Devotionals

Christmas. Each year, commercialism encroaches further into this special time, and I find myself wondering how a Christian should celebrate Christmas.
 
In the Old Testament, God commanded the Israelites to commemorate certain events with feasts and worship. It was a way of remembering what God had done for them. Jesus routinely participated...

I can see it now. The day Jesus was born, there is a cry in the heavens: “VICTORY is at hand! Blessed is the Messiah for he will be VICTORIOUS!!” Why the cries from heaven? Why the rejoicing? Why for a baby born in a manger to a poor couple? I am sure these were/are the questions for many back then, many today, and even a few reading ...

You have picked a great day to be at Naperville Church. Today, in the spirit of the season, we have a gift for you. Okay, truth is, it is not so much a gift for you as it is a gift for you to give away. As you leave this morning, you will be given a door-hanger sack that contains a Christmas Edition ESV Outreach New Testament and an invite card.
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Recent research has indicated that being grateful causes people to be more hopeful, more optimistic, less depressed, less likely to get divorced. People that are more grateful sleep better and have fewer health problems – in fact, a program of increasing gratitude has become a major focus in preventing reoccurring heart attacks at a major ...

Veteran’s Day was created to honor both living and deceased veterans. Many of us know someone, or have someone in our family, who is a veteran or is currently serving in the military. Why do they serve, knowing there is the possibility of being placed in dangerous situations, living apart from family for months on end at times, sometimes even...

You didn’t intend for it to be this way. After last week’s ten for ten at Meijer, Monday seems like it is going to be the start of a new Chunky soup lunch diet. Chicken Corn Chowder never saw it coming. By Wednesday, the burrito bowl at Chipotle is calling your name. You are then left with a cupboard full of Campbell’s soup. ...

Peter was one of the first to drop his fishing nets to follow Jesus. He went on to be a central figure in the New Testament, both during Jesus’ ministry and later as the Gospel spread. The Gospel accounts of Jesus’ ministry portray Peter as the lead disciple, who often was the first to speak up in a group situation.
 
In many ...

Have you ever had someone you cared about in the hospital who was so sick you felt like you could not leave them; not to eat, go home, not even to take a shower and change clothes? Now imagine that the loved one is your child. This scenario plays out every day in hospitals around the country. The Ronald

McDonald House charities have recognized

Read through the book of Acts; you will find descriptions of what the church looked like in its earliest, purest form, as well as descriptions of groups that gathered together in each other’s homes and in public places. They shared food and made sure everyone had what they needed. They prayed for each other and worked out their faith together

Lipscomb University will be holding some events here in the Chicago area next weekend, and we would like to encourage your participation. These events are all free of charge, and only require registration on the Lipscomb Live website (located at www.lipscomblive.com).

The first event will be a FaithNext Seminar here at NCOC on Saturday

I spent a couple of days this past week in bed, alternating between shivering and sweating. I felt like my body was at war with itself. Come to find out, that is actually pretty accurate. To keep a long story short, the latest news in the saga of my health is that I have a few things going on that are readily treatable and should feel better soon. ...

My husband, Russ, and I are blessed to be new members here at Naperville Church of Christ! God has engineered the last year of our journey with Him to include a few “Dead End” and “Bridge Out” signs along the way. All to His glory, He used them to bring us here.

The dead end was my allergy to soy, as some inks are made ...

Every family collects something. We collect trash. Yes, trash. Not just ours either - we have friends and neighbors who give us their trash as well. We collect a number of items such as juice pouches, chip and candy wrappers, even cheese wrappers to name a few. Why, you ask? To help stop poverty. I send all the trash to teracycle; they reuse it to ...

When I was a child, I rarely prayed. I would say grace before eating, but that was mostly a guilt-driven act of church-kid tradition. Like many people, my prayer life followed the mantra, “When all else fails, pray.” All else would literally have to fail before I thought of praying. I didn’t really know why I should pray, didn&...

Answered prayers, where to begin? Well, in my household of three hyperactive daughters and one wife who loses her keys every other day, we are routinely huddled together asking the Lord to remind us where our keys, cell phones, earrings, you-name-it are located. So far, I have only replaced one set of keys. As much as I remind Monica of this, I ...