Pornography in the Church
Pornography isn't just something unpleasant going on in the world; it's right at the heart of our churches. -Martin Saunders _________________ Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. -Genesis 2:24 Sexuality is one of the best and most powerful things God ever gifted humans. He created it to glorify his name and to illustrate how human life was to be lived—a beautiful expression of love and intimacy, male and
Sin: Discontinued
Sin is outdated, unloving, and irrelevant. Sin is what puritanical preachers use to control their lemming congregations. We no longer “sin” because there are no moral absolutes. We have preferences and need to be tolerant of each other’s choices. But here’s the challenge—For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). If we need God’s help and rescue from impossible situations, we must face our chief problem—sin. Sin is anything against God’s commands. Isn’t it interesting that God’s
The Power of Personal Testimony
So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” -Acts 4:18-20 A very effective way to share the Good News is to tell people what God has done for us in casual conversation.
Holy Week – Day 7: New Life
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. -Galatians 2:20 How are we supposed to view our present life of faith? This passage tells us to look at our present lives as servants of the Lord Jesus. Just as Jesus was crucified, dead, and buried, and then raised to new life,
Resentment and Blame
I love this anecdote about Oscar Wilde at a dinner party. Here’s how Interesting Literature tells it: At a dinner party, Arthur Conan Doyle and Oscar Wilde were discussing the truth about resentment and envy, how a friend’s success often makes one unhappy, Wilde entertained the party to a story. “The devil,” said Wilde, “was once crossing the Libyan Desert, and he came upon a spot where a number of small fiends were tormenting a holy hermit. The sainted man easily shook off their evil suggestions. The
Just the Right Time
By Mike Page Have you had several things come together simultaneously so that without one, the other couldn't have happened or couldn't have been as successful? Science is good at this. Take a look at how Watson and Crick arrived at the final structure of DNA. In 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick published an article entitled "Molecular Structure of DNA." It was the very first time the classic double helix structure of DNA had been published. But you don't come up with
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 92 – Renewing Our Strength
by TJ Bates via Theology Mix Do you know? Have you not heard? the Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 91 – Yet…
by TJ Bates We have heard with our ears, O God; our fathers have told us what you did in their days, in days long ago. With your hand you drove out the nations and planted our fathers; you crushed the peoples and made our fathers flourish. It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved
Finish the Race
However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace. -Acts 20:24 One of the marks of the apostle Paul’s life was that he knew exactly what his purpose was. The Good News of the Gospel utterly controlled him. He believed it, loved it, preached it, and defended it often at the risk of his
A Christian Life: Don’t Take It for Granted!
I hope you spent a wonderful Christmas day celebrating the joyful event of Jesus’ birth. Because of his birth, regardless of whatever situation we are currently facing, we can take Jesus’ promise to heart, “with God all things are possible.” On Christmas Eve, I turned on the faucet and was greeted with tepid water. This began a series of unfortunate events and made for spells of tremendous surprised yells and outbursts of laughter from my family. The water progressed from tepid
