Category Archives: Love

In-Laws & Outlaws

Posted on July 25, 2025 by russellmckinney

And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read that he who made them at the beginning, made them male and female; And he said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Family, Fatherhood, Husbands, Love, Marriage, Motherhood, Parenting, Priorities, Wives | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What’s Your Love Language?

Posted on March 24, 2025 by russellmckinney

My mother attends Calvary Baptist Church in Winston Salem, NC. Dr. Gary Chapman served on staff there for many years, but he is best known as the author of “The Five Love Languages” series of books. The first of those … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Communication, Doing Good, Family, Fatherhood, Friendship, Husbands, Individuality, Love, Marriage, Motherhood, Parenting, Personal, Reconciliation, Service, Wives | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Profound Question

Posted on December 16, 2024 by russellmckinney

A missionary was once asked if he liked his work in Africa. His reply was as follows: Do I like this work? No. My wife and I do not like dirt. We have reasonably refined sensibilities. We do not like … Continue reading →

Posted in Adversity, Children, Choices, Church, Church Attendance, Commitment, Discipleship, Doing Good, Dying To Self, Faithfulness, Giving, God's Will, God's Work, Love, Mercy, Ministry, Perseverance, Problems, Prosperity, Sacrifice, Service, Stewardship, Suffering, Sunday School, Trials, Witnessing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Elderly Woman

Posted on December 11, 2024 by russellmckinney

My previous post was the first of a two-part series on the Bible’s description of the ideal elderly man and woman. This description is found in Titus 2:1-5, and with that first post I covered the passage’s description of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Adultery, Aging, Anger, Character, Children, Desires, Doing Good, Family, God's Word, Headship, Love, Marriage, Motherhood, Parenting, Priorities, Rebellion, Service, Sex, Sin, Submission, Teaching, The Tongue, Wives | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Thunder Balanced With Love

Posted on September 11, 2024 by russellmckinney

From everything we can surmise about Christ’s chosen 12 apostles, John was the youngest. He was the son of Zebedee and the younger brother of James, who was also one of the 12 (Matthew 4:21). By combining certain passages (Matthew … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Anger, Attitude, Balance, Character, Family, God's Love, Greed, Humility, Love, Ministry, Persecution, Preaching, Truth | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Life on the Island

Posted on November 17, 2023 by russellmckinney

In his book 1000 Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching, G. Curtis Jones tells a story from the life of Methodist pastor Roy L. Smith. As the story goes, Smith had a deep concern for an elderly couple who lived by themselves … Continue reading →

Posted in Adversity, Aging, Children, Christ's Death, Christ's Resurrection, Comfort, Family, Fatherhood, God's Love, God's Omniscience, Love, Marriage, Motherhood, Priorities, Problems, Trials, Trusting In God | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Does God Love You? Yes!

Posted on August 1, 2022 by russellmckinney

Consider a father holding his beautiful baby. Which person in the scene loves the other more? Obviously, the father loves the baby more than the baby loves the father. If the baby is stricken with pain one night, the father … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Fatherhood, God's Love, Grace, Love, Parenting | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

What Love for Jesus Looks Like

Posted on May 11, 2022 by russellmckinney

Harry Winston, the famous New York diamond dealer, once heard about a wealthy Dutch merchant who was looking for a certain kind of diamond to add to his collection. Winston called the merchant, told him he thought he had just … Continue reading →

Posted in Addiction, Alcohol, Backsliding, Choices, Commitment, Confession, Discipleship, Disobedience, Doing Good, Dress and Appearance, Drugs, Dying To Self, Faithfulness, Gambling, Gluttony, God's Holiness, God's Will, Holiness, Love, Obedience, Personal Holiness, Priorities, Rebellion, Repentance, Sanctification, Separation, Sin, Temptation | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Christmas Version of 1 Corinthians chapter 13

Posted on December 23, 2020 by russellmckinney

1 Corinthians chapter 13 is often called the great “love chapter.” With this is mind, someone has written a Christmas version of it. Somewhere down through the years I picked up a copy and stuck it in my file folder … Continue reading →

Posted in Christmas, Christmas Traditions, Love | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

How To Treat Your Enemy

Posted on May 30, 2020 by russellmckinney

The political climate in America these days is decidedly not good. Leading Republicans and Democrats can barely be civil toward one another, let alone work together for the common good of the country. Are there major ideological differences between the … Continue reading →

Posted in Anger, Character, Discipleship, Doing Good, Forgiveness, God's Work, Government, Love, Ministry, Persecution, Politics, Revenge, Service, Witnessing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments