Tag Archives: Christianity

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16 - define "sin"

"sin" is that which defies the Law of God.  From our first father (Adam) on, we have all been born into a state of sin.

17 - how important is "denomination"?

I believe it is most important when looking for a new church - If you know what you believe, it is the denominational standards that will tell you if a particular church has the same general beliefs that you do.

18 - what are the advantages of being in a particular denomination?  disadvantages?

The advantages are that there is additional oversight - if something goes wrong in a church, there is somebody higher up that you can go to.

The disadvantages are that the more structure there is, the slower the process goes.

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Here is one example:

“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.”

Most often (in my experience) the invitation to pray this prayer is in response to a sermon in which the Gospel is presented.

Honesty, the points of salvation are in there.

  • Admission of sin
  • repentance
  • forgive me
  • I believe that Jesus died for my sins
  • please become Lord of my life.

If a person believes this and prays this...I believe they are saved.

And I believe they are babes.  It is the fault of the church who does not feed them milk after they are born and leaves them to founder that is the shame of the church, not that babes are led in this prayer.

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the more I get into it, the less I'm sure it matters how we say it.

Gospel:  Good News.  The power of salvation for those who believe.

(update 1)

I found this: “Ten reasons NOT to ask Jesus into your heart”.

I would submit that it's not the "asking Jesus into your heart" that's the problem.  It's the leading an unbelieving person in "the formula" for the sake of following the formula.

The writer says that people who pray this prayer backslide.

I would reply...people who don't pray that prayer may backslide also.  You would have a hard time convincing me that it was the prayer that did it, not the idea that perhaps (whatever they said at the time of their "conversion") it was the person that was at fault.

The formula, "I'm sorry for my sins, please forgive me and be my Savior" is just as much a "formula".  And it can fail just as badly.

Reason number 10: People who ask Jesus into their hearts are not saved and they will perish on the Day of Judgment.

The writer says that is "scary" to him.  To me, scary is judging the salvation of another person based on the specific words they used on the day they turned to Jesus and not what is in their hearts.

There are a few things that I remember from my childhood...one of them is telling my mom that I wanted to ask Jesus into my heart.  She asked, "Why?".  I was able to articulate that I was sorry for my sins and I wanted Jesus to save me.

And she led me in that "sinner's prayer".

Does that mean that I am not saved and I will perish on the Day of Judgment?  Of course not and that's why I think it's important to look at the behavior, beliefs and reasoning of the person...not the formula that they're using.

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Is it important to teach belief and repentance?  YES!  it is vital.

But to bluntly state that those who pray the sinner's prayer are lost...that smacks so much of 'everybody who doesn't do it just like I do are heathens' that it makes me very uncomfortable.

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Nick Vujicic - Life Without Limbs...

and a movie:  "Butterfly Circus"

At the height of the Great Depression, the showman of a renowned circus leads his troupe through the devastated American landscape, lifting the spirits of audiences along the way. During their travels they discover a man without limbs at a carnival sideshow, but after an intriguing encounter with the showman he becomes driven to hope against everything he has ever believed. Starring Eduardo Verástegui (Bella), Doug Jones (Pan's Labyrinth, Fantastic Four) and featuring the debut performance of Nick Vujicic.

Watch it...about 20 minutes.

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Can God Make a Rock So Heavy Even He Can't Lift It?

I remember when I first heard this bit of immature atheistic reductio ad absurdum. I was in high school, and I didn't respond to it because the Nirvana-shirted, long-banged drama stud who said it didn't say it to me. He was laying it on his friend like it was theist's kryptonite.

My answer then, steeped in C.S. Lewis as I was, would have been along the lines of the nonsense of the question as framed. It is a rhetorical and hypothetical "gotcha" with no sincerity behind it, and in any event, it is sort of like asking, "Does the number nine smell red or yellow?"

My answer today is different. My answer today would not be to skewer the nature of the question but to inject its insincerity with the sincerity of God and all the weight of the gospel.

The truth is that God did make a weight so heavy he couldn't lift it. He did so not by building an immovable force -- we did that with our sin -- but by incarnating the frailty of humanity and willingly subjecting himself to the force. As one of us, yet still himself, he created the conundrum of the incarnate God, bearing a cross he both ordained yet could not carry by himself, becoming condemned in death and also victorious. And God was crushed according to the plan he himself projected from the foundation of the world.

So, can God make a rock so heavy even he can't lift it?

Yes. And he did. For three days only. And then he drop kicked it out of the mouth of the tomb.

Link to:  "Gospel Driven Church"

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The Book of Revelation is also known as "the Revelation of John".

That's not what the book says.

v.1 The revelation of Jesus Christ (...) to his servant John

Is this important?  Maybe not...but we begin to think of it as "the Revelation of Christ, to John", we have a greater understanding of who the message is from.

It is for us...from Christ...through John.

I just got a study guide from Back to the Bible.

If Christ is the One who gave this revelation about Himself - how many ways does He describe Himself...in verses 4-8?

  • Him who is, who was, and who is to come
  • faithful witness
  • firstborn from the dead
  • ruler of the kings of the earth
  • Him who loves us
  • Him who freed us from our sins by His blood
  • Him who made us to be a kingdom and priests
  • the Alpha and Omega
  • the Almighty

And yet...if someone were to ask me today who Christ is to me...

  • Savior
  • lifter of my heart
  • the Son that the Father sacrificed so that He could adopt me

I think that the important lessons from the book of Revelation:

not...what can we learn about the future?

it IS...what can we learn about Christ?

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Satan takes God's Word...

For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the adder;
the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot. (Psalm 91:11-13)

and then He uses it...

...and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
"'He will command his angels concerning you,'
"'On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.'"

It is when we hear the words..."Did God REALLY say..." that we need to put our guard up.  Perhaps Satan didn't realize at the time that the passage he was using to tempt our Lord was part of a prophecy about himself.

You will tread on the lion and the adder;
the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

When Satan was tempting Christ...he was reminding Jesus (not that He didn't already know) that the tempter would be defeated.

I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel." (Gen 3:15)

And Christ (outside of time and space, knowing what would be written in Scripture)

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

Satan is an expert at deception...we need to be sober-minded and watchful.  That doesn't mean "don't have fun"...it means that we should be aware that Satan will use whatever he can to draw us away from the Strong Tower

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Of all I would wish to say this is the sum; my brethren, PREACH CHRIST, always and evermore. He is the whole gospel. His person, offices, and work must be our great, all-comprehending theme. The world needs to be told of its Savior, and of the way to reach him . . . Blessed is the ministry of which CHRIST IS ALL . . . No Christ in your sermon, sir? Then go home, and never preach again until you have something worth preaching.

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Listening now...

But first!  On my way home from my sister's house...I followed the sign:

Yes...this is the "White Horse Inn"

Now...the show.  (indented parts are what I took from the show, the left justified are my thoughts)

"this" generation is more narcissistic...because the world is more competitive...a little self-esteem is good...lots is better.

And yet, they also seem to be more adrift and "lost at sea" than any other generation.

Those who are truly successful are those who are humble, who get along with others, who are hard working and give their teams credit.

This is a good lesson for all of us to learn...be quick to praise, quick to recognize your own faults.  Play nice with others.

Narcissist don't think they have to study because they're already smart.

Having lived with a person with narcissistic tendencies...golly, he read and studied all the time (the better to show people up with)

Doubting yourself can make you work harder.

It can...or it can lead to despair.  I think it's a fine line.

anxiety and depression are higher than previous generations...focusing on yourself takes away from focusing on others.

Strangely, this generation also grew up with "forced volunteerism" in school - community service for a grade.  It seems that being made to do good works isn't effective.