Posts from 2022 (Page 3)

Our sermons in Acts, study of 1 Corinthians on Sunday mornings, and Wednesday evening topical series have all been themed around the church this year. One of the things we have talked about a good bit is how to become more of an organic community of believers—a family—like we see portrayed in the New Testament as opposed to the top-down, institutional, producer/consumer model that characterizes so many churches. I ran across this old article this week from a publication called…

Tomorrow is Independence Day—and, in fact, we are viewing fireworks here tonight—a time when we reflect on the Founding Fathers. Similarly, I think it is beneficial to consider the views of our forebears in the faith. David Lipscomb was the editor of the Gospel Advocate for more than 50 years in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Fittingly, we want to consider his views on the relationship between Christians and the civil government. This comes from the January 9,…

We just returned from our vacation a couple of days ago. I appreciate so much those who helped fill in for me here in my absence: I listened to Bobby’s sermon Sunday afternoon, and he did a great job; I am sure Robert did as well leading the discussion Sunday evening; and Barb pulled an old article out to print in last week’s bulletin when I lost track of what day it was and forgot to send her one! But…

Our faith in the risen Savior has a past, present, and future importance. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is central to our faith. Paul reminds us, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17 ESV). But Christ is risen from the dead, the culmination of God’s work of salvation. The apostle links the resurrection with our salvation, “who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for…

This is a follow-up to last week’s article, where we simply listed a number of passages from the NT on employing violence against enemies. It’s essential that we address this topic because so many Christians look at the violence in our society and propose to meet it with more violence in return. And while that may well be necessary in some cases—and it might even be defended with Scripture—the problem is that many advocate embracing that proudly, proactively as a…

We were all deeply shocked and saddened by the massacre that occurred in Uvalde just over a week ago. That occurred only 10 days after a mass shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York. And since Uvalde, just a few days ago, a gunman killed several people in a Tulsa hospital. These events seem to follow one after another in such quick succession that we become desensitized to them. I do not pretend to have a comprehensive solution…

This is the fifth and final article in a series recently published by Wes McAdams on his blog “Radically Christian.” You can read the others on his site or in previous bulletins. -BP Apocalyptic Literature The word, “apocalypse” has come to mean the end of the world. However, the word originally meant the revealing or uncovering of something hidden. For me, the Wizard of Oz always comes to mind. It is like an apocalypse when Toto pulled back the curtain…

The Redemption of Creation Some people understandably feel a little disappointed when they hear we will inherit the earth (Matt 5:5) rather than go to heaven. They think, “Why would I want to inherit the earth? The earth is full of problems: hurricanes, tornadoes, diseases, famines, and floods.” The problem is that they are thinking of the present world (as it is), not the future world (as it will be). The apostle Paul described the whole creation as presently being…

This is the third in a series of articles recently published by Wes McAdams on his blog “Radically Christian.” You can read the other on his site or in previous bulletins.. BP The Kingdom of Heaven Matthew uses the word, “heaven” more than any other New Testament author. This is due to the fact that Matthew records the phrase, “the kingdom of heaven” more than thirty times. Other Gospel writers use the phrase, “the kingdom of God” to capture the…

This is the second in a series of articles recently published by Wes McAdams on his blog “Radically Christian.” The Paradise of God and the Garden of Eden The English word, “paradise” comes from the Greek, “paradeisos.” Besides “paradise,” another way to translate this word is, “garden.” In the Greek version of Genesis, we read, The Lord God planted a [paradeisos] in Eden (Gen 2:8). The Garden of Eden, therefore, is the first “paradise” in the Bible. With that in…

This is the first in a series of articles recently published by Wes McAdams on his blog “Radically Christian.” Many people have come to me with questions in this area, and this series does a good job of answering them. Without necessarily endorsing every specific point he makes, I think the views he presents are certainly more Biblical than what we often picture; accordingly, we will publish this series over the next five weeks. I commend it to your attention.…

This past week, I attended a meeting for Liberty County Responds. This is a local coalition of different churches and other entities that work for disaster preparedness, primarily so that we know who has what resources and capabilities and can have a plan when the next hurricane (or plague?) inevitably hits. As we began, we went around the table at the restaurant and talked about what had transpired over Easter. For virtually everyone, it was a big day of events—sunrise…