Leading the Church
One of the foundational qualities of the Bible is its clarity (sometimes called perspicuity). That means Scripture's main teachings are plain enough to be understood without the need of special expertise or church-sanctioned interpretations.
"Evil!" When this word is proclaimed, images come to mind of Hitler, Mussolini, Saddam Hussein, a sadistic serial killer, or the mother who murders her own children. Perhaps Rwanda, Bosnia, the Killing Fields, concentration camps, gang violence, rape, heinous abuse, and murder are all images of evil. There is little dispute that such actions are evil; but, have you considered that evil can also be anything that goes against God? We may not think of ourselves as evil; perhaps sinners, moreover...
What is sin and what does it do? We live in a world corrupted by sin, so everything is degraded from what it was meant to do. Man, the land, animals, plants, the air, everything is touched. Thus, the consequences of that fallen nature impact everything.
This is a template to understanding the basics of prayer from what Jesus taught
Where did Satan come from? What does Satan do? What is Satan's position? What can Satan do to me? What is your response?
Be saved and then repent! "Repent and be saved!" This is a phrase we hear so often, but, have you considered its origins? Is this in the Bible? Surprise…NO, it is not! We may say it with genuine good intentions as both ends of this phrase are very Biblical and essential. We need to repent, and we need to be saved. But, this phrase is actually backwards! It should read, "Be saved and then repent!"
Understanding and Implementing Communion. Communion means we are to Celebrate the Lord's Supper/Communion. This was instituted by Jesus on the night before His Crucifixion. He told the Disciples that the cup of wine...
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. We are called to learn and develop faith because faith is essential and of the utmost importance for every aspect of the Christian life. Without faith, we can do nothing! As Christians, especially those who are responsible for the education and care of others, we are called to build our spiritual formation from...
Shortly after the Reformation began, in the first few years after Martin Luther posted the Ninety-Five Theses on the church door at Wittenburg, he issued some short booklets on a variety of subjects. One of the most provocative was titled The Babylonian Captivity of the Church. In this book Luther was looking back to that period of Old Testament history when Jerusalem was destroyed by the invading armies of Babylon and the elite of the people were carried off into captivity.
What is predestination? The key words of chosen, elect, foreknew, and predestined have been topics of hot debate amongst many Christian groups over the centuries. The principle theme is agreed upon, that God does choose us and makes us holy-to which our eternal destination is preordained.
