From the Blog
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Stand Firm…In God’s Word
We can be confident and not easily deceived or shaken if we are rooted in the Word of God. We can be confident in our salvation, and then get a firm grip on sound biblical teaching in order to pass the baton of the Gospel on.
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Stand Firm…Against False Teaching
Perhaps you’ve been alarmed and shaken by today’s headlines. Terrorist attacks, non stop news about the upcoming election, hurricanes and flooding. And that’s just last week! How are we supposed to face these things? And what do we do about all the fear-mongering that we hear people offering? The apostle Paul told the believers in…
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Stand Firm…in Suffering
Suffering often causes a theological problem for us. We put our trust in God, yet bad stuff still happens. We pray for healing, yet a loved one dies. We pray for reconciliation in marriage, but it ends in divorce. We share our faith with a neighbor, and they reject both our message and our friendship.…
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Worship and Witness is…Missional
In the 96th Psalm, the Psalmist wrote that the nation of Israel should worship and bear witness to the glory of God so that all the earth would join in. The mission of that nation was to let their worship of God be a witness among the nations. We too can be missional through our…
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Worship and Witness is…Relational
Why is there divorce, murder, and war? Why are we relationally broken? Our sin has separated us from God. We need to be relationally restored. We need to be reconciled to God and with others. In Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth, he told them that God’s reconciling love should move them to…
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A Shared Focus
The early church had a shared language–– it was the language of prayer. It was a shared focus, one that focused on spending time together talking to God in prayer. How are you doing in this area? Do you pray? Do you pray with your spouse, with your kids? Do you pray with your family?…
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A Shared Food
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There’s something about shared food, a shared meal that leads to authentic community. Every culture has its own distinct food. So does the family of God. However, isn’t the physical, but the spiritual food that makes for an authentic Christian community.
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A Shared Faith
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The first century church had four devotions. The first was the apostle’s teaching. They were devoted to the preaching, teaching, study, and obeying of God’s Word.
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Release Your Child to the Lord
Parents have questions… Practical questions like: How and when should I discipline my child? How do I get them potty trained? And spiritual questions like: When is my child old enough to confess faith in Christ? What about baptism and the Lord’s Supper? How can I be sure that they are saved? In answering these questions, we have God’s Word as our guide, but we must also take into account the child’s level of maturity. Have you noticed that every child is unique? No two are the same. And as they grow, they change. So the parenting style that seemed effective when they were small, doesn’t work when they’re older. These differences need different parenting styles.
In his first letter to the Thessalonians, the apostle Paul told them that he had been willing to parent according to their situation, sometimes gentle and affectionate like a mother and sometimes strong like a father in order to release them to live up to God’s calling. We can parent our children following God’s Word to match our child’s situation with a goal of releasing them to the Lord. -
Raise Up Your Child in the Lord
What is your parenting approach? Where did you learn how to be a mom or dad? Was it from your parents? From friends or a book? Or are you just winging it? The apostle Paul told the Ephesians how to raise up their children according to God’s plan. As Christians, we can follow God’s Word…