Paul had shut down speaking in tongues, at least as the Corinthians had practiced it, when they spoke unintelligible sounds from their mouths. Paul viewed real speaking in tongues as something good, which was speaking in a way that increased understanding, not decreased it (think of Acts chapter 2). After all, Paul said this about […]
1 Corinthians, Lesson 25: The Gospel, the Church, the Scriptures, and the Body’s Resurrection
June 28, 2015 by
1 Timothy, Lesson 6: Deacons, Deaconesses, and the Role of the Church
June 25, 2015 by
We finished with Paul speaking about the requirements for a man to serve as a deacon. What seemed unusual was that Paul had theological requirements for a man to be a deacon, but not to be an overseer! Deacons were to hold to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience, which is knowing […]
Isaiah 12:1-6: Jesus is Our Salvation
May 3, 2015 by
The Old Testament isn’t easy to read. It has so much killing in it, people rebelling against God, and more history than most of us can handle. It’s also hard to understand. But don’t let that keep you from the Old Testament. If you have the patience to take in what God has for you, […]
1 Corinthians, Lesson 4: What God Gives, How He Gives It, and What Will Remain
January 4, 2015 by
After 1 Corinthians mentioned what God had called Paul and Sosthenes to do, to preach and teach the wisdom of God, Paul then again got personal. He said the Corinthian Christians had not grown in the Faith as they should have. They were still “fleshly infants”: they haven’t grown in stature and lost their “baby […]
Tradition in Christ’s Church According to the Bible
April 23, 2014 by
This is our pastor’s newsletter article for May, 2014. Today, many are practicing “Christian freedom” by living a way of life that is contrary to the Christian faith! One way of doing that is by seeing faith as only something personal, not communal. It’s both! Just read the New Testament. It’s true: no one can […]
1 Corinthians 3:10-23: Brought into the Church
February 25, 2014 by
An early-Church document, similar to the book of Revelation, is the Shepherd of Hermas. The title comes from a Christ figure who appears as a shepherd to the author, whose name is Hermas. And in that document, Hermas has several different visions. I mention this because one vision in the Shepherd of Hermas uses the […]
Church and Scripture; Scripture and Church
October 2, 2012 by
This is the article that our pastor wrote for the October 4th edition of the Stone County Gazette. The Apostle Paul wrote, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). Based on Scripture being so valuable in our life of faith, […]
Church is not Optional: Luke 14:15-24, Hebrews 10:22-39
July 3, 2011 by
The parable in today’s Gospel reading is one confrontation in a sea of confrontations by Jesus with the Pharisees. But Jesus told today’s particular parable when He was eating dinner at the house of a “prominent Pharisee” (Luke 14:1). So, the dinner story line in today’s parable was meant to hit home, as the Pharisees […]
