Terry Pruitt's Blog

My commute is okay. It means I do not work at home. That is okay. But I sometimes miss the farm life. Work and home are intermingled. I miss the connection with nature. I miss how life on the farm is integrated. It has its ups and downs. I think I miss both. However, on my commute to work I listen to Mars Hill Audio . Ken Myers loves Wendell Berry's writings. Before Ken Myers mentioned his writings, I had never heard of them. So I started searching to see what the constant references to Wendell Berry are all about. I found this poem today called The Mad Farmer Liberation Front . One of the lines in the poem says "Work for nothing". Believe it or not, I did a lot of work for nothing on the farm, but I still enjoyed it. I think I may have worked harder for nothing than I did for something at times. Love the quick profit, the annual raise, vacation with pay. Want more of everything ready-made. Be afraid to know your neighbors and to die. Click here to read th...

Text: Job 2 Main Idea: You and I need to receive both good and evil from the Lord. Introduction Probably one of the most prayed for requests in the American church is the request for healing. Some churches are looking for dramatic healing each week. Other feel it is a good thing to do just so one show he is concerned for the other party. It is good because it shows symbolically that one cares. Whether a prayer for healing is offered with skepticism or faith does not negate the fact that some of the most common forms of suffering in America are health related. This sort of suffering shakes us to our core. Unless the Lord returns, chances are most of us we die from an accident or a disease that causes our health to fail. Some people suffer life long illness while others suffer just a little at the end of a long life. Our health will be an issue. Will it cause us to be bitter or will we be someone who flourishes spiritually as the physical man is passing away. I have a great-...

Three things are stately in their tread; four are stately in their stride: the lion, which is mightiest among beasts and does not turn back before any; the strutting rooster, the he-goat, and a king whose army is with him. ---Proverbs 30:29-31 (ESV) Different creatures in nature have different glories. A rooster is a glorious thing to see. He is proud of his feathers and his position. A lion knows he is a beast to be feared. A rooster would be no challenge for a lion though. A he-goat is no challenge for a lion, though he also is proud of his position and strength. When we think of a lion we think of an animal dangerous and to be feared. But in a sense, a general (king) with his troops who are equipped for battle find no match in a lion. This is especially true if we are talking about a modern general with attack helicopters, snipers, artillery, tanks and well trained troops. We all have our own gifting and glory. The glory may be small or large. One may be a...

How to Reduce Your Risks: A Lesson on Proverbs 6 By Terry Pruitt If you use this lesson in a small group or Sunday School class please let me know. Texts: Proverbs 6; Rom 13:8; 2Th 3:10; Mat 12:36; Heb 5:14; Heb 9:1 Main Idea: There is a difference between someone who takes naive risk and someone who simply enjoys being evil; both will suffer consequences. Many people look at morality as simply rules to mitigate risk in our lives. Often these people would see the function of laws and etiquette is to bring order, happiness and prosperity. With this sort of thinking, rules of morality are functional in nature, they are to bring the most good. The authority of “Thou shalt not” becomes the suggestion stating “be careful if you do”. Morality becomes a way of expressing risk management. In this thinking, the exact cause and effect sequence of why are not always known, but the speaker knows that something might happen bad if one breaks the rule. Of course many Christians see...

God declares a new covenant thus making the old covenant with Israel obsolete. 8:7-13 The old covenant had many regulations but did not perfect the conscience of those under it. 9:1-10 Christ truly cleansed those under the new covenant with his own blood. 9:11-14 Christ established the new covenant through his death. 9:15-22 The new, heavenly covenant is superior to the earthly shadows in the first covenant. 9:23--28