I’ve thought some more on what Christ centered means, and wish I could say this to every preacher everywhere: Preach the gospel. Are you preaching on the Law being given to Moses? Great; just make sure to mention how Christ fulfills the Law and the Prophets, and perhaps include Paul’s statement that the Law is like a tutor to him. Teaching from Job? Be sure to include “I know my Redeemer lives,” before you’re finished. The story of how God deals with fallen man is the central thematic element that runs through the entire Bible. Continue reading
Tag Archives: God
God honoring, Christ centered
I don’t know how well that shows up on your screen in the banner. Is that just a slogan? Well, sort of. When creating a wordpress page, you’re asked to write a title, and then a brief description of what your blog is about. “God honoring, Christ centered” is there as much as anything to remind me what I’m doing here. What does it mean? Now that my friend is the right question. Continue reading
How is abortion not killing babies?
Kurt says:
Enough with this nonsense already!
The abortion “issue” is the biggest scam the GOP has ever come up with.
Think about it. If republican politicians and religious leaders truly thought we were killing babies, abortion would be stopped in an instant.
I’m a religious leader, and I think we’re killing babies. We have been doing so legally in the U.S. since the early 1970’s. Continue reading
Do you like church?
There are many books out right now about the dislike of church, why it has lost appeal, what should be done to reform worship, why men hate church, etc. etc. One blogger has generated some stir on this subject, and if you like/ dislike church attendence then you should weigh in. You’ll notice I have already. Check out Why I Don’t Blame You for Not Liking Chruch. Rich will appreciate it, and I think we all need to be aware of this problem if we plan to do anything about it. The president of the SBC predicts that 20% of Southern Baptist Churches will die in the next 20 years. (Thanks iMonk.) It’s time to recognize.
Lessons from the Prodigal Son
The Parable of the Prodigal Son. It’s an old favorite. Beginning with chapter 10 and going all the way through 20, Luke basically recalls one parable after another. There’s a lot of good stuff in there, but this story is perhaps the best known; and most frequently taught. There are still good lessons we can learn from it.
Let’s begin by looking at the father in this story. He’s not your typical Jewish father. When the younger son asks for his inheritance, he’s saying in essence that he is tired of waiting for the old man to die. It would have been an appropriate response to take the young man to the gates of the city and stone him to death. Continue reading
Looking for God?
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” Colossians 1:15-20 (ESV)
The image of the invisible God; I’ve always loved that verse. To put it simply, God cannot be seen. At least not by man. His glory is more than we can handle. He said so. That’s the beauty of Jesus: he is God. Continue reading
Pray Without Ceasing (part 4 of 4)
Pray without ceasing means that we are continually in a spirit of communion with our Heavenly Father. It means to pray frequently, about everything, until it becomes our nature to be in prayer, not something we have to be reminded of.
Jesus not only taught his disciples to pray, but we see in the gospels how important pray was in Jesus’ own life. On one occasion, we read that Jesus gets up early in the morning, while it is still night, and goes off by himself to pray. Another time, we find that Jesus has stayed up the entire night in prayer. Even Jesus, who was God incarnate, spent time alone with God in prayer. There is no way we can be so close to God that prayer isn’t necessary. The night before his arrest, Jesus prayed in agony until his sweat became as great drops of blood. Jesus was passionate about a lot of things, but he never did anything else until it nearly killed him the way he spent this evening in prayer. Continue reading
Word of God Speak (part 2 of 4)
“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
The Word of God, according to Psalm 119:105, lights our way through this dark world. It gives us direction, lights our way, and guides our steps. The Bible, God’s Word, provides us with instruction on how to live: how to treat the people we meet, how to find a godly spouse and raise a family, how to treat the people we work for and those that work for us, how to be honest in business, how to select church leaders, and a myriad of other tasks in life. More importantly, it is the story of how a holy God interacts with fallen people. That story is worth not only reading, but learning, studying and memorizing. The entire Bible is about we relate to God, and the intersecting point between fallen man and Holy Almighty God is Jesus. Coming to God through faith in Jesus Christ is the only hope we have, and the Bible is that story. Continue reading
Read the Bible and pray (part 1 of 4)
Weren’t we all told this as children? Perhaps as a new believer the pastor shook your hand and encouraged you to read the Bible every day. As basic as it sounds, as obvious as it seems to any believer, these two activities are the cornerstones of a close walk and fellowship with our Heavenly Father. But do we practice them?
This is an introduction to a series on reading the scriptures and praying. Continue reading
The Difference Jesus Makes in God
This is a follow-up to The Difference Jesus Makes, posted April 13th. That post was really about the difference Jesus makes in us.
What is God like to you? At the mention of God, all of us conjure up some image in the mind’s eye. Some imagine God to be like Zeus on Mount Olympus, tossing thunderbolts at the earth. Others have a misty, ethereal, floaty idea of a disembodied God on a cloud somewhere. Perhaps God is an old man, sitting like a grandfather in a rocking chair, just watching over everything. Deism is the concept that God is like a clockmaker, who put the universe in motion eons ago and is not actually involved in its working. Jesus is the incarnation of God, and should shape our view of who/what God is. Continue reading
The Master's Table 