Articles (Page 27)
BABY SPRINKLING
Went to a friendly mainline church this morning (ours meets in the afternoon), where I witnessed a baby sprinkling. The minister announced that in this experience the baby received the Spirit and was reborn. The child was then displayed as the newest member of the church. Whatever the rationale for this practice, we must all agree that such an experience did not take place in the New Testament.
ARE YOU POOR IN SPIRIT?
Are you poor in spirit, mourning over sin everywhere you find it, gentle and approachable in your relationships, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, merciful to others, pure and unmixed in your devotion to Christ? Are you a peacemaker? Are you sometimes persecuted in subtle or even striking ways for your distinctiveness as you live out life from a changed heart? If not, you should have no assurance that the kingdom of heaven is yours, that you will receive comfort from God…
A Journey in Search of Comfort as a Christian Parent of Unconverted Children
There are few events in the Christian life that can be more disturbing and cause more anguish of heart than to see your children become young adults while continuing to evidence a spiritual disposition that seems to betray that these most precious gifts from God remain strangers to His grace. Yes, they may think that they are believers, but there is no love for His Word, no desire to be with His people, and no desire to live for the…
Old Testament 180 Day Reading Plan – Part Two
DAY BOOK CHAPTERS 91. HABAKKUK ALL 92. ZEPHANIAH ALL 93. EZRA 1-6 94. HAGGAI ALL 95. ZECHARIAH 1-5 96. 6-10 97. 11-14 98. EZRA 7-10 99. NEHEMIAH 1-4 100. 5-9 101. 10-13 102. ESTHER 1-5 103. 6-10 104. ISAIAH 1-5 105. 6-9 106. 10-12 107. 13-16 108. 17-20 109. 21-23 110. 24-27 111. 28-31 112. 32-35 113. 36-39 114. 40-42 115. 43-46 116. 47-50 117. 51-54 118. 55-58 119. 59-62 120. 63-66 121. JEREMIAH 1-4 122. 5-8 123. 9-12 124.…
Old Testament 180 Day Reading Plan – Part One
DAY BOOK CHAPTERS 1. GENESIS 1-5 2. 6-11 3. 12-16 4. 17-21 5. 22-26 6. 27-31 7. 32-36 8. 37-40 9. 41-45 10. 46-50 11. EXODUS 1-4 12. 5-10 13. 11-15 14. 16-19 15. 20-24 16. 25-28 17. 29-31 18. 32-34 19. 35-38 20. 39-40 21. LEVITICUS 1-4 22. 5-9 23. 10-14 24. 15-19 25. 20-23 26. 24-27 27. NUMBERS 1-4 28. 5-8 29. 9-11 30. 12-14 31. 15-18 32. 19-21 33. 22-25 34. 26-29 35. 30-32 36. 33-36 37.…
Speaking Biblically About the Death of Christ
Among conservative Bible-believing Christians there is often passionate resistance to the doctrines of unconditional election and the limited atonement. One reason for this, I believe, is a commendable zeal for evangelism coupled with a common misconception about the essential content of the gospel message. I think it would be fair to say that most Christians believe that preaching the gospel means saying two things to the unconverted: (1) “God loves you and wants to save you,” and (2) “Christ died…
Strategically Distributing God’s Word: Stories & Strategies
My wife makes tasty candy every year at Christmas. For the past several years, we’ve shared some of these delectable treasures with our neighbors. This past Christmas, we decided to distribute to our non-Christian neighbors not only chocolate-covered peanut clusters, but also a copy of the gospel of John. We’re praying for God to use His word to save our neighbors. Whenever God’s Spirit grants understanding (see Matthew 13:11), it’s always in partnership with the message of Christ. I want…
The Muller Center for Biblical Studies
Frequently asked questions: What is the Muller Center? Why did we name the Center after George Muller? Where is the Muller Center located? Who are the tutors for the Muller Center? What is required of Muller Center students? What is the cost for becoming a Muller Center student (for our main 2 semester courses)? May I study in the Muller Center’s two semester forums if I live outside the Kansas City area? What is the typical weekly schedule for two…
What Was Reformed in the Reformation
If one wants to know what the Protestant Reformation was all about without reading huge volumes of historical literature, it is perhaps most clarifying to look at the theological results. One should specifically note the rediscovery of five critical biblical doctrines that had been obscured from public view by the medieval version of what we now know as the Roman Catholic Church. And just so you know, Rome still either openly opposes or seriously distorts these doctrines. Using the Latin…
What You Need to Know About The Da Vinci Code
Do you know someone who has read The Da Vinci Code? If you don’t by now, you probably will. Dan Brown’s suspense novel has been on the NY Times best-sellers list for over 3 years, and, according to Brown’s website, "has become one of the most widely read books of all time."1 A quick search of a national bookseller’s website yielded no less than 15 books written about this novel, and a major motion picture based on the book is…
Nine Men at Panera
A group of nine men and I just finished a year and half discussion about John. I’m not going to let you in on the beauties of the book at this point, but rather I want to comment on the idea of men reading and studying the Scripture together. My comments apply to women and youth also, but my experience is with men, so I will lay this out in that context. These men, members of my congregation, met at…
Providence in Romania
After ministering just a few days in Romania in 1985 when the Iron Curtain was still up, I received a call that my mother was dying in a hospital room in Oklahoma City. “We think she is holding on until you get here,” my brother said. It took two days to leave. It was hard enough to get into Romania at Oradea a few days earlier. At the checkpoint, the border guards asked if we had “any guns, drugs, pornography…