Northside Church of Christ Tucson

Bible Topics

  • Give Me Jesus

    In Matthew 16:26, Jesus said, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” Our Lord and King sets before us an eternal ledger which commands our undivided attention. From His words, we observe three realities:

    The Pursuit Of Temporal Plenty — Jesus speaks of gaining “the whole world.” This represents the accumulation of earthly wealth, worldly prestige, and carnal prominence. Yet what does truth reveal? Every earthly possession is corruptible, depreciating, and destined for destruction (2 Peter 3:10). A man may exhaust his entire earthly pilgrimage piling up perishable treasures. Yet, he cannot carry a single nickel beyond the grave.

    The Peril Of Personal Perdition — “And forfeits his soul.” Notice what the text omits: the Lord does not teach that God unconditionally decreed any soul to damnation before time began. Far from it! The Bible declares that Christ tasted death for every man (Hebrews 2:9), and God desires all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). The soul’s tragic forfeiture is not divine coercion; it is human choice. God’s grace is universally extended (Titus 2:11), but that saving grace can be resisted in stubborn rejection or forfeited by departing from the living God (Hebrews 3:12).

    The Poverty Of Personal Purchasing-Power — The Master demands: “Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” The answer is—nothing. No currency in creation can ransom the eternal spirit of man. You cannot buy pardon with silver, nor purchase peace with gold; redemption is found exclusively in the precious blood of the Lamb (1 Peter 1:18–19).

    The conclusion from these biblical particulars is inescapable: the world offers temporal profit, but it delivers eternal penalty. Do not bankrupt your soul for the passing pleasures of sin. You can have all this world, but give me Jesus!

    – Antoine N. Holloway

  • Active Faith

    Is faith simply belief in something? Or is faith something more? In this sermon, Karson Lown examines James 2:14-26 to answer that question and to show that Biblical faith is demonstrated by love, action, and obedience.

    James 2:14-26 (ESV):  What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

    But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

  • Names Of God

    You can learn a lot about someone by what they are called. In this sermon, Caleb Shotts discusses some of the names of God and what they teach us about Him.

    Isaiah 9:6-7 (ESV):  For to us a child is born,
        to us a son is given;
    and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
        and his name shall be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
        Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
    Of the increase of his government and of peace
        there will be no end,
    on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
        to establish it and to uphold it
    with justice and with righteousness
        from this time forth and forevermore.
    The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

  • The Work Of The Church: Restoration

    Restoration is the goal of putting off sin and putting on righteousness. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, we discover that spiritual restoration is neither accidental nor unconditional. God has never created man to be a passive spectator in his own salvation; rather, He calls upon our God-given free moral agency to respond obediently to His marvelous grace.

    Look at what the apostle Paul declares in Ephesians 4:22–24: “To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”  Notice the divine pattern laid out before us:

    • The Stripping Away: We must make the conscious decision to put off the former manner of life. Sin is fundamentally deceitful; it promises life, but its end is destruction and eternal death (Proverbs 14:12).
    • The Spiritual Renewal: We are commanded to be renewed in the spirit of our minds. Transformation demands that our thinking and intellect be thoroughly governed by the truth of God’s Word (Romans 12:1–2).
    • The Sacred Clothing: We must deliberately and continuously put on the new self. This new man is not a one-time ceremony, nor is he fashioned after the fleeting standards of this world; rather, he is sustained daily after the very likeness of God in genuine holiness (Colossians 3:9–10).

    Paul demonstrates in Ephesians 4:25–30 that genuine renewal produces concrete fruit: speaking truth, controlling anger, laboring honestly, and refusing to grieve the Holy Spirit. Restoration does not terminate with individual repentance; this personal sanctification must actively govern how the local church pursues reconciliation and restores broken relationships (Galatians 6:1).

    Ephesians 4:31–32 closes the chapter by moving from corrected conduct to full spiritual and relational restoration: “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

    A Christian cannot walk in restored fellowship with God while harboring grievances against a brother. The work of the local church is not only to edification of the faithful and evangelism to the lost, but restoration of the wandering: “My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:19–20). True restoration demands that we strip away venomous speech, bury malice, and clothe ourselves with tenderhearted compassion—pursuing the fallen and forgiving one another freely, just as God in Christ forgave you.

    – Antoine N. Holloway

  • Training The Tribe: Public Proclamation

    In our culture, everyone wants to be part of something bigger than themselves. In the Lord’s church, we are not a civic club or charitable organization. We are a tribe, a group of people bound together by the precious blood of Christ. We have a shared identity. We wear the name of Christ and share a fierce loyalty and allegiance to the King of Kings. We have a common mission to seek and save the lost through the power of the Gospel. We are to preach the Gospel to all creation. In this sermon, Brother Holloway explains that if our tribe is to stand firm, we must be trained for times like this.

    2 Timothy 4:1-5 (ESV):  I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. But as for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

  • The Logos In Revival (3 of 3)

    True revival is anchored eternally in the sovereign, unshakable Word of Almighty God, the Logos himself, who is Jesus Christ. We try to camouflage our guilt, mask our struggles and outmaneuver God. We think if we can blend in with the culture, we can avoid the consequences of our choices. But if we want revival that restores our congregations to dynamic, first century New Testament power, we must drop the mask and bow before the Word made flesh.

    2 Chronicles 18:18-34 (ESV):  And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left. And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab the king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’ Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your prophets. The Lord has declared disaster concerning you.”

    Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “Which way did the Spirit of the Lord go from me to speak to you?” And Micaiah said, “Behold, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide yourself.” And the king of Israel said, “Seize Micaiah and take him back to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king's son, and say, ‘Thus says the king, Put this fellow in prison and feed him with meager rations of bread and water until I return in peace.’” And Micaiah said, “If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Hear, all you peoples!”

    So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes.” And the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle. Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his chariots, “Fight with neither small nor great, but only with the king of Israel.” As soon as the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “It is the king of Israel.” So they turned to fight against him. And Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him; God drew them away from him. For as soon as the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. But a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. Therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded.” And the battle continued that day, and the king of Israel was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians until evening. Then at sunset he died.

  • The Work Of The Church: Discipline

    The work of the local congregation is fundamentally directed toward glorifying God and the preservation of souls. While spiritual preservation encompasses evangelism, edification, and benevolence, it equally demands biblical discipline. Scriptural discipline carries a dual nature: instructive and corrective.

    First, observe the absolute necessity of instructive discipline. Notice Ephesians 4:14: “So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” Left without solid doctrinal grounding, the Christian’s spiritual footing becomes unstable. The apostle Paul provides the remedy in Ephesians 4:15, where he writes, “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” Instructive discipline is the faithful, daily teaching of the Word. It trains the faculties, anchors the mind against error, and keeps the disciple steadfast in the truth of God.

    Yet instruction alone is insufficient when sin goes unchecked; the church must also exercise corrective discipline. Scripture demands personal accountability and moral responsibility. Paul commands the Christian to “Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires… having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor” (Ephesians 4:22, 25). Grace never negates human will; as free moral agents, we must choose to mortify the deeds of the flesh daily. Paul warns: “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26–27).

    When an individual refuses self-discipline, walks disorderly, and rejects repentance, he gives place to Satan and grieves God: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice” (Ephesians 4:30–31). Corrective discipline executed by the local church is never malicious; it is a labor of love designed to salvage the wayward soul from ruin and protect the doctrinal and moral purity of the Lord’s body.

    Brethren, let us boldly proclaim the truth in love, instruct the flock faithfully, and exercise godly discipline without compromise.

    – Antoine N. Holloway

  • Training The Tribe: Assembling Attendance

    In the age of digital isolation, convenience culture, and casual commitment, we must remember that living for Christ is not a spectator sport or solitary assignment. God didn’t design the body of Christ to function in isolation. When God called us into His spiritual household and collective tribe, He intended us to be a group of people who are connected to one another and enjoy being around each other. In this sermon, Brother Holloway addresses the fact that the assembling of the saints is not a voluntary activity, but rather an essential spiritual appointment.

    Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV):  And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

  • The Discernment Of Revival (2 of 3)

    It’s one thing to talk about revival, but it’s another to possess the spiritual discernment to maintain it. True revival is not sustained by the loudness of the crowd, but by the clarity of God’s holy and divine Word. Discernment is the ability to distinguish God’s holy decree from human desire, divine authority from popular opinion, and heavenly reality from demonic delusion. In this second installment of a three-part series, Brother Holloway explains how, if we desire genuine heaven-sent revival, we must look past the crowd and demand the truth of Jesus Christ.

    2 Chronicles 18:4-17 (ESV):  And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the Lord.” Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for God will give it into the hand of the king.” But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?” And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.” Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah.” Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes. And they were sitting at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘With these you shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed.’” And all the prophets prophesied so and said, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph. The Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”

    And the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Behold, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.” But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, what my God says, that I will speak.” And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?” And he answered, “Go up and triumph; they will be given into your hand.” But the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.’” And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”

  • The Compromise of Revival (1 of 3)

    We long to see the church restored to its dynamic first century power. But we must understand a fundamental truth: revival is rarely destroyed by a sudden frontal assault by the enemy, but is eroded by subtle compromise. In this sermon, Brother Holloway looks at the example of King Jehoshaphat, who led a mighty spiritual awakening before tragically drifting away from God’s leadership. How do we move from whole-hearted devotion to Christ to compromising the faith we once proclaimed? This first sermon in a three part series examines the spiritual cancer of compromise.

    2 Chronicles 18:1-3 (ESV):  Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and honor, and he made a marriage alliance with Ahab. After some years he went down to Ahab in Samaria. And Ahab killed an abundance of sheep and oxen for him and for the people who were with him, and induced him to go up against Ramoth-gilead. Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead?” He answered him, “I am as you are, my people as your people. We will be with you in the war.”

  • The Work Of The Church: Edification

    What is the fundamental business of the local body of Christ? One of the primary works God assigned to the church for its own members is EDIFICATION, which is the steady, intentional building up of Christians.  The Lord never called us out of the world to be a social club, nor did our Lord die for His people to entertain the world.  We are the salt of the Earth & the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16).  The more spiritual & mature in Christ we become, the brighter we shine in darkness.

    In Ephesians 4:1–16. Paul starts with a direct plea: “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Ephesians 4:1). How do we actually do that? The text shows us that the ascended Christ gave gifted servants to the church: apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, & teachers (Ephesians 4:11). Look at the reason given in Ephesians 4:12: “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.”

    The pattern is clear. True servants equip the saints, equipped saints do the work of ministry, & that work builds up the church. Hence, edification is not something we sit back & watch happen; it takes every single member pulling their weight. Ephesians 4:16 makes this plain: the body grows & builds itself up in love “when each part is working properly.”

    Because God gives every one of us the freedom to choose how we live, staying on this path requires daily commitment. We have to choose to yield to the Spirit & choose to strengthen our brethren rather than tear them down (Galatians 5:15). This choice shows up immediately in how we talk to each other. Paul drives this home in Ephesians 4:29, where the Bible reads, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”

    Edification comes down to an everyday decision. It means using our words, our time, & our abilities to strengthen the person sitting next to us. So, let us make up our minds to do that work, making sure every part of this body is doing its job for the glory of God.

    – Antoine N. Holloway

  • Training The Tribe: Learning To Pray

    Our culture is relentless about preparation and skill building. We prepare and build all kinds of skills for our jobs, our home lives, and recreation. As the family of God, we must also prepare and build skills. To remain steadfast, we require instruction from the Master in learning how to pray like Jesus prayed. The apostles realized that Jesus’ public power came from His private preparation. Jesus was constantly in prayer in private, so the apostles asked Him to teach them how to pray. Jesus gave them a model prayer, a training manual for the entire family of faith. If we want our worship to be meaningful, we must go through the same training.

    Luke 11:1-4 (ESV):  Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” And he said to them, “When you pray, say:

    “Father, hallowed be your name.
    Your kingdom come.
    Give us each day our daily bread,
    and forgive us our sins,
        for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
    And lead us not into temptation.”

  • Taking The High Road By Taking Down The High Places

    When we talk about taking the high road, we often think it means keeping the peace or making the comfortable compromise, when it often means making tough decisions and taking unpopular actions. In 2 Chronicles 17, King Jehoshaphat takes the high road by removing the high places. High places were raised, open air altars on hill tops where people worshiped false gods. Some people tried to worship God in their own way at these high place instead of in the temple as God prescribed. Instead of physical high places, our high places today are any position, pursuit, habit, or relationship that we elevate above the authority of God. In this sermon, Brother Holloway discusses how we can identify and remove those high places from our lives.

    2 Chronicles 17:1-19 (ESV):  Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place and strengthened himself against Israel. He placed forces in all the fortified cities of Judah and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim that Asa his father had captured. The Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek the Baals, but sought the God of his father and walked in his commandments, and not according to the practices of Israel. Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand. And all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he had great riches and honor. His heart was courageous in the ways of the Lord. And furthermore, he took the high places and the Asherim out of Judah.

    In the third year of his reign he sent his officials, Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah; and with them the Levites, Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah; and with these Levites, the priests Elishama and Jehoram. And they taught in Judah, having the Book of the Law of the Lord with them. They went about through all the cities of Judah and taught among the people.

    And the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, and they made no war against Jehoshaphat. Some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents and silver for tribute, and the Arabians also brought him 7,700 rams and 7,700 goats. And Jehoshaphat grew steadily greater. He built in Judah fortresses and store cities, and he had large supplies in the cities of Judah. He had soldiers, mighty men of valor, in Jerusalem. This was the muster of them by fathers' houses: Of Judah, the commanders of thousands: Adnah the commander, with 300,000 mighty men of valor; and next to him Jehohanan the commander, with 280,000; and next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, a volunteer for the service of the Lord, with 200,000 mighty men of valor. Of Benjamin: Eliada, a mighty man of valor, with 200,000 men armed with bow and shield; and next to him Jehozabad with 180,000 armed for war. These were in the service of the king, besides those whom the king had placed in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.

  • The Work Of The Church: Evangelism

    In Ephesians 4:11-12a, the Bible reads, “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds & teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry…” 

    The apostle Paul writes to the church of Christ in Ephesus, informing them that Christ gave teachers, preachers, & evangelists for one fundamental reason: TO EQUIP THE SAINTS!  This means you. This means me. The work of ministry is not reserved for the minister, the deacons, &/or the elders only; this work belongs to every child of God sitting in the pews.

    So, why is this equipping so urgent? Listen to your Bible!  In Ephesians 4:17-19, the apostle Paul paints a picture of the world around us. He says unbelievers walk in the “futility of their minds,” being “darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.”  

    Let this sink in for a moment. People in our communities are lost in darkness. They are not lost because God predestined them to fail or shut the door of salvation in their faces. God desires all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4)! They are lost because their hearts have been hardened to the truth, & they are living in spiritual ignorance.

    With this in mind, consider Ephesians 4:20-21, where the Bible reads, “But that is not the way you learned Christ!—assuming that you have heard about him & were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus.” 

    Brethren, God has provided the Gospel for everyone, but we must make a decision. People cannot choose a Savior they have never heard about (Romans 10:14). If we are content to sit back & expect someone else to do the sharing, we are failing the very purpose for which Christ equipped us. Evangelism is the daily duty of a saved soul reaching out to a lost world. Let us get equipped (Training is available here), get out of our comfort zones (Encouragement is available here), & preach the truth in love (This is our divine mandate – Ephesians 4:15)!

    – Antoine N. Holloway

  • Training The Tribe: Assembly Prayers

    When the local congregation assembles, we step into a sacred privilege that the world can’t duplicate. We are not gathered as a social club or an audience attending a performance. We come together as a blood-bought tribe, the household of faith. Assembly prayers are one of the most vital acts of worship, but they are often treated as an afterthought rather than an act of spiritual engagement. Paul makes clear that prayers in the assembly demand both the Spirit and the mind, and they require deliberate training, mutual understanding, and collective participation. To worship in Spirit and in truth, per the mandate of the Master, we must know how to engage in assembly prayer.

    1 Corinthians 14:15-16 (ESV):  What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying?

  • It’s Not Over Until It’s Over

    A strong beginning does not guarantee a faithful finish. We’ve watched professional sports teams go from certain victory to collapse in defeat. A collapse isn’t just about losing, but about starting on top and letting go of everything that got you there. King Asa started with God. God had given him victory. Decades later, when another crisis came, Asa collapsed. He started in the Spirit but tried to finish in the flesh. No matter how long you’ve been running this race, it’s not over until it’s over. Your past victories cannot sustain your present faith. King Asa is a cautionary example to remind us that our faith must be renewed as frequently as God’s mercies: every morning.

    2 Chronicles 16:1-14 (ESV):  In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. Then Asa took silver and gold from the treasures of the house of the Lord and the king's house and sent them to Ben-hadad king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying, “There is a covenant between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending to you silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me.” And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and they conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all the store cities of Naphtali. And when Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah and let his work cease. Then King Asa took all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber, with which Baasha had been building, and with them he built Geba and Mizpah.

    At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you. Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the Lord, he gave them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.” Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in the stocks in prison, for he was in a rage with him because of this. And Asa inflicted cruelties upon some of the people at the same time.

    The acts of Asa, from first to last, are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet, and his disease became severe. Yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but sought help from physicians. And Asa slept with his fathers, dying in the forty-first year of his reign. They buried him in the tomb that he had cut for himself in the city of David. They laid him on a bier that had been filled with various kinds of spices prepared by the perfumer's art, and they made a very great fire in his honor.

  • Choosing Individual Industry Over Institutional Immunity

    In many local congregations, a common observation persists: “Eighty percent of the work is done by twenty percent of the people.” Why does this discrepancy exist? It occurs when brethren choose institutional immunity over individual industry.

    Institutional immunity describes a mindset where Christians assume that because their congregation funds or sponsors a benevolent, evangelistic, &/or edification effort, they are personally exempt from doing the work. This mistake replaces personal piety with corporate participation, assuming that church association guarantees individual approval.

    Nevertheless, when we examine Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus, our Lord & Christ, outlines the individual standard of the final judgment.  Listen to your Bible!

    • “I was hungry & you gave me food.” The King will not ask if you belong to a church with a pantry.
    • “I was a stranger & you welcomed me.” The King will not ask if your congregation has a hospitality committee.
    • “I was naked & you clothed me.”  The King will not ask if your assembly sponsors clothing drives.
    • “I was sick & you visited me.”  The King will not ask if your local church operates a visitation program.
    • “I was in prison & you came to me.”  The King will not ask if your congregation maintains a prison program.

    Scriptural grace demands an active, obedient response. While supporting church efforts financially, praying for leaders, & encouraging laborers are noble practices, they cannot replace personal service.

    God holds every individual accountable for their choices & opportunity. You may not be able to feed an entire community, but you can feed one person. You may not be able to house the homeless, but you can offer companionship. You may not be able to visit a prison in person, but you can write a letter to an inmate.

    We are not saved by proxy or institutional association. Eternal life is granted to those who trust the Giver of the Word & choose to be active doers of the Word.  Let us do what God has called us to do & what we have agreed to do when obeying His gospel.

    – Antoine N. Holloway

  • Training The Tribe: Baptismal Surgical Team

    When a patient enters an operating room for a life-saving procedure, he doesn’t see a single doctor, but a highly-trained, synchronized, and disciplined surgical team. Each member understands his duty and that a life is hanging in the balance. In the operation of the Lord’s church, He’s calling us to not be spectators, but a synchronized tribe ready to work. Spiritual surgery takes place every time a lost soul moves from darkness to light. Baptism is spiritual surgery performed by the Great Physician. It is the cutting away of the body of flesh and raising of a dead sinner to newness of life. If baptism is the procedure where God operates on the soul, the local church is the surgical team. We must be trained, organized, and ready for work.

    Colossians 2:11-12 (ESV):  In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.

  • The Courage To Change The Things I Can

    We often pray to God to change our circumstances, culture, or families. True transformation begins when God gives us the courage to change what is within us. King Asa faced a nation that was steeped in idolatry and moral decay, even though he had pursued the precepts of the Lord and begun to purge the nation of idols. When the Word of God came to Asa through the prophet Azariah, he didn’t argue, complain, or justify himself. He listened and took action. God doesn’t ask us to change what is beyond our reach, but He demands that we have the courage to change the things we can. In this sermon, Brother Holloway discusses three things we need to do when responding to the Word of God.

    2 Chronicles 15:8-19 (ESV): As soon as Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Azariah the son of Oded, he took courage and put away the detestable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities that he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim, and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was in front of the vestibule of the house of the Lord. And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were residing with them, for great numbers had deserted to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. They were gathered at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. They sacrificed to the Lord on that day from the spoil that they had brought 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep. And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul,but that whoever would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman. They swore an oath to the Lord with a loud voice and with shouting and with trumpets and with horns. And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around.

    Even Maacah, his mother, King Asa removed from being queen mother because she had made a detestable image for Asherah. Asa cut down her image, crushed it, and burned it at the brook Kidron. But the high places were not taken out of Israel. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly true all his days. And he brought into the house of God the sacred gifts of his father and his own sacred gifts, silver, and gold, and vessels. And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa.

  • Adam & Eve: Fact Or Fiction?

    In today’s culture, unbelievers & scoffers try to convince us that the creation account is just poetic myth; a nice story, but certainly not historical reality. But what do we actually find in Scripture to make the case for a literal Adam & Eve?

    In Genesis 1:26–27, Moses records: “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea & over the birds of the heavens & over the livestock & over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
    So God created man in his own image,
    in the image of God he created him;
    male & female he created them.”

    God does not describe an unguided, random process here. He moves deliberately from making the cosmos to crafting humanity with intention. A chapter later, Genesis 2:7 adds another layer: “Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground & breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, & the man became a living creature.” Then in Genesis 2:21–25, God forms Eve from Adam’s side & joins them together, instituting the very first marriage.

    When we put these pieces together, the Biblical text does not read like symbolic poetry. It presents Adam & Eve as literal, historical people.

    This historical reality matters deeply for how we understand our relationship with God. When God made Adam & Eve in His image, He gave them genuine moral agency. He did not make robots or pre-program their choices by divine decree. He made real people who had the ability to choose; to love Him, obey Him, & walk in covenant with Him, or to turn away.

    That original design shows us something vital about God’s heart: He desires a real, chosen relationship with us. Just as God initiated that relationship with Adam & Eve in the Garden, His grace extends a genuine invitation to every single one of us today through Jesus Christ.

    Is the story of Adam & Eve fact or fiction? The Biblical evidence leads to one clear answer: they were real people, created by a real God, who still calls us to choose Him today.

    – Antoine N. Holloway