Short Articles, Bible Lessons and Devos Intended to Edify and Encourage Others
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Here at Dale Ridge you will find a loving, committed group of believers doing our best to follow in the footprints of Jesus Christ. We strive to deeply develop our relationship with God through study, fellowship, and service.
We love our visitors and hope you find your experience uplifting and focused on the sincere worship of God!
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540-992-4385
Address
Visit us:
7165 Cloverdale Rd NW
Roanoke, VA 24019
Devotional Thoughts
Do You Ever Get Tired Of Going To Church
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Do you ever get tired of going to church? Is it something you look forward to, or is it burdensome to you? Do you get bored with singing, taking the Lord's supper, giving, praying? Does it get to be monotonous for you?
How about reading your Bible? Do you get tired of reading the Bible? Do you grow weary from praying constantly for the sick? Do you get tired of being good to people, of being the nice guy all the time? In other words, do you get tired of serving God? Is it tempting to cast Christianity aside for maybe a day or two at least, and do whatever you feel like doing? If so, you wouldn't be the first one to have those kinds of thoughts.
Paul had to admonish the 1st Century church in Thessalonica:
But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good.
- II Thessalonians 3:13
It happens. We don't mean for it to, but sometimes we just grow weary of doing good. We get tired. We forget to keep up our spiritual strength, and before we know it, we find ourselves doing Christian things in Christian ways, but our hearts are really not into it.
It's like glancing down at your cell phone and noticing your battery is on 10%. You go into panic mode. It's time to find a charger. In the same way, we need our spiritual batteries recharged. We need to get plugged in. Hopefully, that happens for you today. Getting plugged into your church can charge you up.
Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart.
- II Corinthians 4:1
There's no sense in you running on empty all the time. Look around you. This place is pulsing with energy. Get connected. Immerse yourself in what's going on here and feel your energy start to rise. Before long, you will feel so spiritually energized, you'll be looking for somebody else to give a boost. Mike M.
Gaining Christ
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Christianity ruined the life of Paul from a worldly point of view. No, it's true. If you look at the life of Paul strictly from a worldly viewpoint, Christianity destroyed his prestige and establishment in society. Look at it through his parent's eyes. Paul's parents had to have been so proud of him (when he was Saul). He had followed his father's footsteps, becoming a Pharisee (Acts 22:6), trained by one of the greatest rabbis in Jerusalem, Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). He was well respected by the Sanhedrin and most likely lived in a fancy house earning a comfortable salary. But all that changed on the road to Damascus.
After Saul of Tarsus was baptized into Christ and became the apostle Paul, his parents would have been hanging their heads in shame. Here was a man who had it all, the envy of his peers, and he sacrificed everything to follow a controversial preacher from Galilee. Many thought Paul had lost his mind (Acts 26:24). He was beaten, mocked and ridiculed. His world turned from comfort and popularity to ostracism and pain.
What drives a man to throw away what others long for? What did Paul see, or think he saw, that caused him to make such a radical change in his life? Did Paul ever regret giving up his life as a Jewish leader for Christianity? He once said,
But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,
- Philippians 3:7-8
It doesn't sound like he regretted his decision to follow Christ. He called his worldly achievements "rubbish." Giving that up was like taking out the garbage in his eyes. Gaining Christ, Paul would say, is what matters. Is that your priority? Mike M.
Visit Us This Sunday
Bible Class: 9:30 - 10:15
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Subject: 1 & 2 Timothy & Titus Presented by James S.
We Worship and Praise Our Creator
@ 10:30am
AND
We Are Honored To Serve "Communion" This Sunday, come join us in honor of Jesus Christ, our Savior.
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We are online also.
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ON-LINE ACCESS: Please join from your computer, tablet, or smartphone.
To Join us online
Type or copy/paste the following on your search line: GoToMeet.me/DaleRideChurchofChrist
Use Access Code 345-551-253
To Join by Phone (listen only)
Call +1-571-317-3116; Use Access Code 345-551-253
Bible Class: 9:30 - 10:15
Come Worship Our Creator @ 10:30am
CAUTION:
Tuning in "virtually" was never intended to take the place of gathering together, enjoying fellowship, receiving and giving each other encouragement. Christians should love to gather on the first day of the week just as the early Church did. (Acts 20:7)
Ladies Bible Class: Thursday 10am is in recess for 1 more week
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​The middle of the week is a super time to Recharge just when you need it.
Join us, no matter where you are on Wednesday evening.
(In Person Only)
Wednesday Bible Study: 6 PM
"Around The Table" Directed by Blaine C.
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Dale Ridge Loves Visitors!!!
Teaching the truth in love. Because The Bible is our guide.
That's the way Jesus did it
Discover a New Life IN Christ.
How Do We Get "In Christ"
Read Romans 6:3-5
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We post a new scripture every day
For an in-depth series of Bible Lessons presented Ashby Camp on video with various topics we encourage you to visit the following web site.
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Drive-Thru Religion
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I remember reading about a church that met at a drive-in movie lot. People would park, clip on the speakers, and honk to say "Amen". I don't think there's a trend here but this is a good example of the "drive-thru religion" mentality.
Drive-thru religion is for people who don't have the church as a final destination; they're just on their way to somewhere else and picking up some religion for the road.
This weekend is Easter Sunday when the world focuses on the resurrection of Jesus. If there is one thing that God teaches us here, it's that Jesus wasn't just passing through. He didn't simply appear, give a word of encouragement and leave. From the beginning of the world, His death and resurrection were to be the final destination.
Here's the point: if God made our salvation the focal point of Jesus' life, we should make Jesus the focal point of our lives!
Hopefully the resurrection will remind us that this world is the real drive-thru and when you come to church -- you're home! Mike M.
Breaking News!!!
Leading scholars have found one thing God has left completely out of the Bible. It's
"Our Opinion"
Don't be mis-lead by following someones Opinion, check out Gods Word.
Quote by Martin Luther, Founder of the Lutheran Church
I ask that people make no reference to my name; let them call themselves Christians, not Lutherans.
They didn't listen
Afraid to witness "Cold Turkey" to others about Jesus?
Then...
Tell them To visit Our Web Page
daleridgechurchofchrist.net
Yep, It's That Easy!
Sharing Your Toys
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Did your Mom make you share your toys when you were little? You got a new toy. It's a toy car or a play gun or a doll or an Octonauts Above and Beyond Play Set and it is all yours and nobody else plays with it but you, until the neighbor kid comes over or a sibling wants to play. You tell them "NO! My toy." All Moms have supersonic hearing. It's God's gift to her for all she went through giving you birth. From clear off in the kitchen you hear your name being loudly sung. Not just your first name but your middle name as well. That's how you know you're in trouble. "You either share your toy or nobody gets to play with it." That sounds so unfair to a child. Let others play with your toy or you don't get to play with it either. Moms are so mean, or are they? We think we will be happier if we can keep our possessions all to ourselves, but low and behold. The greater joy comes from sharing, from extending happiness to others. It takes time to figure that out and unfortunately many never learn.
And the crowds were questioning him, saying, "Then what shall we do?" And he would answer and say to them, "The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise."
- Luke 3:10-11
God has blessed you with all you need; probably more than you need. Why hoard it? Why spend it all on yourself? That not only deprives others, it leads you down a miserable and lonely path. Parting with something you have blesses the life of another. Knowing you did something right, something Christlike, lightens your heart. Knowing that God knows. That is the greatest blessing of all. Both benefit from acts of unselfishness. You bless another soul and God blesses you.
So, what's the moral here? Share your toys.
Curtis H. Via Bibletalk
Keeping Your Vows
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Most of us who look back on our wedding day know that weddings are for making vows, but marriages are where we work at keeping those vows.
To all those who are beginning (and those who have seen the work it takes), here are a few things to consider in helping you keep the vows made on your special day. Remember that:
1. Vows are easy to make, but hard to keep.
Young people need to realize that there is more to marriage than just saying "I do". Because we are human, we often fail to do the things we promise or would like to do. If we realize that there will be adversity, challenge, disappointments and surprises that make the keeping of our vows difficult, then we are better prepared to hang in there when the going gets difficult.
2. Live one day at a time.
Don't think good or bad lasts forever. So many quit because they believe that their difficulties will never end. God says that He will not tempt (test) us beyond what we are able to bear (I Corinthians 10:13) and that includes the amount of time we can hold out as well. God provides what we need to keep our vows, but He does so one day at a time.
3. Give more than you get.
If you decide to give your all, even if it amounts to more than your partner is willing or able to give, you have overcome the greatest obstacle to a happy marriage - selfish pride. Your vow to love is truly complete when you are able to love unselfishly like Christ loves His church. This usually means that you are willing to give more than you receive (Philippians 2:3-11).
With time, people may not remember what their vows were, but God always remembers and always expects us to keep them until the end.
The Dent in my Life
Ah, the joy of a new car! It's the pride of ownership that I recently experienced in driving a vehicle that had neither scratch nor blemish. I took great care in staying away from runaway shopping carts slamming into me at the grocery store and not parking too close to other vehicles for fear of their doors opening and damaging the pristine finish on my baby. My new car daze came to an abrupt end however when I misjudged the distance of a high cement curb in the church parking lot and heard that awful crunch that signaled damage. An ugly dent and scrapped off paint now appeared on my right back bumper, the visible witness that my car no longer had the "new" in its title. From new to used in just three weeks!
What's worse is that all I could see when I now looked at my car was the dent. It probably covered less than 1% of the total surface of the vehicle but became its most visible feature because it ruined the perfection, the newness, the pride of ownership that the car had given me.
I'm leaving the dent there for now partly because it will be expensive to fix but also because it has begun to remind me of how I sometimes view myself. I don't like dents whether they are on my car or in my life. Dents like failure, weakness, or foolish words. Dings like dishonesty or lust. I want my life to always have that new car smell, but it doesn't, and that's always disappointing and often leads me to focus only on the dents.
Thankfully the Apostle Paul reminds me how to deal with this dent fixation when he says,
I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus is calling us.
- Philippians 3:13-14
Paul was one of those Apostles who had quite a few crashes in his life. He bore the scars of past failures, terrible suffering in his ministry career, and a debilitating physical affliction but his wise counsel to those who had difficulty with failure was to stay focused on the perfection of heaven given to all who believed and remained faithful to Jesus despite the collisions and damages they suffered.
I suppose that my car as well as life will eventually lose all of their "newness" and return to rust and dust one day. I'm thankful however that no matter how banged up I get here God has promised me that there will be no "dents" in my future life with Christ in heaven. Mike M.
A Child's Glory
Concerning fathers Solomon says,
Grandchildren are the crown of old men, and the glory of sons is their fathers.
- Proverbs 17:6
There was a special celebration of belonging to and coming forth from a man you could call your father in Solomon's day. Fathers took pride in children but the writer emphasizes that children also gloried in who their father was.
If a child's glory was his father, then a child without a father was missing his innate, inherent glory. This phenomenon can be seen today as so many boys and girls struggle with issue of identity and self-worth because they are denied the glory of their fathers through death or abandonment.
Without ownership of basic fatherly glory one seeks to create an image of glory from other sources and consequently becomes vulnerable to the false glory offered by the make-believe men and women of advertisers and Hollywood. Children with guns, children with drugs and alcohol, young people with cynical attitudes and a desire only for the pleasures of things are simply reflecting the false glory they have adopted because there is precious little fatherly glory in their lives.
Children need the glory of their fathers in order to learn their own sense of worth. Fathers need to pass on their glory so their sons and daughters can know not only who they are but that who they are is a glorious thing. Mike M.