How to Improve Your Prayer Life
Prayer is one of those “basic” parts of Christianity that’s easy to overlook. On the opposite side, it’s also easy to take things too far when we pray. Have you noticed your prayers becoming too simplistic or too much of an elaborate ceremony? If you’ve fallen into...
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Happy Thanksgiving from Oak Ridge Baptist Church!
Whether you’re new to Oak Ridge Baptist or you’ve been with us for a while, we want to wish you a happy Thanksgiving! It’s time to take time off work, enjoy a great meal, and spend time with your family. What are you thankful for this year? Here’s what the team at...
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5 Bible Verses About Gratitude to Read This Thanksgiving
As Thanksgiving approaches and we remember what we have to be thankful for, it’s time to see what the Bible says about gratitude as well. After all, who should we be thanking more than God? The authors of the Bible understood that we owe everything to God, from...
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Suffering for Righteousness’ Sake: What Does it Look Like?
The Bible is very clear that Christians will suffer persecution for following Jesus. This persecution takes many different forms, and though many American Christians will never be murdered for their faith like early martyrs or believers in hostile countries, we will...
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Bitterness vs. Righteous Anger
Among the Christian buzzwords common in churches, perhaps one of the most uncomfortable is “bitterness”. This term often surfaces in unpleasant contexts and, unfortunately, can be used or viewed as a conversation ender. After all, who wants to be called bitter?...
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Commandments of Men: When Christians Embrace Legalism
Christians are all too familiar with legalism, a philosophy that obsesses over every detail (or perceived detail) in the Bible and often holds up a total agreement with all of it as a requirement for salvation. Considering how often this term is misapplied, it bears a...
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What Role Does “Tradition” Play in the Church?
Even the most modern and “hip” churches rely on tradition in some capacity. Of course, the exact extent depends on the church leadership and members, but you’d be hard-pressed to find any church that didn’t incorporate traditional activities or methodology somewhere....
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Uncomfortable Truths vs. Gossip
Most people would agree that gossip is a bad thing. Spreading exaggerated or scandalous information about another person is, for the most part, frowned up. Many churches even spend more time focused on the “sin of gossip” than on other, more easily defined problems....
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Taking God’s Name in Vain: Not Just Swearing
We all know the third commandment: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.” (Exodus 20:7 NASB) Most people assume it just means we shouldn’t use God’s name as a swear word....
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The Law, the Prophets, and the Greatest Commandment
When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’...
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