Tag: the church
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Christ Alone, Not Only Christ
Salvation is in Christ alone. There is no arguing that fact, and why would you want to. Each one who is in Christ is saved by grace alone through faith alone. Our natures are set against God from birth. We are in darkness. We must each be born again to even see the kingdom of…
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Juneteenth and the Gospel
The news of Republican, or National Union, Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation reached Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865 “the year of our Lord” and has been annually celebrated since. Juneteenth stands as a beacon to equality and freedom in the United States and has recently been designated a federal holiday. Juneteenth is inherently conservative, Christian,…
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The Two Required Witnesses in Revelation
In the second interlude of his second vision, John has been asked to eat a little book—a testament of God. What was hidden in previous times, the full revelation of God, is being revealed, and John has been asked to prophesy concerning many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings (10:11). Revelation 11:1-14 Then there was given…
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The Lady Named Church
Who, what, when, where, and how? Those are the questions I want to ask concerning the identity and purpose of the church. Paul wrote 1 Corinthians in 53-54 AD. Paul, Aquila, and Priscilla planted the church at Corinth in the home of a man named Titius Justus (cf. Acts 18:1-11) in 50 or 51 AD.…
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When ‘Religious’ people place unnecessary burdens on others…
I have, in my Christian life, wondered how someone can claim to love Jesus but continue to dishonor Him. How can a person claim to love Christ and, yet, not be a committed member of a healthy local church body- the very body of Christ? I have wondered why there are so many preachers and…
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Don’t Cuss. Don’t Drink. Don’t have sex. But please, steal this book.
“Don’t cuss. Don’t drink. Don’t have sex before marriage.” That is the message we were pounded with on a weekly basis. “We will give you cool stuff if you come.” That is what we were won with and to. We poured down the isles at summer camp, responding to some version of the Gospel, though…
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Church(ish)- New Book Now Available!
The story is too familiar. You visit a church and everyone is nice, but no one seems to truly care. The people wear masks of righteousness only to, after you have committed yourself, remove those masks to reveal the face of a horrid witch-like creature. Or, perhaps, a different mask is worn: a mask…
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The lukewarm Christian may not be what you think…
Throughout the day, I drink quite a bit of coffee. It is because of me that we had to move away from k-cups in the office. We bought those little single-cup filters that fit into a Keurig. Sometimes my coffee sits in one place too long and I am not pleased when I take a…
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Contemplating the Local Church
I’ve been thinking lately upon the existence of the local church. Specifically within Southern Baptist polity, the local church has autonomy and can, for the most part, conduct ministry as it sees fit within its community. This seems to do wonders, especially when it comes to reaching out to audiences who are engulfed in…