Jesus of Nazareth was full of surprises. His disciples often had trouble figuring him out, but Jesus had an agenda. Everything he did was for a reason. Take an incident early on in Samaria. Jesus …
The Gospel of John #2
From here, it’s hard to imagine what those first encounters with the mature Jesus were like—for those who saw him for the first time. I have no reason to imagine that Jesus was in any …
The Gospel of John #1
The apostle John presents us with the most astonishing theology. And he does it right off the bat, without preamble. To the early theologians of the Christian church, he also posed a dilemma. The church …
The Gospel of Mark #7
And he came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; …
American Prophets
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate …
Life and Light
There was a time when I thought the anti-abortion people were just a little too cute in calling themselves “pro-life”. I don’t think that any longer. I’ve come to the conclusion that it was precisely …
Everything Is Beautiful
I used to wonder at the decay of popular music in all of its forms. Why wasn’t anyone writing beautiful music? It seemed almost as though they had lost the ability. And then I read …
Expectations of Marriage
When on vacation, celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary, my wife and I happened to notice a magazine article entitled, Marriages that Last (Is Yours One?). That was irresistible under the circumstances. Our marriage seemed to …
Covenant Marriage
For the first time in our history, married couples are in a minority. Married couples now only comprise 48% of the households of this country. Back when I was a junior in high school, going …
Music from the Heart
View PostChurch Music: Blessing or Burden?
Maybe I shouldn’t be so critical of contemporary church music. After all, even Johann Sebastian Bach was reprimanded by his pastor for his “modern music”. Bach was criticized, not because his music was bad, but …
The Gospel of Mark #6
He said unto them, How many loaves have you? go and see. And when they knew, they said, Five, and two fishes. And he commanded them to make all sit down by groups upon the …
The Starting Point
Nancy Pearcey in her book, Total Truth, brought something into focus that I had thought about but hadn’t quite got together. She observed that a common weakness of evangelism is that we start with redemption. …
The Power to Love
A man can live without food…for a while. He can live on short rations for quite a while. But sooner or later the body withers and dies. We know what it looks like, because we …
Lost Children
I really hate to tell you this, but I think we did a better job of sex education back in the 1940s than you folks are doing today. Now, in case you are scratching your …
Love and Sex
Now, I have the greatest admiration for the teaching profession. It’s an honorable one. But there’s a lot of experimentation going on in schools led by educators who are long on idealism and short on …
The Gospel of Mark #5
And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, …
Doctrines, Creeds, and Dogmas
If you are a Christian, and a member of a church, your church probably has some set of beliefs that it expects all of its members to hold. That’s probably not as big a deal …
Prophets Old and New
There are times, reading the prophets in the Bible, that I feel like I am reading an op-ed piece on current events. The 83rd Psalm is uncanny when read in the light of today’s news. …
Church Music: Blessing or Burden?
Maybe I shouldn’t be so critical of contemporary church music. After all, even Johann Sebastian Bach was reprimanded by his pastor for his “modern music”. Bach was criticized, not because his music was bad, but …
Baptized with Fire
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall …
Passover at Home
View PostThe Body of Christ
The Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for …
An Anxious Faith
And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. Mark 9:24 Jennifer’s husband was going into the hospital on Monday for open heart surgery. …
Saving the World
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has …
The Day of Atonement
For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also …
Trumpets and the Resurrection
Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed; in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, …
Could Christ Return Tonight?
View PostThe Design
I have to see my eye doctor three times a year, and I am always left waiting in his examination room. The walls there are covered with pictures and diagrams of the human eye. I …
If Not Christmas, What?
Jesus was not born on December 25. On the evening of Jesus’ birth, there were shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. Shepherds, they tell us, would not have been …
Governing Sheep
What is the shape of a flock of sheep? This probably belongs on a list of the world’s most meaningless questions, for a flock of sheep has no shape. It is a collection of living …
Basic Christianity: The Opening Gambit
The Christian faith must seem downright confusing to an onlooker. Even the largest, seemingly the most monolithic Christian denominations are, in reality, composed of many factions. Unless you are an insider, you can remain unaware …
Why Do You Believe What You Believe?
Where did you get your beliefs? Can you remember your first ideas about God, or how old you were when you first became aware of the existence of God? Maybe you remember praying as a …
An Uneasy Thanksgiving
As I sit down to my Thanksgiving dinner this year, one of the things I am thankful for is that we still have Thanksgiving Day. And I find myself mildly surprised that we still do. …
Second and Third Tithes
View PostA Funeral Service for Anyone
When we are young, we are a little unsure about funerals. We don’t like to think about death and we are uncomfortable being around people who are grieving. We don’t know how to feel, and …
Is There Life After Divorce?
“Let none be faithless to the wife of his youth. For I hate divorce, says the Lord the God of Israel.” Divorce is painful. If you have been through a divorce, you need no one …
A Second Chance?
“There are two kinds of people in the world,” intoned the preacher, “the saved and the lost. There is no middle ground with God.” Now there is a sobering thought. If indeed there are only …
Why Did Abraham Tithe?
When God gave Abraham his great victory over the King of Elam, he was met on his return by an enigmatic figure, a priest, by the name of Melchizedek. What is of special interest about …
The Gospel of John #3
Jesus of Nazareth was full of surprises. His disciples often had trouble figuring him out, but Jesus had an agenda. Everything he did was for a reason. Take an incident early on in Samaria. Jesus …
The Gospel of John #2
From here, it’s hard to imagine what those first encounters with the mature Jesus were like—for those who saw him for the first time. I have no reason to imagine that Jesus was in any …
The Gospel of John #1
The apostle John presents us with the most astonishing theology. And he does it right off the bat, without preamble. To the early theologians of the Christian church, he also posed a dilemma. The church …
The Gospel of Mark #7
And he came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; …
American Prophets
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate …
Life and Light
There was a time when I thought the anti-abortion people were just a little too cute in calling themselves “pro-life”. I don’t think that any longer. I’ve come to the conclusion that it was precisely …
Everything Is Beautiful
I used to wonder at the decay of popular music in all of its forms. Why wasn’t anyone writing beautiful music? It seemed almost as though they had lost the ability. And then I read …
Expectations of Marriage
When on vacation, celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary, my wife and I happened to notice a magazine article entitled, Marriages that Last (Is Yours One?). That was irresistible under the circumstances. Our marriage seemed to …
Covenant Marriage
For the first time in our history, married couples are in a minority. Married couples now only comprise 48% of the households of this country. Back when I was a junior in high school, going …
Music from the Heart
View PostThe Gospel of Mark #6
He said unto them, How many loaves have you? go and see. And when they knew, they said, Five, and two fishes. And he commanded them to make all sit down by groups upon the …
The Starting Point
Nancy Pearcey in her book, Total Truth, brought something into focus that I had thought about but hadn’t quite got together. She observed that a common weakness of evangelism is that we start with redemption. …
The Power to Love
A man can live without food…for a while. He can live on short rations for quite a while. But sooner or later the body withers and dies. We know what it looks like, because we …
Lost Children
I really hate to tell you this, but I think we did a better job of sex education back in the 1940s than you folks are doing today. Now, in case you are scratching your …
Love and Sex
Now, I have the greatest admiration for the teaching profession. It’s an honorable one. But there’s a lot of experimentation going on in schools led by educators who are long on idealism and short on …
The Gospel of Mark #5
And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, …
Doctrines, Creeds, and Dogmas
If you are a Christian, and a member of a church, your church probably has some set of beliefs that it expects all of its members to hold. That’s probably not as big a deal …
Prophets Old and New
There are times, reading the prophets in the Bible, that I feel like I am reading an op-ed piece on current events. The 83rd Psalm is uncanny when read in the light of today’s news. …
Real Worship
The worship of God is not as easy as some might think. It is easy enough to pretend to worship. All the forms are well known: raised hands, bowed head, bent knees. The jargon of …
Recipes for the Days of Unleavened Bread
View Post2018 Women’s Conferences – Texas & Missouri
March 9th–11th in Parkville, MO. April 21st–22nd in Tyler, TX. More details inside.
CEM Press Release
View PostFeast of Tabernacles 2017
Live-streaming worship services from Kentucky, Oct 5–12.
Allie Dart – 1933–2017
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Allie B. Dart (née Driver), 83, of Tyler. Allie died peacefully on August 9th, 2017 at The Hospice of East Texas, HomePlace. She was …
Radio Updates – Dallas / Fort Worth
Beginning June 5th, the Born to Win radio program with Ronald L. Dart is back on the airwaves in the Dallas/Fort Worth area! Broadcasting from Garland, KAAM radio can be heard from Oklahoma to Austin …
Media Updates – October 2016
With a library of messages spanning several decades, and content both recent and vintage being added, it can be hard to keep up with what’s new on our website. Here is a list of content …
Feast of Tabernacles 2016
Our plans for the 2016 Feast of Tabernacles, October 17 through October 24, offer exciting options for everyone. CEM will be celebrating the Feast in two locations to make it more convenient for you to attend with us. We are once again providing a wonderful opportunity to worship and fellowship in East Texas at Timberline Camp and Conference Center as well as Land Between the Lakes, Kentucky, in partnership with CGI.
CEM Spring Holy Day Schedule
View PostRonald L. Dart – 1934–2016
Ronald L. Dart died peacefully in his sleep early this Sabbath morning, January 23rd, from a prolonged battle with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. His remarkable gift of clarity and love and understanding of the Bible were devoted to teaching others.
Christian Educational Ministries, founded by Ron Dart in 1995, will continue to promote his timeless insights into God’s Word through the Born to Win program, his books, essays and audio messages. He was a gifted speaker and teacher who leaves a legacy of knowledge and understanding of the precious Word of God.