Josh Mannings' Messages
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Minister's Messages
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July 27, 2025
The Door and Good Shepherd
In the first six verses of John 10, Jesus uses the sheep and the sheepfold to illustrate His protection and care for His disciples. A sheepfold was an enclosure with one opening. To make His point about His own role, Jesus says that a shepherd does not have to sneak into the fold, but he comes in through the door. The sheep are not afraid of the shepherd because they know his voice, and he calls them by name. Yet, the sheep are afraid of a stranger and will not follow him because they do not know his voice.
The disciples understood that many flocks of sheep would converge on a town in the evening and gather at a central location. One man would be hired to watch those flocks through the night. This man would station himself by the door to protect the sheep. The next morning, the shepherds would arrive and the hired keeper (porter) would open the door for the various shepherds. A shepherd would then call his sheep with a special sound that only his sheep would recognize. From among those flocks, one by one the shepherd’s own sheep would walk through the door and gather round him. This happened again and again as each shepherd came and called for his sheep. Even though the events discussed in this illustration were common knowledge, the disciples did not understand the relevancy for what Jesus was teaching. So, Jesus explained it to them in verses seven through fifteen.
Verses 7-10 show that Jesus is the only legitimate way into the sheepfold. He declares, “I am the door” (vv. 7, 9). As the door, Jesus is explaining that He is the only way to protection, provisions, and abundant life (vv. 9-10). Anyone else who tried to come in was a thief and a robber and the sheep did not hear them (v. 8). The thieves are not concerned with protecting or providing for the sheep. They did not want to make life better for the sheep. They only wanted to “steal and kill and destroy.” In verses 11-15 Jesus explains that He is “the good Shepherd.” The good Shepherd is distinguished from the hired hand because He cares for His sheep. No matter what dangers may befall, He will protect His sheep. He is so intent on protection that He will lay down His life for His sheep (vv. 11, 15).
This world is full of thieves and robbers and wolves wanting to snatch the sheep from the Shepherd’s care. But if we will realize no one is more concerned for our well-being than Jesus, no one else protects and provides like Jesus, and if we will realize Jesus is the only way to the abundant life (cf. John 14:6), we will hear His voice and follow Him.
—Mike Rogers
July 20, 2025
A Common Love
The Theme for the Covington church of Christ for 2025 is A Common Love. This theme was developed by the leadership (elders and deacons) in a meeting near the end of 2024. In the English language there is only one word for love. I am told that the ancient Hebrew language also had only one word for love. Just like in English, all different expressions of love had to be captured in that single term. The Greek language, however, is much more expressive with eight words that express different kinds and measures of love. We will show three of these words as they appear in the New Testament.
Storge was probably used more often to express love in ancient Greek literature. It was frequently used to refer to the love between a mother and a child. This word is not used in the Bible in its original form but the compound, astorgos is used in Romans 1:31 and translates “unloving” (NASB). The compound philostorgos is also used in Romans 12:10 and translates “brotherly love” (NASB).
Another word was philia. This word commonly expressed the strong confidence, acceptance and consideration friends have for one another. It usually expresses friendship or fondness. This word is used in James 4:4 referring to “friendship with the world.” This word appears a number of times in compound form such as Revelation 3:7 referring to the church at Philadelphia as the “open door” church. Peter uses the verb form in response to Jesus’ question, “Do you love me” (John 21:16-17)? Philia, in the verb form, is used twice to refer to God’s love. First in John 5:20 referring to God’s love for Jesus; and second, in John 16:27 when Jesus says to the disciples, “the Father loves you.”
The fourth word is agape. Interestingly, this word is especially infrequent in ancient Greek literature. However, this is the word most often used in the New Testament. It is the word commonly used to refer to God’s love. It is sacrificial. It is always thinking of others before yourself (see Phil. 2:1-4). Most Greek scholars do not make a significant distinction between agape and philia. Both suggest sacrifice. Therefore, we will not force a distinction. Both words are used in the love that God calls us to have for Him and for one another.
Further, the word “common” is from a Greek word that means shared: “they had all things in common” (Acts 2:44; 4:32). While this same word may not be used in connection with love, the idea is motivated by a similar and prevailing attitude of love for one another. So, when we are called to a common love, we are called to have a prevailing selfless and sacrificial love for one another. How is your love?
—Mike Rogers
July 13, 2025
When Saying I'm Sorry Really Matters
Text: Psalm 51
The superscription presents this Psalm as written after David’s sin with Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11-12): One evening, King David got out of bed and walked to the roof. Gazing out over the city, he saw a beautiful woman bathing. He inquired about her and learned that she was Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite; and that he was away at war. David sent for her to come to his bedroom. He later learned she was going to have his baby. In an attempt to cover his sin, David had Uriah brought in from the battlefield to report on the war. After the conversation, David suggested that Uriah go home and spend the night with his wife. Uriah did not but rather slept on the King’s porch because going home to his wife during a time of war would have been an act of disloyalty to his fellow soldiers. Since Uriah couldn’t be persuaded to compromise, David sent him back to battle with a letter to deliver to the commanding officer. Uriah didn’t know it, but he was delivering his own death warrant. The letter instructed to put Uriah on the front lines and withdraw the other troops so Uriah would be sure to die. Uriah was killed and David married Bathsheba.
No one in Israel knew the story behind the story, but the Bible says, “The thing David had done was evil in the sight of the Lord” (2 Samuel 11:27). The Lord sent a prophet named Nathan to confront David with his sin. He told of two men one was rich and the other poor. The rich man had guests, and he took the poor man’s lamb to feed his guests. David was outraged and declared that the man who did this thing should die. Nathan responded, David “you are the man” (2 Sam 12:7). David cried to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Sam. 12:13a). Because of this sin David was punished by God. The ultimate punishment would be that the child born to David and Bathsheba would become sick and die. It is likely that it is during this time of the child’s sickness and David’s remorse that he prayed what he later wrote and is recorded as the 51st Psalm.
David presents three things necessary to be truly sorry when we sin. First, one must admit his sin (vv. 1-3). Second, one must admit he has hurt God with his sin (v. 4). Third, we must know who to turn to when we sin (vv. 6-17).
Considering David and these three points, saying “I’m sorry” only matters when we admit our sin, when we accept that God is hurt more than anyone by our sin, and when we turn to God for forgiveness. Words are worthless without a “broken and contrite heart” (cf. Ps. 51:17; 1 John 3:18
—Mike Rogers
July 6, 2025
Free from Law
Romans 7:1-6
Paul writes in Romans 7:1-6 regarding the Christian’s freedom from law. Paul is specifically referring to the Mosaic Law, and his analogy of marriage is not to show a death of law, but the death of one bound to law. The emphasis of Paul’s marriage analogy is that “death puts an end to obligations to the Law of Moses.” This analogy joins chapter 6 and man’s death to sin, with man’s death to law (7:4-6).“Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, that you might be joined to another, to him who was raised from the dead, that we might bear fruit for God” (v. 4, emphasis added). One can notice that Paul’s vocabulary carries on the idea of the marriage analogy. “Be joined” (NASB), “belong” (ESV), be married” (KJV) refers to “the saints as wedded to Christ as their husband” (Epistles, 367). “Might bear fruit” suggests that just as one expects a marriage to bear children, one expects the union with Christ to produce righteousness. In 6:22, the fruit of the new union in Christ is righteousness. The old life in sin produced things for which one is “ashamed” (6:21), and fruits which lead to death (7:5). Verses 4-6 puts Paul’s argument, which he began to delineate in 6:1, into a present perspective. He concludes in verse 6 saying, “But now we have been released from the law having died to that in which we were held, so that we are to serve in newness of spirit and not oldness of letter” (7:6, emphasis added). The “we” refers to the same audience that is introduced in 5:1. It is those who have been “justified by faith,” Christians. “Now,” after being justified by faith (5:1), dying to sin (6:7), and dying to law (7:4), they were released from the flesh and the law (7:5), and can now serve God without anxiety or fear. They no longer serve out of obligation, but from an earnest desire to be right with God. So why do we serve God? Not because the law is our master and we have to, but because Christ is our husband and we want to. We are in submission to Him. Not because our obedience produces faith, but because our faith produces obedience. Therefore, in Chapter 7:1-6 Paul, with an analogy from marriage shows that one must “die to the Law through the body of Christ” (7:4b) in order to accept the grace of God and assume the title of slave of righteousness (6:15-18). Paul uses the familiar law concerning marriage to illustrate the point he made in chapter 6—when one dies to sin, he is free from sin. He is no longer a slave to sin but a slave to righteousness. He is no longer under the law that revealed sin, but he is under grace that brings justification (7:1-6).—Mike Rogers