Faults to Avoid In Public Prayer

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙

Prayer - Charles Spurgeon

This piece by Nick Batzig of The Christward Collective is based on Samuel Miller’s thoughts on prayer.  Batzig reveals that “Miller set out 18 common mistakes that ministers, elders and deacons should labor to avoid when leading the congregation in public prayer.” The Old Life blog, where we came across this, quipped: “Not quite Rick Warren like, so not enough for forty days of driving your way to a life of purpose. But if Christians ever had to consider that praying in public does not come naturally to some believers, this post might get them started. And it really would throw a wrench into the praying patters of the seemingly intimate small group.”

Following are the first three mistakes:

1. Avoid vain repetition. The one leading in prayer should be careful not to say, “O Father,” “Holy Father” or “Lord” over and over and over again.

2. Avoid hesitation and stumbling. The one leading in prayer should spend time on the prayer prior to the service so that he does not come across unprepared.

3. Avoid ungrammatical expressions. For example, the one leading in prayer should avoid such phrases as “Grant to give us…” “Grant to impart to us…” Grant and give are verbs expressing the same thing. This is a redundant and inaccurate use of language.

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Can We Enjoy Heaven Knowing Loved Ones Are in Hell?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , ,

Blogger, author and pastor Tim Challies answers the burning question:

heaven-3Heaven is far too perfect, far too sinless, far too other for us to imagine in our fallen minds. Our attempts to put brush to canvas have led to depictions of cherubs on clouds, idyllic colors of dawn, Christ as a blinding light, a faceless adoring throng. Some of these attempts to capture heaven’s splendors are beautiful and even captivating, yet we know they are also incomplete. They are, at best, the barest reflection of what awaits. Our imaginations must always fall short of heaven’s glorious perfections.

Revelation 21:4 assures us that in heaven God himself will wipe away our tears, that there will be no death, no sorrow, no crying, and no pain. There is a deeply comforting certainty in our future—a certainty of joy, bliss, comfort, peace, love, and perfection. However, those of us with non-believing family members and friends can find this certainty an area of intense struggle. Why? Because we know that not everyone will be there with us. Many we love today will have an eternal experience of pain, torment, and separation. How could we ever enjoy heaven if our loved ones are in hell? R.C. Sproul tackled this question at a Ligonier Ministries conference years ago and I appreciate his answer.

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What?? NBC’s Ron Allen Thinks Climate Deal Is “Designed to Stop” Storms Like Hurricane Matthew

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ ,

According to NewsBusters:

hurricainePresident Barack Obama spoke to reporters on Wednesday afternoon on the Paris climate change agreement and, almost on cue, NBC’s Ron Allen connected global warming to Hurricane Matthew set to bear down on the Bahamas, the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida.

Speaking on MSNBC Live to host Kate Snow, Allen first gushed about how the President “believes so deeply in protecting the environment” that the deal marks “one of the most significant aspects of his legacy” before bringing in Hurricane Matthew as a intriguing “practical matter.” It was “what the president was talking about as the threat that the planet faces and this is what this whole climate agreement signed by 190 nations and now ratified by 60 or so is designed to stop.” [emphasis in original]

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Band-Aids vs. Chemotherapy: Why Suffering Women are Drawn to False Doctrine and 7 Things We Can do to Help

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

sadnessAuthor, speaker and blogger Michelle Lesley reminds us that when women are suffering the spiritual forces of wickedness are never far away. They often exploit a woman’s pain “and can make things worse by molesting them spiritually,” says Lesley. Angels of darkness will send “false teachers to whisper sweetly in their ears, ‘It hurts, doesn’t it? But I can make all that pain go away, now.’”  But does God always make the pain go away, as false teachers that line their pockets exploiting vulnerable women promise, if you’ll just do this…or that?

In this excellent piece, Michelle Lesley offers 7 biblical things we can do to help women who are suffering.

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Planned Parenthood President Says She “Doesn’t Know” When Unborn Have Constitutional Rights

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Christian News Network reports:

psal-139-fearfully-and-wonderfully-madeThe president of the abortion and birth control giant Planned Parenthood told an Iowa radio station this week that she doesn’t know when a baby has constitutional rights, and that it’s “not the problem we are facing in America.”

Cecile Richards, daughter of former Texas Gov. Ann Richards, has been campaigning this week in Iowa for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and on Tuesday was interviewed by WHO Newsradio.

During the conversation, host Doug Wagner noted that Hillary Clinton has stated that the unborn don’t have constitutional rights under the law, and asked if Richards believes it should stay that way.

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Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

1 What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:1-4 (NASB) 

The Church of the New Covenant, since its inception in the 1st Century AD, has been plagued by quarrels, disagreements, feuds, splits, et cetera. According to God, the problem is not with the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ or His doctrines, but with the fact that people in the Church are not submitted properly to Him or to each other. Pride is behind most disagreements just as it is behind those who break away from the truth to lead their followers with false doctrines and a focus that is on self rather than on God and His glory. Instead, those who cause these problems are in love with self and, therefore, in love with the world, its ways, and the things of the world. View article →

Studying the Unstudiable

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

Jonathan V. Last of The Weekly Standard asserts that, according to a lengthy report by two esteemed psychiatrists, the scientific literature available on gender and sexuality “demonstrate that much of what has been foisted on the culture in recent years in the name of science has little solid basis in scientific research.” As previously reported, the doctor’s concluded that “a combination of biological, environmental, and experiential factors likely shape how individuals experience and express themselves when it comes to sex and gender.” The doctor’s dispute the media’s penchant for proclaiming homosexuality and transgenderism normal and natural.  In the September 12 issue of The Magazine, Last examines the report.  He writes:

Sexual confusionThere are two ways to challenge politically correct orthodoxies. One is to toss off outrageous remarks designed to épater les bourgeois. This requires little and accomplishes less. The other is to take the commanding orthodoxy, put it under a microscope, and dismantle it piece by piece. This is what Lawrence Mayer, an epidemiologist trained in psychiatry, and psychiatrist Paul McHugh have just done to the regime of gender and sexuality politics.

In a lengthy report for the journal the New Atlantis, Mayer and McHugh survey a broad expanse of the scientific literature on gender and sexuality and demonstrate that much of what has been foisted on the culture in recent years in the name of science has little solid basis in scientific research. Their conclusions: (1) “The understanding of sexual orientation as an innate, biologically fixed property of human beings—the idea that people are ‘born that way’—is not supported by scientific evidence.” And (2) “The hypothesis that gender identity is an innate, fixed property of human beings that is independent of biological sex—that a person might be ‘a man trapped in a woman’s body’ or ‘a woman trapped in a man’s body’—is not supported by scientific evidence.”

It may sound modest, but this is earth-rumbling stuff.

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Bisexual identity overtaking gay and lesbian in Britain, official stats show

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According to The Telegraph:

bisexualThe number of British people defining themselves as “bisexual” has jumped by 45 per cent in just three years, according new official estimates.

For the first time, more young people in the UK describe themselves as bisexual than gay or lesbian combined, the figures from the Office for National Statistics show.

It is the latest evidence pointing to a shift in attitudes towards sexuality, with increasing numbers viewing their own position as somewhere on a spectrum rather than it being a black-or-white question. [emphasis added]

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Lack of Public Outcry Is Disturbing as Rights of Conscience Are Crushed in Canada

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CNSNews reports:

euthanasia-2The silence is stunning.  The lack of public outcry, the absence of outrage about the recent mandate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (Canada) is deeply disturbing.

This summer, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario adopted and published a new ethical policy binding upon doctors in that Canadian province.  The policy mandates:

“Where a physician declines to provide medical assistance in dying for reasons of conscience or religion, the physician must not abandon the patient. An effective referral must be provided. An effective referral means a referral made in good faith, to a non-objecting, available, and accessible physician, nurse practitioner or agency. The referral must be made in a timely manner to allow the patient to access medical assistance in dying. Patients must not be exposed to adverse clinical outcomes due to delayed referrals.”

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Defense Department Issues Transgender Handbook

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According to Military.com:

Photo courtesy US Defense Watch (usdefensewatch.com)

Photo courtesy US Defense Watch (usdefensewatch.com)

A new Defense Department policy handbook gives transgender service members and their commanders a road map for gender transition in the active-duty military and Guard and Reserve.

The 71-page policy, released Sept. 30, lays out the medical process for service members who wish to change genders. A second section gives commanders a framework for working with transgender troops in their units, including a guide to gender pronouns and physical fitness standards for troops in transition.

“The handbook is designed to assist our transgender Service members in their gender transition, help commanders with their duties and responsibilities, and help all Service members understand new policies enabling the open service of transgender Service members,” it says. “The handbook includes advice, questions and answers, and scenarios.”

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Personal Holiness vs Self-Righteousness

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

24 You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! Matthew 23:24 (NASB) 

A huge trap that Christians can fall into is conforming to self-righteousness. It is a form of idolatry and that always causes spiritual blindness (Romans 1:24-25). Self-righteousness puts all effort towards godliness in the wrong place. It creates a form of piety that is all about outward appearances while putting little or no priority on matters of the heart. It is all about appearances and what others think rather than being totally committed to abiding in Christ from within first. The self-righteous are consciously holy. However, that is not what we are called to be. Christians must be consciously repentant and unconsciously holy. The difference is huge for these are totally opposite walks. View article →

“Let Women Make Their Own Decisions”: Tim Kaine Reiterates Abortion Support Despite Personal Beliefs

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Tim Kaine, who is supposedly a devout Roman Catholic, completely disregards the RCC’s teaching on abortion as well as its opposition to same-sex “marriage” because, in his view, “God approves of homosexuality.” According to Christian News Network:

tim-kaineDuring the first vice presidential debate for the 2016 election, Tim Kaine, the running mate of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, reiterated his support for keeping abortion legal despite his own personal identity as a Roman Catholic.

Kaine, as well as Trump running mate Mike Pence, were asked by moderator Elaine Quijano of CBS News to outline an instance when they had difficulty reconciling their faith with their politics.

“Can you discuss in detail a time when you struggled to balance your personal faith and a public policy position?” she asked.

“I try to practice my religion in a very devout way and follow the teachings of my church in my own personal life. But I don’t believe in this nation, a First Amendment nation, where we don’t raise any religion over the other, and we allow people to worship as they please, that the doctrines of any one religion should be mandated for everyone,” Kaine replied.

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Check out CRN’s Research Paper on Roman Catholicism

Emergent Catalyst Conference spreads a wider web

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The Catalyst Circus Conference starts today.  According to Berean Research here’s what those who attend will experience:

human-cannonball-2The eight-year-strong Catalyst franchise conference aimed at millennials has long pushed a leftist social justice message rather than the Gospel of the Cross. But as we see more and more leadership conferences pushing the message of UNITY, I’ve been noticing of late the premiere Catalyst Conference is spreading a wider net to include Word of Faith and Dominionism (NAR) celebrities. This year’s theme doubles down on unity, with “Uncommon Fellowship.” Here are this year’s seeker-mergent growth gurus gathering Oct. 5-7 in Atlanta:

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The 2016 State of Theology Survey

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Bud Alheim of Pulpit & Pen analyses a survey commissioned by Ligonier Ministries which is a must read — or read it and weep. The following explains what the survey is about:

discernment-2In 2016 Ligonier Ministries commissioned LifeWay Research to implement a survey tasked with, as much as surveys are capable, assessing Americans’ theological understanding. The survey quantified fundamental beliefs that have been key doctrines adhered to by two millennia of orthodox Christianity.

The results reflect what the observant believer already knows … error abounds. As false teaching gains footholds and favor, as churches forsake sound doctrine to instead scratch itching ears, the prevalence of error will continue to grow.   Ligonier’s survey highlights the most serious errors contemporary to us.

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Judge Dismisses Stericycle’s Lawsuit Against Pro-Life Group That Exposed Disposal of Aborted Babies

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Christian News Network reports:

Pre-born babyA county circuit court judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the nation’s largest medical waste provider in an effort stop a pro-life group from distributing information about the company’s disposal of aborted babies for Planned Parenthood and other abortion facilities nationwide.

All three of Stericycle’s charges against the Ohio-based group Created Equal—defamation, false light and intentional infliction of emotional distress—were dismissed on Sept. 29.

“Irrespective of which side is taken on the abortion question, a reasonable person looking at Defendant’s publications understands that Defendants are expressing their point of view that abortion is a killing, in which Plaintiffs are alleged to play a part,” the order, issued by Lake County Associate Judge Margaret Marcouiller, reads in part.

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Federal Debt in FY 2016 Jumped $1,422,827,047,452.46–That’s $12,036 Per Household

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According to CNSNews:

moneyIn fiscal 2016, which ended on Friday, the federal debt increased $1,422,827,047,452.46, according to data released today by the U.S. Treasury.

At the close of business on Sept. 30, 2015, the last day of fiscal 2015, the federal debt was $18,150,617,666,484.33, according to the Treasury. By the close of business on Sept. 30, 2016, the last day of fiscal 2016, it had climbed to $19,573,444,713,936.79.

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Sovereign election and evangelism

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

14 I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, 15 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. John 10:14-16 (NASB) 

When those of us who came from an Arminian or Free Will background come to grips with the reality of God’s Sovereignty, it is amazing how we struggle with letting go of the responsibility to “earn” our salvation. Of course, part of that struggle is rooted in the misconception that “election” happens at salvation. Ephesians 1 makes it clear, however, that God chose His elect before the foundation of the world. An honest reading of that wonderful letter by the Apostle Paul shows us that God’s people are His in completion even though many of them have not yet believed and repented. They are our Lord’s sheep. View article →

For the Bible Tells Me So: Biblical Authority Denied … Again

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , ,

In a recent sermon, Andy Stanley of North Point Church made the argument that the Christian faith rests on a person, Jesus, and a historical event, the Resurrection, not on the Bible (here). Pastor Stanley said, “I would ask preachers and pastors and student pastors in their communications to get the spotlight off the Bible and back on the resurrection.”  Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, disagrees and responded with a strong rebuke.

Bible“Jesus loves me — this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” This is a childish error?

Evangelical Christianity has a big problem, says Andy Stanley, and that problem is a reliance on the Bible that is both unwarranted and unhelpful. In a recent message delivered at North Point Community Church and posted online, Stanley identifies the evangelical impulse to turn to the Bible in our defense and presentation of Christianity as a huge blunder that must be corrected.

Some years ago, in light of another message Stanley preached at North Point, I argued that his apologetic ambition was, as we saw with Protestant liberalism a century ago, a road that will lead to disaster. No doubt, many Christians might be surprised to see an apologetic ambition identified as an entry point for theological liberalism, but this has held constant since Friedrich Schleiermacher, the father of modern theological liberalism, issued his book, On Religion: Speeches to its Cultured Despisers in 1799.

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“Vitriol” among United Church members as atheist minister closer to being dismissed in formal hearing

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According to National Post, the United Church of Canada is facing a dilemma.  Should they or shouldn’t they remove an avowed atheist minister from a “Christian” church.

atheistA United Church of Canada minister who is a self-professed atheist and has been the subject of an unprecedented probe into her theological beliefs is one step closer to being removed from the pulpit.

Sub-executive members of the church’s Toronto Conference announced Thursday they have asked the church’s general council, the most senior governance body, to hold a formal hearing to decide whether Rev. Gretta Vosper, who does not believe in God or the Bible, should be placed on the disciplinary “Discontinued Service List.”

“Some will be disappointed and angry that this action has been taken, believing that the United Church may be turning its back on a history of openness and inclusivity,” it said in a statement.

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Archaeologists Uncover “Fascinating” Evidence of Bible’s King Hezekiah in Israel

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Christian News Network reports:

Archaeologists digging out the ruins of an enormous ancient gate in Israel have discovered evidence that confirms one of the Old Testament’s historical accounts of King Hezekiah.

In January of this year, archaeologists began an archaeological excavation in Tel Lachish National Park, which is located in central Israel about 25 miles southwest of Jerusalem. The park marks the site of the ancient city of Lachish, which is mentioned nearly two dozen times in the Bible and played a role in several biblical accounts.

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A “money changers” moment for Catholics

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

jesus-cleansing-the-temple-of-the-money-changers-caravaggioJournalist and media critic Cliff Kincaid reports on an editorial written by Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the Archbishop of Washington, where he goes after the far left for working through the Democratic Party to censor the views of people who believe in traditional values as well as “destroying institutions that convey these values to young people.”  According to Kincaid “not all Catholics are remaining silent. The EWTN Catholic cable channel, which reaches tens of millions of people in the U.S., has been running a blockbuster film, “A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing,” examining how Marxists have subverted the church from within by recruiting clergy into revolutionary socialist activities that divide people and cause conflict. The film is described as “a lens into America’s cultural Marxism euphemistically called ‘progressivism.’”

Kincaid included a quote by Wuerl where he warned that “the ease with which today a politically correct morality is being forced on our Catholic institutions in place of our own Catholic moral tradition.”

The archbishop’s editorial “should cause headaches among Democrats who think they can dupe Catholics in another election year,” says Kincaid.

CRN’s Research Paper on the  Roman Catholic Church examines the doctrines the RCC teaches and demonstrates that it stands in stark contrast with – and even in opposition to – historic orthodox Christianity.

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SOCIETY OF CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHERS SHAMES INVITED SPEAKER FOR EXPRESSING BIBLICAL VIEWS

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Wintery Knight has the story:

Bible Book of RomansSomething interesting happened at a recent meeting of the Society of Christian Philosophers, which is a group of left-leaning philosophers who are (apparently) neither Christian, nor Philosophers.

How so?

Rightly Considered blog explains what happened:

[A]t the latest Midwest meeting of the SCP, Richard Swinburne presented a paper in which he argued for the view that homosexual acts are immoral and that homosexuality is a disability that should be cured. The response from some quarters was predictably hysterical and unremarkable. What is remarkable is that the President of the SCP, Michael Rea, shamefully acquiesced to the leftist hysteria by issuing an ingratiating public apology, accusing Swinburne of causing pain and undermining the SCP’s mission of ‘diversity’ and ‘inclusion:

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Biblical salvation vs man-made philosophical religiosity

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. Hebrews 2:10 (NASB) 

The basis of Pelagianism and Semi-Pelagianism are the very same as that of Islam or Hinduism or Buddhism or any other religion except Genuine Christianity. That basis revolves around Man’s Free Will and making a decision then receiving some sort of blessing or curse depending on whether the decision was according to the tenets of one’s man-made religion or not. View article →

Jeff Sessions Slams Top Immigration Official for Suppressing Reports of Refugee Terrorism, Crime

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According to Breitbart:

Immigration 2Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions is going after a top immigration official who earlier admitted the U.S. government has invited future terrorists into American communities, the Obama administration’s much-touted “vetting process” aside.

“The fact is—anybody that understands the challenge they face to do this vetting. You cannot vet people from Syria, because there’s no way, and we have no plans to send anybody into Syria to verify anything that they say,” Sessions told León Rodríguez during his testimony before a Senate panel.

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