114 results for author: Lang Teague
“Less than a Carat church” and refraining from hard liquor
Over the past 25 years, I have officiated 129 weddings for New Life members. We have always had weddings every year, but the number will most likely increase as the years go by. This is a good sign because it means New Life is getting older and younger at the same time. We have close to 100 college students, but we also have that many members in each age bracket, those in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. In just a few years, we will also have that many in their 50s and older.
Here, I would like to address two things that are related to weddings. One is the size of the diamonds in your engagement rings, and the other is serving alcohol during your wedding ...
It didn’t have to be just me and New Life…
It's 6AM on Saturday. I am done with the lecture part of House Church Seminar for Pastors. I spoke for three full days from Wednesday to Friday on house church and Living Life Bible Study. I am losing my voice a little but feel greatly privileged.
"Who am I and who are we to host these pastors and missionaries for six days to teach and share with them what we have been doing as a church for the past 25 years?"
But we feel compelled to do this because the condition of the church all over the world is not what it needs to be according to the Bible. And if we can do anything to help the church to become the way Jesus desired and dreamed of, then ...
We are increasing our House Church Missionary Matching Fund
Today was the last Leadership Team meeting of the year. Everyone was present. Team leaders take turns to provide breakfast for each other. We don’t use church budget to buy food for ourselves. This is how I have been running New Life for 25 years.
I have taught you to tithe from your gross income as faithfully as possible. I have tried to be generous towards others but frugal on myself. I have emphasized the work of missions and evangelism. I think I have done my best to stay close to the truth I see in the Scripture. God seems to have been pleased with this effort I have made over the years. New Life is financially very strong because we ...
Ruth and Boaz
Dear Parents,
Only
two books in the Old Testament bear the name of a woman: Ruth and Esther.
Ruth’s story occurs at the time when judges ruled over Israel. God’s people
were characterized by rebellion and immorality. At a time when the Israelites
desperately needed a king to lead them back to God, Ruth’s story of
faithfulness points us to Jesus Christ, a coming Redeemer who will make all
wrong things right again.
Ruth
was the daughter-in-law of Naomi, a woman from Bethlehem who settled in Moab
with her husband and two sons to escape a famine. Naomi’s husband died, and her
two sons married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. They lived in ...
Samson
Dear Parents,
Samson
was the last of the major judges of Israel. He was born to parents who
dedicated him to the Lord as a Nazirite after the Angel of the Lord announced
that Samson would be born to save the Israelites from the power of the
Philistines. Samson grew up, and God blessed him with great strength. But when
Samson requested to marry a Philistine woman, his parents were confused. Samson
was supposed to deliver the Israelites from the Philistines. Why would he want
to marry one of them? But God had a plan in all of this. (See Judg. 14:4.)
As
Samson prepared for the wedding, he gave a riddle to the men with him about an
event that ...
Gideon
Dear Parents,
Last
week, your kids learned about Deborah and Barak. This week, Judges 6 starts out
in a familiar way: “The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.”
The period of Judges was not a good time for the Israelites. Their cycle of
sin, bondage, deliverance, and peace clearly showed the law alone could not
save them from sin.
The
Israelites were oppressed by the Midianites, and they cried out to God for
help. God chose a man to save them, and his name was Gideon. Gideon was an
unlikely leader, and he knew this. Gideon said, “Please, Lord, how can I
deliver Israel? Look, my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am ...
Deborah and Barak
Dear Parents,
This week, kids learn that the time of the judges
continued after the death of Ehud. The Israelites fell into a continuous cycle
of sin, bondage, deliverance, and peace. Every judge was imperfect, yet God
worked through the judges. At the time when the Israelites were oppressed by
the king of Canaan, Deborah was the judge of Israel. Deborah sent for Barak and
encouraged him to take up an army and fight the army of Canaan and its leader,
Sisera.
Deborah reminded Barak that God would hand
Sisera and his troops over to him. (Judg. 4:6-7) Barak agreed to go, but only
if Deborah went with him. Deborah went, but she informed Barak that ...