Posts with the category “coffee-hour-w-pastor-john”

The question of whether God created evil is one that theologians and philosophers have wrestled with for centuries. God, who is inherently good and holy, did not create moral evil. Instead, He allowed for the possibility of evil by giving humanity and angels free will.  Read More

The story of Gideon in Judges 6 often captivates believers because of his "fleece test" to confirm God’s will. Gideon asked God for a miraculous sign, first for the fleece to be wet and the ground dry, and then the opposite, to confirm that God had indeed called him to deliver Israel from Midianite oppression. While this story reveals God’s patience and grace, using it as a model for decision-making today is misguided for Christians who have the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.  Read More

       Augustine. Confessions. Translated by Henry Chadwick. Oxford: Oxford Press, 1998.          Augustine of Hippo (354–430 AD) made many contributions to Christian theology and literature, earning him status as one of the most influential fathers in the Western Church (both Catholic and Protestant).  For much of his early life, he followed the false beliefs and teachings of Manichaeism.  After ...  Read More

     Trust in God's Provision: A Summary of Don't Worry by David PowlisonDavid Powlison’s article, "Don’t Worry", explores Jesus' teaching from Luke 12:22-34, where Christ instructs His followers not to be anxious about their daily needs. Through the lens of this passage, Powlison offers a practical and spiritual guide for Christians on dealing with worry and anxiety, particularly about material c...  Read More

So maybe you have heard someone say: ... Noah's flood is just a myth taken from other Ancient Near Eastern flood epics... That's the claim made by the critics...   Read More

This week, I've read a lot about words, their meaning, and their "context," as found in the Bible...  Read More

What is a very common but not realized sin that Christians commit? I believe one answer can be found in 1 Thessalonians 5:16 through 19—quenching or stifling the Holy Spirit and not giving thanks.  Read More

In short, Client-centered therapy offers no real hope, no actual change, no true redemption, and no possibility of reconciliation with the God who created all humanity. It allows men and women to remain in their sins, exalting them to act as the de facto God of themselves. Nothing in the theory points to the truths of God.   Read More

Ideas like those offered by B.F. Skinner brazenly illustrate the height and depth of mankind’s foolishness apart from God. Where do you get your wisdom from?  Read More

By John Holmes First Baptist Church Moriarty          The local church is not a building but an intentional gathering of two or more visible Holy Spirit-filled believers who, in Jesus' name, mutually agree about His Gospel. It must preach the Word of God and observe the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper scripturally. Normatively, when spiritually healthy, church members voluntarily coven...  Read More

By John Holmes The Empty Tomb (Source: Logos Media)           The phrase "He is risen indeed!" used on Easter morning by Christians has a deep-rooted history in Christian tradition. It serves as a joyful affirmation of Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead. This tradition is encapsulated in the liturgical practice known as the Paschal greeting, which varies slightly across different languages ...  Read More

By John Holmes Communion Plate (Source: Logos Media)           Jesus instructed His disciples to remember His death and resurrection. To help them do so, He gave the church two visible symbols (called “ordinances”). These two ordinances are Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. They are not sacraments, and as such, they do not dispense God’s grace. Ordinances are symbolic and not undertaken for salvation...  Read More

An examination of Paul’s exhortations in 1 Corinthians 3–6 to grow in Christ and guard against impurity by avoiding spiritual immaturity and the folly of human wisdom demonstrates that churches should instruct biblical sexual ethics by teaching God’s design for gender, marriage, sex, and procreation to help Christians respond to the social narratives of gender identity, gender expression, and sexual freedom. By systematically teaching biblical sexual morality, Christians not only grow in Christ and guard against impurity, but they become more equipped to respond to an increasingly hostile and vocal world that does not worship God but instead, themselves.   Read More

Collins, Gary. Can You Trust Psychology? Exposing the Facts and the Fictions. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988.           Gary Collins, professor of psychology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Ph.D. Perdue University), claims to write Can You Trust Psychology? as an attempt to provide a “balanced reaction to psychology’s critics” in the ongoing debate over psychology’s trustworth...  Read More

Peter Randolph. Sketches of Slave Life and From Slave Cabin to the Pulpit. Edited by Katherine Clay Bassard. West Virginia University Press. 2016. 309 pp. $21           If you're looking for a good book Christians will benefit from reading, look no further. Few people today possess a true sense of slavery's evil.  The autobiography of Peter Randolph, a former slave turned pastor-abolitionist and ...  Read More

          Throughout the New Testament, readers will discover examples of evangelists who boldly share the ‘good news’ whenever, wherever, and to whomever, as often as possible, relying upon the work of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul is one who embodies exactly this behavior. Because of the Gospel’s divine origin, Paul recognizes God’s Spirit as the agent of salvation.  Paul seeks to snatch men...  Read More