Paul W. Powell Legacy Library

Traditionally in the United States a quarter of all personal spending takes place during the Christmas shopping season. While many look with delight on this as an indication of a booming economy, there is another Christmas "tradition" that reflects our sagging morality: shoplifting generally rises about 5 to 10 percent during the holiday season. Retail authoritie...

I read somewhere of a story about a group of teenagers who broke into the department store one night. They didn’t steal or destroy anything. They just had a wonderful time switching price tags. The next morning customers were puzzled and delighted to find fur coats selling for $5. Lotion was priced at $100. A silver service set was marked at $1.75 and a pair of...

Someone has well said, “One trouble with the world today is that so many people who stand up vigorously for their rights fall down miserably on their duties.” In Christianity, as in citizenship, there are responsibilities as well as rights. There are duties as well as privileges. In Micah 6:8 the question is asked, “What doth the Lord require of thee...

The Bible has a great deal to say about money, and most of these teachings are in the form of warnings. The Lord realized that our interest in and weakness for material things would make it a constant danger to us. Nowhere in the Bible are the rich denounced merely for being rich. But repeatedly we are warned of the difficulty of being both rich and spiritual. In fac...

There are many people who see no need of going to church. They say, “I can be just as good a Christian by staying home, so why attend? This question deserves an answer and I have it.  First: We should go to church to worship God. This is by far is the most important reason for church attendance. We do not go to church just to hear a sermon or to see o...

The Bible assumes that God will be a part of every marriage. In most instances a man needs a wife for love and companionship. Ordinarily a wife needs a husband. But both of them need God. That’s why prayer is such an essential part of a good marriage. The apostle Peter recognizes this when he urges husbands and wives to live together in a harmonious relationshi...

In the old days sex was shrouded with three fears: the fear of conception, the fear of infection, and the fear of detection. Today those fears are largely gone. The pill and other contraceptives have greatly lessened the fear of conception. Antibiotics have greatly lessened the fear of infection, and the automobile has greatly lessened the fear of detection. With the...

One of the most serious problems facing our nation today is that of drug and alcohol use. Millions of Americans struggle with substance addictions. However the number of Americans who undergo treatment is not nearly as high as the number of those facing the problem.  There is confusion about drugs in most people’s minds. Therefore I want to share the reaso...

Is life worth living? Obviously many people don’t think so by the way they waste it. Some waste their life suddenly by suicide, while others waste their life by degrees through alcohol or narcotics. They feel that life has no aim, no purpose, no meaning. Life is worth living. It was created by God and, like all things he made, “It was good.” Million...