Serve the King of Babylon and Live

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Serve the King of Babylon and Live
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Democracy is a wonderful thing; but it has a major Achilles’ Heel: the voters of which it is comprised. When the majority of the Demos wants something that is inherently wrong, nothing can stop them getting what it desires.

Democracy is a wonderful thing; but it has a major Achilles’ Heel: the voters of which it is comprised. When the majority of the Demos wants something that is inherently wrong, nothing can stop them getting what it desires.

Plato, writing in the cradle of democracy knew this – warning that ordinary people are guided more by ordinary emotions than careful analysis. The framers of the American Constitution were aware of this too and assumed the need for at least a quasi-Christian morality to make it work.

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The Great Commission - Part Five

Theme: Going out with the good news. 
This week’s lessons teach that proclaiming the gospel is a requirement for Christians.
 
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 28:19-20
 
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
Today we’ll look at the fifth and sixth important aspects of true evangelism. 
 
5. Work to do. Although God does the work of saving individuals, drawing them to Christ, he does not abandon them at that point but rather directs and empowers them to do meaningful work for him. Most of Christ’s teachings about discipleship fall into this area. So does Ephesians 2:10, which says, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” It is necessary that we do these good works (as Christians in all ages have, for unless we do, we have no assurance that we really are Christ’s followers. Like Jesus himself, Christians are to stand for justice and do all in their power to comfort the sick, rescue the outcast, defend the oppressed, and save the innocent. We are also to oppose those who perpetrate or condone injustice.

Think and Act Biblically from James Boice is a devotional of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Think and Act Biblically and the mission of the Alliance.

Following Jesus 62

What is meant by vision? I ask this question as it pertains to believers seeking to follow Jesus. Is there such a doctrine as having a biblical vision? 
 
What is meant by vision? I ask this question as it pertains to believers seeking to follow Jesus. Is there such a doctrine as having a biblical vision? 
 
To begin with, in reference to leadership and goals vision refers to an aspirational, ambitious, hopeful and motivated description of what you would like to achieve or accomplish in the mid-term or long-term future. It is intended to serve as a clear guide for choosing current and future courses of action. In short, your vision is what you want to achieve or accomplish. It is your goal(s).

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Saved Out of a Judged World

We see another aspect of Jesus’ dealing with unbelief in the healing of the blind man outside of Bethsaida (8:22-26). This was the only recorded gradual miracle performed by Jesus Christ; a partial healing was followed by a second touch and complete restoration of sight. Jesus could have accomplished this miracle any way He wished; why did He do it this way, outside the village alone, using His spittle, and commanding the man to keep still about it?
 
Theme: Hidden in Plain Sight
 
SCRIPTURE
Mark 8:22-26
 
And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him.

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Sunday Isn't Enough

Sunday is a glorious day. We call it “The Lord’s Day!” It marks not only our calendars but also out lives. Yet, Sunday is not enough. God calls us to be together not for mere education, but for edification; not just fraternity, but fellowship.

 

Over the past 10 years I have watched a number of leaders suspend corporate worship on the Lord’s Day in order to do something “missional.” They have said things like, “This Sunday don’t go to church, be the church!” This not only creates a false dichotomy between what God calls us to be and do, but also misunderstands the priority and value of the church gathering for corporate worship on the Lord’s day.

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Theology on the Go Providence

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Theology on the Go: Providence
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The Rev. Ian Hamilton stops by again to talk with Jonathan Master on this episode of Theology on the Go. Rev. Hamilton is Minister of Cambridge Presbyterian Church in Cambridge, United Kingdom, and has been serving the congregation there since 1999. He and Jonathan talk about the importance of God's providence and what it means in a Christian's life.

The Rev. Ian Hamilton stops by again to talk with Jonathan Master on this episode of Theology on the Go. Rev. Hamilton is Minister of Cambridge Presbyterian Church in Cambridge, United Kingdom, and has been serving the congregation there since 1999. He and Jonathan talk about the importance of God's providence and what it means in a Christian's life.

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An Appeal to Elders

Elders, be prepared to speak up.

 

I was reminded by events elsewhere yesterday how much I rely on my elders.   The task of the elder is to pastor the pastor.  If they do not do it, nobody else will.  That means there will be times when the elder has to confront his pastor because he sees that his teaching, or his life, or maybe both, are starting to wander from the path of truth and godliness.   Whenever a pastor falls, one has to ask: Where were the elders?  Sometimes, of course, the pastor can be good at hiding his faults; At other times, elders just turn a blind eye to peccadilloes, ass

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Postcards from Palookaville
postcards-from-palookaville

The Great Commission - Part Four

Theme: Going out with the good news. 
This week’s lessons teach that proclaiming the gospel is a requirement for Christians.
 
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 28:19-20
 
 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
The third universal of the Great Commission is the command to teach those we have evangelized. We must teach them “to obey everything" (or all things) Christ commanded, which means that for all Christians a lifetime of learning must follow conversion and membership in Christ’s church. This is particularly important in our extremely superficial age.
 

Think and Act Biblically from James Boice is a devotional of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Think and Act Biblically and the mission of the Alliance.

Following Jesus 61

I began to wonder about those various individuals and groups who encountered Jesus not only prior to His conception, but also after His birth. You know, the characters of the Christmas story. Did they evidence their love for God by their obedience to God’s commandments? Let’s see. 
 
I began to wonder about those various individuals and groups who encountered Jesus not only prior to His conception, but also after His birth. You know, the characters of the Christmas story. Did they evidence their love for God by their obedience to God’s commandments? Let’s see. 
 
Let us begin with Mary. What was Mary’s response when the angel Gabriel communicated to her all that was going to occur when she, a virgin, would give birth to Emmanuel: God with us?

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The Sorrow of Our Lord

Jesus’ next act in Mark’s account is a very public one—he repeats a spectacular miracle by feeding four thousand people (Mark 8:1-10). I believe that by this particular repetition Jesus shut the mouths of all objectors. Henceforth only His bitterly prejudiced enemies can dispute Him.

 

 
Theme: Hidden in Plain Sight
 
SCRIPTURE
Mark 8:1-10
 
In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way.

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