Female Elders and Overseers

Female pastors and elders has become a hot button issue in more recent generations.  If God has no issue with female pastors, neither should we BUT if God makes it clear about his ordained unique roles in His church, we ought to obey.  To know the TRUTH on this matter is extremely important.  It is the difference between standing on truth and obedience or denying God's truth and being disobedient.  That's huge.  To properly understand this, we must ALWAYS go to God's Word first.  We will pick apart 1 Timothy 2:11-14, 3:1-7, 8-13, Titus 1:5-9, and then address common arguments.

Public Evangelism

Before setting out to conduct street evangelism and open air preaching it is a good idea to research the county and city ordinances regarding noise violations and disturbing the peace.  Odds are someone will get offended and call the police claiming one of the two.  When police are called, they have reasonable suspicion that a crime or ordinance violation has been committed.  They are obligated to respond and investigate.  This should be expected. (check out Is Street Preaching Biblical?).

Is Street Preaching Biblical?

People have probably heard a preacher on the side of the road with a mega phone preaching.  Some people stop in listen while others carry on shaking their head.  In modern times, most feel that it is not the best approach to evangelism.  Some will go as far to say that it is too judgemental and pushes people away from God.  But is that true?  Is street preaching unbiblical, unnecessary, and harmful?  First, we must always look to God's word and see what his faithful servants have done in the various cultures.

Is Christmas Pagan?

Every year before Christmas we all see people sharing memes and articles about how Christmas is a pagan holiday or comes from pagan roots.  But is this true and does it matter?  First lets investigate where Christmas, the seasonal symbols and ideals, came from and discuss why it matters.

Rediscovering The Vastness of John 3:16

 Everyone has seen or heard John 3:16 on football face paint, billboards, bumper stickers, t-shirts, everywhere.  It has seem to become a mindless slogan in evangelical christian culture.  When digging into the meaning and the message, we find something so grand, so majestic, so powerful, that John 3:16 has the ultimate implications for all humanity; contained in these 25 words (NASB).  For some, rediscovering John 3:16 can mean new eternal life!

Church Shootings

Church shootings are a tragedy just like any other shooting that causes the loss of life.  Some however feel that they are worse in the sense they are done in a 'house of God'.  There have been 14 fatal shootings at a house of worship since 2012 with different motivating factors.  Americans tend to be more shocked by these type of shootings verses all other types but is there really a difference?  There are 3 major misconceptions in American society: (1) A Church building is the house of God, (3) Limiting Gun access will reduce murders, (3) Prayer is not enough.

The Quran: Who Wrote It?

Is the Quran today the same as the original teachings from Muhammad himself?  Of course Sunni Muslims would say yes.  In fact, all Muslims must agree that they are, but, in the Shiite sect of Islam, not all are in full agreement of the source of the final product of the original teachings.  To remove Christian bias, we will look at the historical quotes from Muslims themselves and see how accurate the Quran is.

Who are YOU?

You, your being, your essence, your identity, who you are.  What makes you, you?  The modern world uses conditional compound labels to construct who people are.  Race, politics, religion, family heritage, social economic class, sexuality, and other social constructs are used to build someone's 'identity'.  African American or Italian American.  Liberal or Conservative. Christian or Muslim.  Heterosexual or Homosexual.  Wealthy or poor.  Throw a bunch of these labels together and boom- you?  What if our true essence of being and eternal identity is not found in those? 

Commonalities of Cults

There are many subgroups of the Christian faith.  These subgroups tailor their teachings and focuses in different ways.  That is exactly how the Body of Christ functions BUT there are some groups that claim to be 'Christian' when in fact, they are not.  Some deny being 'Christian' but claim to have similar beliefs and 'more correct' views than that of orthodox Christianity; but how can you identify a cult?

The Nashville Statement

The Nashville Statement is a document published online and authored by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood that clarifies the orthodox Christian faith position on human sexuality.  Over 150 predominate orthodox Christian teachers from around the world have signed the statement.  Of course it is not without controversy given our day and age and with some rejecting Christians.  Regardless, much like in the days of The councils of past, it addresses and clarifies the orthodox Christian faith in this specific matter.  But is it biblical?  Read the statement here: https://cbmw.org/nashville-statement/

Who and What Is Satan?

Scripture reveals everything we need to know to recognize Satan and his schemes and temptations.   We will address where he came from, who he is, what he does, how he does it, and what his effects are and what they look like in the world around us.  We are commanded to test the spirits, and we can't do that if we don't know the difference.

Discussion with a Jehovah's Witness

Evangelism takes shape in many forms.  At times God has random strangers walk up and ask random questions that spark spiritual conversations.  Other times major life events causes us to reflect on deeper matters which leads to spiritual conversations.  And at times, God even uses the internet.  In this case, God chose to use the internet.  A devout Jehovah Witness reached out and shared a screen shot image from the JW website about who they think Jesus is.  Given the massive importance of the topic, we felt it was necessary to engage in a dialog with this individual but it quickly changed in tempo, tone, and agenda.

How to be a local missionary for your community

Every Christian is called to be a witness of the person and work of Jesus Christ.  Though not everyone is called to go to some far away land but everyone is called to proclaim the good news exactly where they are because that is exactly where God has placed them at that moment in time.  How faithful we are to God in his calling is what we are accountable for, none the less, we are called and placed for this purpose.  Then how do we be a local missionary for our community?

Hurricane Harvey Help

It is critical that the church acts when there is a need.  Well, there is a need.  Hurricane Harvey hit Texas and Louisiana hard and there is an on going need of donations.  As the Body of Christ, we serve the Lord Jesus Christ in every opportunity and need.  We serve not for selfish reasons or intent but out of Love for God and others.  If God has given you a dry roof over your head, food, clothing, and life; it is your duty as a servant of God to use that which God has given you for others in need.  There are many ways to serve and help.

Are You Fearless For Christ?

Are you fearless for Christ?  Seems like a basic and simple question but it is much deeper than most of us actually think.  The deeper question is, are you so dedicated to Jesus that you risk your own life to make him more known?  This is the question we must all ask ourselves in our daily lives.  Reflecting on what Jesus, the Apostles, and the early church had to endure and sacrifice should give us some pause and self reflection.

The Creed of The Universal Christian Faith

Actually Trusting God

Knowing God can be trusted and actually trusting God are two different things.  One is just simple knowledge, the other is the application of the knowledge.  One is easier than the other.  But also our understanding of who God is helps us be able to actually trust him.  We can have no worries about the unknown future, results, and have peace with Joy; all from actually trusting God.

The World Changes, The Worldly Hearts Do Not

When reading through the Bible and take note of social norms in the early cultures all the way through the early church writings about social norms of those times; a pattern becomes apparent.  A social norms pattern that conflict with God's moral standard.  Then, when looking at our modern times and its escalating social norms, we see the pattern continuing.  The pattern of child sacrifice and freedom for sexual immorality. But what is at the source of it and what is wrong with it?

Social Justice and The Church

The most recent political upheaval and social climate has revealed issues within society and in the church.  Some are condemning the church for not taking a visible stand against perceived social injustices and others are condemning the church for not being more clear on incompatible social norms to Christian living. Abortion, Gay Rights, Racism, and Sexism are the four primary social injustices declared in society of which the church is either being condemned for lack of compassion or being too worldly; but both can not be true at the same time.  So what is it? Where SHOULD the invisible true body of Christ stand and declare in regards to these four social issues? 

Racism and God

What does God say about racism, discrimination, and prejudice?  How to address this issue and what is the solution?  We need to understand the value of all people, the equality in God, and how to bring together each side and lead them to the throne of God.