Point of Reference

Issue 308 of Point of Reference opens with two poems by guest contributors — Ruth Clock's soaring cover poem on creation and new birth, and Lorene Clopp's tender "The Secret Place," a meditation on abiding under the shelter of God's wings. Pastor Jack Bannister's main teaching, "God's Emotions and Ours," opens with Scripture's clear testimony that God has a soul and feels — He was grieved, vexed, wearied, and delighted — and works through the implications for us: how the Fall distorted our emotions, how sanctification heals spirit, soul, and body in three relays of revelation, information, and transformation, and what it means to be God's spiritual symphony. Michael R. Honeycutt then offers a careful word study on Isaiah chapter fifty-three, verse five — unpacking wounds, bruises, and chastisement beyond their surface meaning to reveal "nothing missing and nothing broken." The episode closes with Bobbie J. Lawson's quiet, warm memoir of a one-dollar Bible purchased after a house fire, read by lamplight on a homestead journey to New Mexico.

Issue 307 of Point of Reference opens with Pastor Jack Bannister's creation poem — "When God made man, He spoke to Himself" — and his poem "Loaves and Fish," setting the stage for the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. Lois Bannister teaches the main study, "Perfect Provision — Nothing Lost," drawing from all four Gospel accounts to show that Jesus wasted nothing — not a crumb, not a life, not a broken dream. She traces God's gathering work through Elijah's despair, David's fugitive years, Job's ash heap, the Samaritan woman's five failed marriages, and the woman with the issue of blood — showing that He who knew what He would do is still gathering up every fragment. The episode closes with six reflective aphorisms, the moving poem "Why Us?" by Grace L. Ferris, and Pastor Jack's joyful A-to-Z meditation on what Jesus is to us — from Atonement to Zenith.

Issue 306 of Point of Reference opens with a bold declaration of Christ's supremacy — greater than any ruler, mightier than any warrior — and Pastor Jack Bannister's hymn-like poem "Jesus Is My Friend." The main teaching, "Crossing the Rubicon," draws on Julius Caesar's irrevocable decision to cross the Rubicon river in 49 B.C. as a mirror for the believer's call to total commitment — pressing past Israel's wilderness complaints, the Church's comfort-zone Christianity, and everything behind us to reach the high calling of God in Christ. A second article, "Learning Loving Leadership," speaks directly to pastors and congregations about servant leadership, unity, and Spirit-filled cooperation. The episode closes with "The Power of Prayer" — a stirring litany of Moses, Joshua, Hannah, Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, and the three Hebrews, each a monument to what God does when His people pray.

Issue 305 of Point of Reference opens with a poem by Beula Clark on the nearness of Christ's return, and Pastor Jack Bannister's poem "God of Glory — God of Grass," a warm reminder that God's fingerprints are on every living thing, from the grass to you. The main teaching, "Job's Three Friends," profiles Eliphaz (the voice of religious experience), Bildad (the voice of religious tradition who confused God's love), and Zophar (the voice of religious learning who departed early) — before turning to Job himself as God's friend, sustained by the cry "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." The episode closes with the soaring "Beyond" meditation on how God takes us past every limit into His Shekinah presence, and seven closing aphorisms on love, faith, and the life of the overcomer.

ssue 304 of Point of Reference continues the Job series with a rich theological study on what Job's children represent as a principle of fruit-bearing. Pastor Jack Bannister opens with his poem "God's Family" — a meditation on redemption and the new creation — then unfolds three movements: The Principle (fruit-bearing is cut back so it can be raised to a higher level, as with Moses, Joseph, and Paul), The Power (death and resurrection as the pattern of the overcomer), and The Perfection (the meaning of Job's three new daughters — Jemima, Kezia, and Kerenhappuch — as types of the Holy Spirit's work in spirit, soul, and body). A brief reflection on "Time and God" and a closing list of life's most essential things round out the episode, which closes on First Thessalonians chapter five, verse twenty-three.

Issue 302 of Point of Reference opens with two poems by Pastor Jack Bannister — "Attitude of Job's Friends," a wry look at the comforters who got it wrong, and "Hidden Ministries," a meditation on Christ's silent years in Nazareth and Paul's Spirit-redirected journey to Macedonia. The main teaching, "The Man Job," is a detailed character study drawn from the whole book of Job: God's proud testimony of His servant, the rapid-fire calamities Satan unleashed, and Job's fourfold character of integrity, humility, patience, and prayerfulness that carried him through. The episode closes with four brief reflections on endurance, including the memorable line — the diamond cannot be polished without friction, nor a person without trials.

Issue 301 of Point of Reference is entirely devoted to the theme of love — its origin in God, its expression through Christ, and its call upon every believer. Pastor Jack Bannister opens with the anonymous poem "Love's Ministry" and his own poem "Song of the Bridegroom," then teaches through "Living Love" — a rich exploration anchored in John chapter three, verse sixteen, tracing love from its hiddenness in the eternal heart of God, through the covenant of David and Jonathan, to the startling truth that divine love does not yield to feelings but presses forward to the cross. The episode closes with two extended meditations: "Perfect Love," a paired set of contrasts on love's character, and "What Love Is" — a sweeping declaration of more than fifty attributes of love drawn from First Corinthians, Song of Solomon, and throughout Scripture.

This landmark three-hundredth issue of Point of Reference opens with Pastor Jack Bannister's bold declaration "God Can Do" and his poem "The God of Love," before Lois Bannister teaches the main study on God's Superlative Grace — a rich Greek word study on huper and huperballo drawn through Romans, Ephesians, and Second Corinthians, defining grace as unearned, unmerited divine favor that not only forgives sin but removes the desire for it. The "Why Go to Church?" story provides a memorable pastoral illustration, and the episode closes with a sweeping survey of sixty-plus biblical miracles across four categories: deliverance, provision, judgment, healing, and raising the dead — under the title "Our God of Signs and Wonders."

In this issue of Point of Reference, Pastor Jack Bannister opens with a quick-fire survey of seven Pauline churches and what each needed to hear, followed by Grace L. Ferris's moving poem "The Refining" — setting a tone of suffering, gold, and divine completion. The main teaching, "The Day God Became Vulnerable," draws from Isaiah fifty-three and Mark fifteen to explore the full weight of Calvary: what it cost the Father, what it meant for the Son, where the devil fled, and how the Shekinah glory thundered the resurrection into reality. A second study, "A Documentary Concerning Bethlehem," walks through seven-fold patterns in Luke chapters one and two — seven shalls of the angel, seven reasons for the Incarnation, seven things about Bethlehem, the shepherds, Simeon, and Anna — revealing the intricate divine architecture behind the birth of Jesus. The episode closes with three brief pastoral wisdom sayings and a benediction.

In this issue of Point of Reference, Pastor Jack Bannister opens with his own identity poem "What I Am" — a quiet, firm declaration that he is simply a follower and lover of Jesus, nothing more and nothing less. A poem by Beula Clark, "Thoughts on Psalm Twenty-Three," sets the devotional tone before Pastor Bannister walks verse by verse through the twenty-third Psalm in the main teaching "Paths of the Shepherd." He unpacks what a true shepherd does — tending, feeding, leading, cherishing, guiding, and protecting — and draws out the rich spiritual meaning of green pastures, still waters, the valley of the shadow, the table in the presence of enemies, the anointing oil, and the overflowing cup. The episode closes with a luminous paraphrase of Psalm Twenty-Three written by Phyllis Nesbitt, bringing the whole study to a deeply personal and worshipful close.

In this issue of Point of Reference, Pastor Jack Bannister opens with two original poems — "Freedom Facts I and II" — celebrating the liberty every believer has through Christ's sacrifice. The main teaching, "Violent Faith," draws from Matthew chapter eleven to define a pressing, uncompromising, seizing kind of faith that refuses defeat and lays hold of God's truth no matter the opposition. Pastor Bannister walks through nineteen distinct points on why the Apostle Paul stands alone as the revelatory voice for the Church age — from claiming the Gospel as his own, to explaining the cross, ranks in the resurrection, the oneness of the body, and the heavenly position of the believer in Christ. This is a thorough, convicting, and exhilarating study for any believer ready to stop quibbling and start going for it in the things of God.

In this issue of Point of Reference, Pastor Jack Bannister opens with a bold declaration over Jehovah Rapha and a moving poem — "Paul's the Prisoner" — setting up a central paradox: the man most bound was the man most free. The main teaching unpacks seven dimensions of what it means to be a doulos — a love slave — of Jesus Christ, drawn from Romans chapter one and woven through Philippians, Colossians, First and Second Corinthians, and Matthew. From the example of servitude modeled by Christ, to the fellowship of an Epaphras praying with foam-covered fervor, to the liberty found only in willing surrender — Pastor Bannister shows that the love-slave of Jesus is the only truly free person in the world. The episode closes with two brief meditations on Ever Learning and Resurrection Life, ending in a worship declaration over the loveliness of the Godhead.

This issue of Point of Reference is taught primarily by Lois Bannister, who walks through the full life of the prophet Elijah as a study in faith under pressure — from his bold confrontation with Ahab, to the ravens at Cherith, to the widow at Zarephath, to the fire on Carmel, to his weary collapse in a cave on Mount Horeb. The teaching draws out the consistent pattern: God meets His servants in their exhaustion, speaks not in the wind or earthquake or fire, but in a still, small voice — and commissions them onward. Beula Clark's poem "The Still Small Voice" opens the study, and Pastor Jack Bannister contributes "Cave of the Wind," a poem written as God's own word to the hiding prophet. The episode also includes four types of listeners, pastoral wisdom sayings, and a Q&A on the difference between spirit, soul, and body drawn from Hebrews chapter four.

In this landmark one-hundredth issue from recent years, Pastor Jack Bannister opens with a majestic declaration — "Jesus is greater than any ruler, mightier than any warrior" — and his own poem "Jesus Is My Friend," setting a tone of total devotion before the main teaching begins. Drawing from Philippians chapter three, Pastor Bannister uses Julius Caesar's irreversible crossing of the Rubicon river in forty-nine B.C. to illustrate the kind of irrevocable, all-in commitment God calls every believer to make. He traces Paul's progression from initial fellowship with Christ to a personal holy calling to a total life-consuming high calling — and challenges every listener to stop dabbling and make their emphatic, eternal yes to God. The contrast between Israel's wilderness complainers and the committed overcomer pressing toward the prize is searingly honest, and the episode closes with a full-throated call to push the battle to the gates.

In this issue of Point of Reference, Pastor Jack Bannister takes us deep into Second Timothy chapter one, introducing us to a largely overlooked figure named Onesiphorus — a man who traveled from Ephesus to Rome at great personal risk simply to refresh the imprisoned apostle Paul. Through this study, Pastor Bannister draws on his own experience of abandonment by fellow ministers and reveals how his wife Lois became his personal Onesiphorus — a faithful rope holder who refused to let him run from his calling. The issue also includes a rich word study on the Greek "exodos," tracing its three New Testament appearances through Peter, Hebrews, and Luke to reveal the full, triumphant scope of Christ's resurrection. Two original poems — "Silent Gethsemane" and "To My Friend Lois" — frame this deeply personal and pastoral episode. A reminder that the hidden, faithful ones who hold the rope behind the scenes are among the most precious people in any ministry.