Be Refreshing (Philemon 1:5-7)
I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. For we have great joy and consolation in […]
So Blessed You Forget? (Luke 17:11-19)
Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” So when He saw […]
Healed on the Way (Luke 17:11-14)
Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” So when He saw […]
Let’s Have an Argument: The Emerging Church vs Paul
I’m tired of having conversations and dialogues. Let’s have an argument! Gerardo Marti and Gladys Ganiel have written an excellent overview of the emerging church movement (ECM), The Deconstructed Church: Understanding Emerging Christianity. As sociologists, they give an overview of the data they collected about the movement, without offering their own opinions about its theological […]
Where Did the Early Christians Meet?
Where did the early Christians meet? Not in “church” buildings. (I put “church” in italics, because believers are the church, not the building.) The early believers were flexible. They met and ministered wherever they could. 1.They met in the Temple (until it was destroyed): So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking […]
Lordship Salvation Is Poor Comfort for a Dying Relative
This past Sunday, our minivan wouldn’t start, so the kids and I walked to a local church, about a mile away. They protested, feeling it was an exceedingly far distance to travel—“Why is this taking so long? Is this Canada?” Once we got settled in, I found the preacher was teaching through Job. Unfortunately, having […]
Why Not Start a Church Bookstore?
“Churches need to operate their own bookstores to provide sound material to the people,” David Cloud, a Fundamentalist Baptist, argued. “The typical Christian bookstores are not going to carry the type of information that God’s people need today, because they are in the business of making money and do not want to offend potential customers” […]
Bizarro Grace in the Emerging Church Movement
If you’re familiar with Superman, you might be familiar with one of his enemies, Bizarro. Bizarro is a doppelgänger of Superman—a broken, inverted, mirror image. For example, Bizarro comes from a square planet called Htrae, where it is a crime to do good. He’s pale and zombie-like. He’s very dumb, speaking a primitive version of […]
Three Kinds of Separation from False Teachers
The United Church of Canada is an ultra-liberal denomination in an already liberal Canadian religious environment. During my undergraduate studies, I attended classes at a United Church seminary, and I can say from my conversations with seminarians of that denomination that they were barely Christian. Theist, yes, but Christian, no (for the most part). I […]
Oswald Chambers on Salvation By Faith
The October 28 devotion in Oswald Chamber’s My Utmost for His Highest risks leaving people in the dark about what he meant. I think Chambers is making an important point about the basis of our salvation, but he does it in a potentially confusing way: I am not saved by believing—I simply realize I am […]