This is our pastor’s article for our October, 2014 newsletter. Dealing with Our Culture’s Sexual Standards By Pr. Rich Futrell An older person may feel out of step because he has spent much of his life living in another culture–the culture that once was. Think back to when you were a child. Do you […]
What is our true comfort in death, our souls being in heaven or our body and soul being reunited on the Last Day?
Introduction The typical North-American Christian worldview is one that values the spiritual but often sees little value in how God uses the physical. After all, Protestant America often views baptism as something that a Christian does to show that he is a Christian; the water may simply be incidental. The wine (or grape juice) and […]
The Difference Between Infant and Adult Faith
What is faith? It’s important to understand what faith is–and what faith isn’t. If we don’t know what faith is, then we can misunderstand who may or may not have it. Proverbs 3:5: Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding. Within this verse, what does it […]
Acts, Lesson 14: Paul’s First Missionary Journey, Pt. 1
Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch after they had delivered aid for the mother Church at Jerusalem. At Antioch, we find out what the Lord has planned for Saul and Barnabas. The Church calls and commissions Saul and Barnabas to be missionaries There’s a lot going on in the first few verses of this […]
Prayers for the Dead: A Scriptural and Lutheran Worldview
Introduction The Scriptures teach us that a when a person dies, he immediately begins to experience eternity in one of two states: heaven or hell. The Christian experiences eternity as one filled with joy (heaven), although his body and soul are separated until his soul is reunited with a sinless, perfect, incorruptible body on the […]
Acts, Lesson 13: Persecution Begins From the State
Last week, we had a look into the church at Antioch, the first place where Christians were labelled with the disparaging term, “Christian,” one belonging to Christ. Today, we find such disparaging words grow into an even greater persecution. Martyrdom and Imprisonment Read Acts 12:1-5 Herod and his descendants, also called “Herod” ruled Judea […]
Acts, Lesson 12: Gentiles in the Church; the Gift of Prophecy
Peter and the Jewish Christians with him saw God giving the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles. That means that they were full-fledged members of Christ’s Church, the same as the ethnic Jews who believed in Jesus as the Messiah. But growth and change do not always take place smoothly and without incident, which our study […]