Bulletin Digest is a curated weekly newsletter service offering a collection of the best church bulletin articles, poems, puzzles, and fillers you can reprint in your own church bulletin, or use for personal devotions. We maintain an archive of free and subscription-based resources on this site. Weekly newsletters contain at least five full length articles, a filler, a poem, a Bible quiz, and a selection of quotes.

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IN THIS ISSUE:

• Article: Stick with It!

• Article: Judging the Judgers

• Article: Testimony from Old Cities

• Article: Stay With the Word of God

• Article: Praise Him for Who He Is!

• Filler: Self-Control for an Eternal Prize

• Poem: Stronger Than the Storm

• Bible Quiz: Matthew 28:11-15

• Quotes and Sayings

• On the Lighter Side

ARTICLES

[406 words]

Stick with It!

“Footprints in the sands of time are never made by sitting down” (Ralph Waldo Emerson). Perseverance, endurance, and plain old stubborn tenacity are needed to hold on to our hope in the midst of difficulty. If our life’s work will leave behind footprints in the sands of tine, it will be because we have striven to go in a direction largely untraveled by the world.

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Bulletin Digest is a curated weekly newsletter service offering a collection of the best church bulletin articles, poems, puzzles, and fillers you can reprint in your own church bulletin, or use for …

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Bulletin Digest is a curated weekly newsletter service offering a collection of the best church bulletin articles, poems, puzzles, and fillers you can reprint in your own church bulletin, or use for personal devotions. We maintain an archive of free and subscription-based resources on this site. Weekly newsletters contain at least five full length articles, a filler, a poem, a Bible quiz, and a selection of quotes.

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IN THIS ISSUE:

• Article: Church of Christ ‘Most American’ Religious Movement, Historian Says

• Article: Dangerous “Nations” Among Us

• Article: Back-to-School Routine…For Everyone!

• Article: Moderate Pot Smoking?

• Article: Safe Passage

• Filler: Greater Is He

• Poem: A Quiet Place to Pray

• Bible Quiz: Matthew 27:62-66

• Quotes and Sayings

• On the Lighter Side

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Speaking on a podcast called Christian History Almanac, historian Dr. Dan van Voorhis said he considers the churches of Christ to be “the most American of religious movements.”

Dr. van Voorhis called the church of Christ “the group that most embodies the America spirit, more than any other…” He said the revolutionary language of the Founding Fathers of America was “all over the theology of the Stone-Campbell group,” noting that the rejection of the creeds and confessions of denominationalism was analogous to the patriots’ rejection of the overbearing rule by the King of England.

Isn’t it interesting that a scholar recognizes that a group of people can be determined to free themselves from the bonds of human tradition and become subservient only to the word of God? While neither the patriots nor the Restorationists were inspired men, they all came to the realization that freedom of self-determination was an inherent right of man, given by God.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all men and women would seek to be genuinely free in Christ? After all, Jesus warned us about “teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matt. 15:9). Doing so leads to vain worship, He said. It also puts us under the rule of men, instead of God.

Let us be determined to remain in the true freedom of Christ, and throw away the traditions that add to or take away from His word. The Bible is enough (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:3)!

Matt Clifton
BulletinDigest.com

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[285 words]

Being ready for school requires more than finding your backpack. It means preparing ahead, arriving on time, bringing materials, and entering the classroom ready to learn. Students who prepare are less distracted by forgotten assignments and better able to receive the instruction their teachers have planned. Scripture connects preparation with dependence on God: “Commit your works to Yahweh and your plans will be established” (Proverbs 16:3).

Our spiritual lives require greater readiness. Jesus said, “For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will” (Matthew 24:44). Christ’s return is unknown, so following Him cannot wait until life feels convenient.

How do we do this? Well, we prepare by trusting Jesus, reading God’s Word, praying, confessing sin, and obeying Scripture. These practices train our attention toward God and keep His priorities before us. The psalmist declared, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). God’s Word helps us recognize truth, resist temptation, and choose wisely in every new situation.

Paul instructed Timothy, “Be ready in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2). A prepared Christian is ready to speak truth, show kindness, encourage a classmate, and honor Christ wherever an opportunity appears.

Each school morning, a student should ask, “Is my mind ready to learn? Is my heart ready to serve?” We make sure to pack our books, set our alarms, and finish our work. But more importantly, we must prepare our souls. School readiness matters for today; spiritual readiness matters for eternity. Let each morning remind you to be ready to meet and serve the Lord faithfully.

Jake Schotter
Bolivar church of Christ
Bolivar, TN

Bulletin Digest is a curated weekly newsletter service offering a collection of the best church bulletin articles, poems, puzzles, and fillers you can reprint in your own church bulletin, or use for personal devotions. We maintain an archive of free and subscription-based resources on this site. Weekly newsletters contain at least five full length articles, a filler, a poem, a Bible quiz, and a selection of quotes.

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IN THIS ISSUE:

• Article: Are You Ready for School?

• Article: If You Sleep with Dogs, You’re Gonna Get Fleas

• Article: What Jesus Offers

• Article: Desired Destination Determines Direction

• Article: ‘Strait’ or ‘Straight’?

• Filler: Seeing the Father

• Poem: Come What May

• Bible Quiz: Matthew 27:57-61

• Quotes and Sayings

• On the Lighter Side

ARTICLES

[285 words]

Are You Ready for School?

Being ready for school requires more than finding your backpack. It means preparing ahead, arriving on time, bringing materials, and entering the classroom ready to learn. Students who prepare are less distracted by forgotten assignments and better able to receive the instruction their teachers have planned. Scripture connects preparation with dependence on God: “Commit your works to Yahweh and your plans will be established” (Proverbs 16:3).

Read more

Bulletin Digest is a curated weekly newsletter service offering a collection of the best church bulletin articles, poems, puzzles, and fillers you can reprint in your own church bulletin, or use for personal devotions. We maintain an archive of free and subscription-based resources on this site. Weekly newsletters contain at least five full length articles, a filler, a poem, a Bible quiz, and a selection of quotes.

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IN THIS ISSUE:

• Article: Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral

• Article: The Just Shall Live By Faith

• Article: Embracing The Shadow

• Article: Infallibility

• Article: My Way, or God’s Way

• Filler: A Thirst Only Christ Can Satisfy

• Poem: Spying Out the Truth

• Bible Quiz: Matthew 27:51-56

• Quotes and Sayings

• On the Lighter Side

ARTICLES

[355 words]

Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral

Sometimes at the beginning of the classic guessing game Twenty Questions is the query “Animal, vegetable, or mineral?”. After receiving the answer, the 20 “yes” or “no” questions would then be asked. Well, if I were to choose Jesus as the answer for you to guess, I would have to answer “yes” to the question: “Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral?” (Note: “vegetable includes all plants”). Of course, Jesus is these in the figurative sense. Let me explain what I mean.

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Bulletin Digest is a curated weekly newsletter service offering a collection of the best church bulletin articles, poems, puzzles, and fillers you can reprint in your own church bulletin, or use for personal devotions. We maintain an archive of free and subscription-based resources on this site. Weekly newsletters contain at least five full length articles, a filler, a poem, a Bible quiz, and a selection of quotes.

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IN THIS ISSUE:

• Article: Let God Send You

• Article: Better Than the Alternative

• Article: One God

• Article: Trusting in God

• Article: Five Things Members Need to Hear Regularly

• Filler: Making the Most of Summer

• Poem: A Lamp Along the Way

• Bible Quiz: Matthew 27:45-50

• Quotes and Sayings

• On the Lighter Side

Read more

Bulletin Digest is a curated weekly newsletter service offering a collection of the best church bulletin articles, poems, puzzles, and fillers you can reprint in your own church bulletin, or use for personal devotions. We maintain an archive of free and subscription-based resources on this site. Weekly newsletters contain at least five full length articles, a filler, a poem, a Bible quiz, and a selection of quotes.

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IN THIS ISSUE:

• Article: What is a Boy?

• Article: Love’s Labors

• Article: Lessons from a Wildfire

• Article: What Would Jesus Ask You To Give Up

• Article: Kill the Messenger!

• Filler: Finding Rest in the Shade

• Poem: Seeds of Grace

• Bible Quiz: Matthew 27:38-44

• Quotes and Sayings

• On the Lighter Side

ARTICLES

[234 words]

What is a Boy?

He is the person who is going to carry on what you have started. He is going to sit right where you are sitting and attend to those things you think are so important when you are gone. You may adopt all the policies you please, but how they will be carried on depends on him. Even if you make leagues and treaties, he will have to manage them. He is going to sit at your desk in the Senate and occupy your place on the Supreme Court bench. He will serve at the Lord’s Table in your place. He is going to move in and take over your prisons, churches, universities, and corporations. When you get done, all your work is going to be judged and praised or condemned by him. Your reputation and your fortune are in his hands. He will assume the control of your cities.

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[234 words]

He is the person who is going to carry on what you have started. He is going to sit right where you are sitting and attend to those things you think are so important when you are gone. You may adopt all the policies you please, but how they will be carried on depends on him. Even if you make leagues and treaties, he will have to manage them. He is going to sit at your desk in the Senate and occupy your place on the Supreme Court bench. He will serve at the Lord’s Table in your place. He is going to move in and take over your prisons, churches, universities, and corporations. When you get done, all your work is going to be judged and praised or condemned by him. Your reputation and your fortune are in his hands. He will assume the control of your cities.

Right now the future President of the United States is playing children’s games, and the most famous actor of his day is complaining because he does not want to go to bed. This very night the future man of God that may become the most famous evangelist in the world—one that might shake this continent for the Lord—may appear as a tousled-haired little boy asleep in his bed.

Handle him with care. The fate of the nation—of humanity—is in his hands.

“And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

[315 words]

“It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem.” Those were the words of King Jeroboam to the people of Israel (1 Kings 12:28). He knew God said to come to Jerusalem and worship Him at the temple. That didn’t stop him from changing what God commanded. He made it easy for people to “worship.” He told them they didn’t have to travel all the way to Jerusalem. Just go to Dan and Bethel. They’re much closer. But he didn’t stop there. He made golden calves and told the people they could worship them. Then he made men who were not of the tribe of Levi priests and ordered a festival of worship at a time the law of Moses didn’t authorize.

His main reason for making these changes was political. The motivation of the people was personal. This popular religion was convenient. It was new and different. It was creative. And, it was not “legalistic” and strict like the old way. Moreover, it worked. People flocked to engage in idolatry, and, even sadder, this trendy worship continued for several generations.

The sales pitch of old Jeroboam still works today. The biblical way is “too much” for many today. The masses are looking for a religion that is convenient, entertaining and tolerant. To this generation we ask: Is it too much to require that men lead as preachers, elders and deacons (1 Tim. 2:8-3:13)? Is it too much for you to listen to a sermon that reproves your heart instead of a nice little talk that tickles your ears (2 Tim. 4:2-4)? Many today are oblivious as to what worship is. We are to worship God. Worship is not for our convenience. It is not about pleasing us. But as long as people look for bread and fish instead of the Truth, the way of Jeroboam will live on.

Kerry Duke
West End church of Christ
Livingston, TN

Bulletin Digest is a curated weekly newsletter service offering a collection of the best church bulletin articles, poems, puzzles, and fillers you can reprint in your own church bulletin, or use for personal devotions. We maintain an archive of free and subscription-based resources on this site. Weekly newsletters contain at least five full length articles, a filler, a poem, a Bible quiz, and a selection of quotes.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Remember that subscribers can view this page on a desktop computer and cut and paste all articles! The web address is bulletindigest.substack.com. You can also view your account and view links to all materials on the Subscriber Central page. To mark articles as “used,” find the individual article and click the “heart” icon!

IN THIS ISSUE:

• Article: Too Much Religion?

• Article: Jealousy and the Christian

• Article: Do You Know Where You Placed Your Bible?

• Article: Throwing Stones

• Article: It Seems Right to Me

• Filler: Lessons from the Garden

• Poem: The Father’s Door

• Bible Quiz: Matthew 27:32-36

• Quotes and Sayings

• On the Lighter Side

ARTICLES

[315 words]

Too Much Religion?

“It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem.” Those were the words of King Jeroboam to the people of Israel (1 Kings 12:28). He knew God said to come to Jerusalem and worship Him at the temple. That didn’t stop him from changing what God commanded. He made it easy for people to “worship.” He told them they didn’t have to travel all the way to Jerusalem. Just go to Dan and Bethel. They’re much closer. But he didn’t stop there. He made golden calves and told the people they could worship them. Then he made men who were not of the tribe of Levi priests and ordered a festival of worship at a time the law of Moses didn’t authorize.

Read more

[287 words]

The name Pete Best might not initially jump out at you, but the phrase “The Fifth Beatle” might jog your memory. Best was the original drummer for The Beatles, and was fired on August 16, 1962, by the other members of the group shortly after signing their first recording contract.

Decades later, Best couldn’t stop pondering his fate. He once commented, “I still feel shocked. I’ll never know why it had to happen to me.” He claimed he was fired because of his popularity and good looks, but the band said it was because of personality clashes and dissatisfaction with his drumming skills. Whatever the case, his megastar near miss would haunt him for years.

Dealing with disappointment is tough. Things don’t always go as we would hope in life. Solomon once wrote, “I returned and saw under the sun that—The race is not to the swift, Nor the battle to the strong, Nor bread to the wise, Nor riches to men of understanding, Nor favor to men of skill; But time and chance happen to them all” (Ecc. 9:11).

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Disappointments will come to all! What matters most is how we deal with setbacks. Instead of wallowing in regret, Christians should always remember that “godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6). If we put God’s kingdom first and work toward righteous goals, we can always be assured that the Father recognizes our contributions (1 Cor. 15:58), even if the world doesn’t.

We can put disappointment and regrets behind us and “press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14). So trust God, press forward, and be thankful for His many blessings.

Matt Clifton
Judsonia church of Christ
Judsonia, AR

Bulletin Digest is a curated weekly newsletter service offering a collection of the best church bulletin articles, poems, puzzles, and fillers you can reprint in your own church bulletin, or use for personal devotions. We maintain an archive of free and subscription-based resources on this site. Weekly newsletters contain at least five full length articles, a filler, a poem, a Bible quiz, and a selection of quotes.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Remember that subscribers can view this page on a desktop computer and cut and paste all articles! The web address is bulletindigest.substack.com. You can also view your account and view links to all materials on the Subscriber Central page. To mark articles as “used,” find the individual article and click the “heart” icon!

IN THIS ISSUE:

• Article: Putting Regrets and Disappointments Behind Us

• Article: God’s Well Never Runs Dry

• Article: Shake It Off and Rejoice!

• Article: Love One Another

• Article: Declare God’s Glory

• Filler: Abounding in the Lord’s Work

• Poem: Grace Each Morning

• Bible Quiz: Matthew 27:27-31

• Quotes and Sayings

• On the Lighter Side

ARTICLES

[287 words]

Putting Regrets and Disappointments Behind Us

The name Pete Best might not initially jump out at you, but the phrase “The Fifth Beatle” might jog your memory. Best was the original drummer for The Beatles, and was fired on August 16, 1962, by the other members of the group shortly after signing their first recording contract.

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[255 words]

The story is told of a Native American princess who, when she came of age, was given a basket and told that she could pick the finest ears of corn from a certain row in the field. There was one stipulation, however: She had to choose as she went along, and she could not turn around and go back the way she came, nor pick ears that she had already passed up. As she went up the row, she admired the fine quality of the corn before her eyes, but she hesitated at each ear and left it alone, sure that the ears further up the row must surely be even better! Suddenly, to her great sadness, she came to the end of the row, and had not gathered a single ear.

Often people live their lives in this manner, traveling through life without gathering, always thinking that better things lie ahead. When the end of life comes, they look back and grieve over missed opportunities.

The apostle Paul tells Christians, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:15-16). To “redeem the time” means to make the most of every opportunity.

Are you making the most of your life? If not, start today! Don’t let the moments pass by unredeemed because you are hoping for a better one in the future. Live each moment for the Lord, and you will never look back wondering what happened to all the corn!

Matt Clifton
Judsonia church of Christ
Judsonia, AR

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[324 words]

Thomas Carlyle was a famous writer. His wife Jane died suddenly of a heart attack while he was away in Scotland delivering an inaugural address as Lord Rector of Edinburgh University. History says that Carlyle was so busy with his writing that some days he wouldn’t even take the time out to visit his wife. After her funeral, Carlyle returned to her bedroom and sat down next to her bed and began to read from her diary. He was startled as he read what she wrote. She said, “Yesterday, he spent an hour with me, and it was like being in heaven.” She wrote, “I love him so.” On the next page, she wrote, “I have listened all day to hear his steps in the hall. But now it is late, and I guess he won’t come today.” Carlyle read on for another half dozen pages or so. He then threw the book down and rushed back to the cemetery in the rain. His friends later found him in the cemetery, facedown in the mud of her grave. He was weeping and repeatedly saying, “If I had only known, if I had only known.” That day was the beginning of the saddest part of his life. In his own diary, there is a sentence that is said to be the saddest in English literature. It goes this way. “Oh, if I had you yet but for five minutes by my side that I might tell you all.”

Some things you’ve got to do now while you have the opportunity. Such as it is with our salvation, Saul of Tarsus was asked these words in Acts 22:16, “And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’”

Today is all you have; tomorrow may not come. When the opportunity presents itself, you’ve got to do it now because you may not get that opportunity again.

Mark T. Tonkery
Bates Hill church of Christ
Zanesville, OH

Bulletin Digest is a curated weekly newsletter service offering a collection of the best church bulletin articles, poems, puzzles, and fillers you can reprint in your own church bulletin, or use for personal devotions. We maintain an archive of free and subscription-based resources on this site. Weekly newsletters contain at least five full length articles, a filler, a poem, a Bible quiz, and a selection of quotes.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Remember that subscribers can view this page on a desktop computer and cut and paste all articles! The web address is bulletindigest.substack.com. You can also view your account and view links to all materials on the Subscriber Central page. To mark articles as “used,” find the individual article and click the “heart” icon!

IN THIS ISSUE:

• Article: Gather As You Go

• Article: Am I a Blessing?

• Article: Some Things You’ve Just Got to Do Now

• Article: Spiritual Footprints

• Article: Of the People

• Filler: Perfect Peace

• Poem: The Shepherd’s Voice

• Bible Quiz: Matthew 27:15-26

• Quotes and Sayings

• On the Lighter Side

ARTICLES

[255 words]

Gather As You Go

The story is told of a Native American princess who, when she came of age, was given a basket and told that she could pick the finest ears of corn from a certain row in the field. There was one stipulation, however: She had to choose as she went along, and she could not turn around and go back the way she came, nor pick ears that she had already passed up. As she went up the row, she admired the fine quality of the corn before her eyes, but she hesitated at each ear and left it alone, sure that the ears further up the row must surely be even better! Suddenly, to her great sadness, she came to the end of the row, and had not gathered a single ear.

Read more

Bulletin Digest is a curated weekly newsletter service offering a collection of the best church bulletin articles, poems, puzzles, and fillers you can reprint in your own church bulletin, or use for personal devotions. We maintain an archive of free and subscription-based resources on this site. Weekly newsletters contain at least five full length articles, a filler, a poem, a Bible quiz, and a selection of quotes.

LAST CHANCE! Add 3 Years for Only $75!

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Get all the resources you love and support Bulletin Digest in this work by adding three years to your subscription for only $75!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Remember that subscribers can view this page on a desktop computer and cut and paste all articles! The web address is bulletindigest.substack.com. You can also view your account and view links to all materials on the Subscriber Central page. To mark articles as “used,” find the individual article and click the “heart” icon!

IN THIS ISSUE:

• Article: Significant

• Article: The Answer Book

• Article: Pursuing God

• Article: A God Who Can Never Be Shaken

• Article: Uprightness

• Filler: The Shepherd’s Care

• Poem: Anchored Hope

• Bible Quiz: Matthew 27:11-14

• Quotes and Sayings

• On the Lighter Side

ARTICLES

[318 words]

Significant

Were you to visit Bethlehem today, you would say that it is small yet substantive. While it is only 4 square miles (the average U.S. city is 355 square miles), it is populated with approximately 30,000 people. This is a rather sizeable city for this area of the world. But it was not always this way. If you had never read your Old Testament, you might be surprised to find out that this now budding city was once an obscure and overlooked town.

Consider this Scripture: “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Isreal, whose coming forth is from

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