar illustrations in a few of his letters. This kind of imagery helps the reader understand that Christianity is a way of life, not something that just happens. We have to decide which path we want to trod. We can either walk the broad way that leads to destruction or the narrow way that leads to eternal life. Paul encourages his readers to understand that decisions are being made that effect men’s lives on a daily basis.

Welcome to our services! We are so pleased that you have come to be a part of this special weekend series called “Come, Meet Our Preachers.” If this is your first time to visit Southside, please allow us to introduce ourselves and to tell you what we’re about.

Welcome to our services! We are so pleased that you have come to be a part of this special weekend series called “Come, Meet Our Preachers.” If this is your first time to visit Southside, please allow us to introduce ourselves and to tell you what we’re about.

The most important person who ever walked across the stage of human events was Jesus of Nazareth. No person ever had the effect on mankind; no one ever made the difference He did. He was unique in every sense of that word. He was, and remains, the illustration of goodness and the personification of hope. No man ever spoke as He did, no one ever said more pertinent things than did He.

The devil doesn’t give up. If he sees something isn’t working, he will quickly find another area of enticement. I know that James assures us, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (Jam. 4:7 LBX), but don’t fool yourself into thinking he will run very far away. Even when Jesus resisted every temptation in the wilderness, we are told that Satan left Him “until an opportune time” (

I am using the term difference in the sense of a noticeable change or effect. In other words, if certain circumstances take place or events happen, what kind of noticeable change or effect will it have? We use the terminology frequently. “What difference will it make if I go or don’t go?” we ask. What we’re asking is whether or not my presence at the function will have an effect, one way or the other.

The word “gospel” means “good news.” It was originally godspel in Old English and was thought to mean “sayings that are good” or “God’s sayings,” one or the other. Either definition fits perfectly the word from which the English “gospel” is translated. In the Greek it is euangelion, “good news.”