Avrell Bowden - "If I die tonight, where will I be? Heaven or hell?” People make commitments to God an confessions of faith that sometimes have no reality.  At age 6 I made a false profession of salvation. That is, I told people I was saved. (more)

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 George Müller Biography - George Müller was one of the early brethren in the United Kingdom who is known for his work of faith among orphan children by running his organization by faith to provide for their needs.

"May it not be the will of God that I should establish schools for these children, asking Him to give me the means?"

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Grace Taufeek's Story - "...an ultrasound showed a mass around my spinal canal. I was confused, sad, mad, and scared as I was trying to realize what was really happening. I was quite scared – sometimes even to tears – but deep down, I always had a sense of peace..." (more)

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Except Ye Repent

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"Take the Challenge"

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Brian Elliott - God’s good news was always bad news to me. All it seemed to do was remind me that some day I was going to die and leave this world to meet God. It constantly reminded me I was going to hell. (more)

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Where did the wise men (Matthew 2:1)" TARGET="_blank">Matthew 2:1) find the child Jesus— in Bethlehem or Nazareth?

I do not think there can be any reasonable doubt that it was in Bethlehem. Verse i tells us the narrative happened “when Jesus was born in Bethlehem.” It was thither theywere directed by the teaching of the elders (vv. 4-6) and sent by Herod. Nazareth is not mentioned. It was in Bethlehem and its borders that the slaughter of the innocents took place (ver. 16), after the Child and Mary and Joseph had departed into Egypt. From verse 22 we learn that after the death of Herod they would have returned into Juda, but hearing that Archelaus, his son, was reigning in his stead, Joseph was afraid to go thither and being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee and dwelt in a city, now mentioned for the first time—Nazareth.

W.H. .

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THE INTERMEDIATE STATE
If we enter at the very moment of death into our Lord’s presence, do we enter bodily?

If so, in what kind of body do we enter?

If this immediate entry were true, would not resurrection be superfluous; and how reconcile it with 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17" TARGET="_blank">1 Thessalonians 4:15-17?
 
Certainly the Scriptures do not teach that at the moment of death the believer enters “bodily” into the presence of Christ, and yet the Apostle Paul says very plainly, “To depart and to be with Christ, which is far better” (Philippians 1:23)." TARGET="_blank">Philippians 1:23). He adds however, “nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you;” so that the presence with Christ is not “in the flesh,” it is not bodily: the body is laid in the grave, it sleeps awaiting the resurrection.

Then again in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5" TARGET="_blank">1 Corinthians 5:1-5 the apostle describes his earnest desire to depart and to be with Christ, which was so great, that he was willing even to enter the disembodied state, so as to be with Christ, evep in that imperfect condition. “We are confident and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

The passage in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17" TARGET="_blank">1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 describes quite another thing, namely, the coming of the Lord; the raising of the sleeping saints (sleeping, that is as to their bodies and whose spirits God will bring with Christ); and the changing of the living saints—two companies which will be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air. This will be the perfected condition.

2 Corinthians 12:2-4" TARGET="_blank">2 Corinthians 12:2-4 is clear proof that the human spirit can exist consciously and intelligently apart from the body, for Paul, when he was caught up, knew perfectly that he was at the third heaven, and in Paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for man to utter, and yet he twice assures us that he could not tell whether he was in the body or out of the body. This shows that he believed in the possibility of spiritual existence apart from the body.

W.H.

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To create a Bible word search puzzle or other similar bible word puzzle, choose one of the following programs:

You may also want to choose a Bible word search puzzle from one of the 350 Sunday school worksheets .  Each worksheet contains a Bible word search puzzle as well as a crossword puzzle, quizzes, a coloring page and other activities will help you prepare for next week's Sunday school lesson.

Some of the other items available for Sunday school teachers include printable Bible craft ideas for making 3d paper models, mini story books and power power lessons. For an example of what kind of projects you can use see the 3D Tabernacle model and other teaching materials at Sunday School Activities

You can also get a weekly lesson idea in your inbox.  Click here to subscribe to the weekly Sunday school projects . 

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Is it safe to use Weymouth’s Translation, since it contains such error as is found in the note upon Hebrews10:27" TARGET="_blank">Hebrews10:27 (page 560)?

It has been pointed out that the notes in this version are not by Dr. R. F. Weymouth, but by E. Hampden-Cook, M.A., who is said to have “Edited and partly revised” the work. In my edition of 1910 the very unsound note on Heb. 10." TARGET="_blank">Heb. 10. 27 referred to above is on page 6i6; and it is by no means the only one of the kind; the notes on this subject always being in the interests of what is known as, “Annihilationism” a very serious and growing heresy to-day. This teaching, however, is not confined to the notes, but occurs in the text. Wherever, apparently, the translator (or do we owe these touches to the “part revision” of Mr. Cook?) comes upon the question of the future of the wicked, the same influence can be noted: e.g., Matthew 25:46" TARGET="_blank">Matthew 25:46 which is translated, “And these shall go away into the punishment of the ages, but the righteous into the life of the ages,” which is the ordinary meaningless and erroneous language affected by the Annihilationist teachers. How this book found its way into my small library, I have no idea; but I neither use it myself, nor would I advise anyone to do so. The Lord’s words apply here, “Take heed what ye hear,” and I am convinced that all this talk about “onian” and “the ages” is everywhere a danger-signal for those who desire to hold fast the whole revelation of God and the
doctrine of Christ.

W.H.

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Free Online Bible Dictionary

The free online Bible dictionary section is part of the online bible program at Gospel Hall dot org.  In addition to the free online bible dictionary there are also free online Bible commentaries and online concordances.  The free online bible dictionary selection is available along with the concordances under the link to the left titled "Online Bible Search" or here.

Instructions for the Free Online Bible Dictionary

1. Select the link Online Bible Search.

2. You may ignore the top section of the page if you are interested only in the free online bible dictionary. 

3. In the section titled "Dictionary Search" type in a key name or phrase that is found in the bible.  For example, the online dictionaries are likely to have definitions for terms such as "Grace" or "Sin".  The online dictionary also has information regarding Bible places such as "Jerusalem" or "Egypt".

4. Select one of the online dictionaries from the dropdown list.  The list of free online bible dictionaries includes the American Tract Dictionary, Easton's Bible Dictionary, the International Bible Encyclopedia, Torreye's Topic Index, Thompson's Chain Reference Bible, and Vine's Greek Dictionary of New Testament Words.

5. Finally, click the "Go" button to search for your term.

6. You may also browse the online dictionaries by each letter of the alphabet in the last search box on the page.

About the Free Online Bible Dictionary (ies)

All of the free online Bible Dictionaries are in the public domain.  That is, they passed out of copyright protection after the 75 year period of time since original publish date.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - The American Tract Society (ATS) is a publishing organization that publishes evangelistic Christian literature. It was founded on May 11, 1825 in New York City for the dissemination of Christian literature in leaflet form and was a strong supporter of the temperance movement. It soon took rank with the American Bible Society. By 1851 it had distributed about 5,000,000 temperance tracts. The ATS is currently headquartered in Garland, Texas. It produces tracts, e-tracts, digitracts, and books. Over the years, ATS has produced many millions of pieces of literature.

Easton's Bible Dictionary - Easton's Bible Dictionary generally refers to the Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, by Matthew George Easton M.A., D.D. (1823-1894), published three years after Easton's death in 1897 by Thomas Nelson. Because of its age, it is now a public domain resource. Despite its name, many of the entries in Easton's are encyclopedic in nature, though there are short, dictionary-like entries. It contains nearly 4,000 entries.

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) is a public domain Biblical encyclopedia. This encyclopedia was published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Hailed for its authoritative explanations of every significant word, person, and place in the Bible and Apocrypha, it is the standard by which all other Biblical encyclopedias are measured. In contains articles by nearly 200 scholars about archaeological discoveries, the language and literature of Bible lands, customs, family life, occupations, and the historical and religious environments of Bible people.

Torrey's Topical Textbook is a reference book or concordance for topics found in the Holy Bible. It contains subject index guides to topics found throughout the scriptures. The work contains 628 entries and over 20,000 scripture references.  It was published long enough ago that the original edition is believed to be out of copyright, but the exact year of publication is not known from sources cited here.  Reverend R.A. Torrey was known for his prolific writings on religious subjects including Methods of Bible Study

The Thompson Chain-Reference system was devised by its namesake, Dr. Frank C. Thompson, in the early 1900s. Dr. Thompson was a young preacher in the late 1800s. He became dissatisfied with the reference Bibles that were then available to preachers.

Dr. Thompson believed the Bible should be presented in a simple, but scholarly way. He saw the need for a well-organized reference Bible that would be of practical use to the layman as well as a minister. In 1890, Dr. Thompson began the work he would continue for the rest of his life. He completed the "thought suggestions" opposite the verses throughout the Bible. These are what became the "chain-links" that are the heart of the Thompson system. Some of the men in Dr. Thompson's church saw his Bible and told him this would be a great help to them in their Bible study too. They encouraged Dr. Thompson to have his Bible, with marginal references, published so that everyone could enjoy the blessing of this helpful study tool.[1]
The first version of Thompson's study Bible was published in 1908 by the Methodists Book Concern of Dobbs Ferry, New York. Five years later, in 1913, Dr. Thompson was joined by B.B. Kirkbride, of Indianapolis, Indiana. The two men formed the Kirkbride Bible Company, in order to further improve and distribute Thompson's work.

The original Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, as well as several subsequent versions, were based on the King James Bible. Currently, editions based on the King James Version, New King James Version, New International Version and New American Standard Bible are available, as well as electronic versions that incorporate other features.

As of 2006, there have been more than 4,000,000 Thompson Chain-Reference Bibles sold.

Vine's Expository Dictionary is a reference guide to Old Testament Hebrew and New Testament Greek words for English readers. Some versions of the work only contain Greek word definitions. It explains King James Version words in an original Greek in context. It provides the meaning of the word in a proper context of Greek background. For example: In English Bible, there is only one word for "love" but in NT Greek, there are four (two being used the mostly). Therefore Vines fills the gap between English Bible and Greek NT nicely and effectively. It provides the definition of a word (KJV word) more accurately than the English dictionary because it uses Greek use of the word. For example: The word, "godliness (1Tim. 2:2)" TARGET="_blank">1Tim. 2:2)" in Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary is defined as "1: Divine 2: pious, devout -" but in Vines, it defines it as " 'to be devout,' denotes that piety which characterized by a Godward attitude, does that which is well-pleasing to Him." It provides fuller meaning of the word by explaining how the word is used in the NT. It can be used with Strongs concordance. Every word is numbered with Strong's number so you can use it more efficiently.

 WHEN U.S. WORKS PASS INTO THE PUBLIC DOMAIN

By Lolly Gasaway  University of North Carolina

 Definition:  A public domain work is a creative work that is not protected by copyright and which may be freely used by everyone.  The reasons that the work is not protected include: (1) the term of copyright for the work has expired; (2) the author failed to satisfy statutory formalities to perfect the copyright or (3) the work is a work of the U.S. Government.
 

1  Term of joint works is measured by life of the longest-lived author.
2  Works for hire, anonymous and pseudonymous works also have this term.  17 U.S.C. § 302(c).
3  Under the 1909 Act, works published without notice went into the public domain upon publication. Works published without notice between 1-1-78 and 3-1-89, effective date of the Berne Convention Implementation Act, retained copyright only if efforts to correct the accidental omission of notice was made within five years, such as by placing notice on unsold copies. 17 U.S.C. § 405.   (Notes courtesy of Professor Tom Field, Franklin Pierce Law Center and Lolly Gasaway)
 

LOLLY GASAWAY         Last updated 11-04-03
Chart may be freely duplicated or linked to for nonprofit purposes.No permission needed.
Please include web address on all reproductions of chart so recipients know where to find
any updates.

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