Christian Today reports:
William Struthers, Associate Professor of Psychology at Wheaton College, believes that pornography is reinforcing unrealistic and unhealthy views of sex among young people.
“Pornography is a violation of the childhood mind, creating expectations that anybody and everybody is willing to engage in sex on demand and that consent will always be freely given,” he said.
In his Thinking Public program, Dr. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, asserts that “the question of the religious convictions and the theological ideas of America’s founding generation continue to reverberate in very contemporary controversy.” Dr. Mohler invited historian Gregg Frazer, author of The Religious Beliefs of America’s Founders: Reason, Revelation and Revolution, to discuss why some conservative historians see the so-called “Christian America” view as dangerous.
Russell D. Moore, the Dean of the School of Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, suggests that in order to reach Mormons we need apologetics directed toward them. “We must not back away from the sad reality that Mormonism is not even remotely Christian,” says Moore, “But we must remember that we will not convince Mormons with rational arguments alone.”
18 And do not become drunk with wine in which is dissipation, but be filled by the Spirit, 19 speaking among yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord, Eph. 5:18–19, Possessing the Treasure New Testament v1
In our last post, Be Filled By the Spirit, we studied exegetically what Paul meant by commanding Christians to be filled by the Holy Spirit. Joy is one of the primary evidences of the Spirit-filled life and how that is often expressed is in song as Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:19 (above). The Spirit-filled Christian is a singing Christian regardless of talent. In this post we will look at a few aspects of what is often called “church music” using the terms Paul used in this verse. I believe if you compare this study with what goes on in the name of “worship” in many churches nowadays there will be big difference.
Rick Warren calls this rising evangelical star his boy. Craig Groeschel is his pastor. James MacDonald and Mark Driscoll consider his a friend.
Isn’t it about time they become concerned when Furtick actually thanks a Word Faith heretic for inspiring his vision, which you’ll see him do at Lakewood Church in this exclusive Apprising Ministries video.
18 And do not become drunk with wine in which is dissipation, but be filled by the Spirit, Eph. 5:18, Possessing the Treasure New Testament v1
What does it mean for a Christian to be “filled” by the Holy Spirit? In my translation above the preposition “by” renders the Greek word ἐν (en), “in, with, by, among, at, on, when, to, as, for, through, while, within, of, about, into, because, during, throughout, before, under.” Why did I render it as “by” instead of “with?” As Lewis Sperry Chafer said, “It is not a matter of acquiring more of the Spirit, but rather of the Spirit of God acquiring all of the individual.” The believer who is Spirit-filled is influenced by the Spirit and nothing else, while those who are not are more influenced by the temporal. To be filled by the Spirit is to have our thoughts, desires, values, motives, goals, priorities, and all else set on spiritual things and spiritual growth.
Marsha West has written a series of articles about the destructive force of liberalism in society. In the first installment she discusses the entertainment industry’s contribution to America’s moral meltdown and offers ways to combat this. The second installment draws attention to the mainstreaming of aberrant Christian movements and demonstrates how false teachers are welcomed into pro-family organizations to help bring society back to its Judeo-Christian values. In her third and final installment, West discusses what liberals refer to as “Progressive Christianity” and “Social Justice Christianity” and spotlights the Rev. Jim Wallis, one of the leaders of the social justice movement. Wallis insists that he is an evangelical Christian, though the evidence seems to indicate that he is a Marxist sympathizer. Marsha also names many Christian leaders of whom to be wary and the unorthodox movements they represent.
Life News reports:
“It’s a girl” has become a three-word death sentence to hundreds of millions of unborn babies across the globe. The United Nations estimates as many as 200 million girls are missing in the world today because of female gendercide. Killed, aborted and abandoned—these are the brutal realities of the actual “war on women.”
The Christian News Network reports:
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney sought to woo voters in the state of Virginia yesterday by slamming the Democratic party for removing the mention of God from their platform and claiming that he would never make such an omission, while being careful not to use any language that referenced the god of Mormons.
1 Therefore, I, the prisoner of the Lord, encourage you to walk worthy of the calling by which you were called, 2 with all humility of mind and meekness with long-suffering forbearing one another in love, 3 being eager to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace. Eph. 4:1–3, Possessing the Treasure New Testament v1
About the time I completed my exegetical study of Ephesians 1-2, which was titled “God’s Purpose for the Church,” we learned that my nephew Travis, who had a brain tumor removed about 4 years ago and had been declared cancer free earlier this year, had begun to have severe headaches and seizure-like symptoms again. Tests showed that he had another tumor in a different part of his brain that was growing rapidly. His surgeon was able to remove most of it and utilized some very new treatments that will, hopefully, kill it. We thank all of you for your prayers for Travis and his family as well as my sister and her family. I learned a great deal from this in the matters of grace and the working of the Spirit in the body of Christ. Genuine Christian faith is genuine Christian faith regardless of whether everyone who possesses it agrees completely on matters of religiosity or not. We do not determine that, God does.
The Media Research Center reports that the media appears to be insisting that Christian athletes keep their faith to themselves. Those who refuse to do so are severly criticized by writers, sports networks and leagues. According to MRC:
Hostile writers have also gone after [Tim] Tebow’s supporters. Bernstein labeled Tebow’s fans “lunatic-fringe cultists” and “batspit crazy fanatics.” Columnist Rabbi Joshua Hammerman of “The Jewish Week” outrageously warned that a Tebow victory in the 2012 Broncos-Patriots football game could spark riots in the streets: “If Tebow wins the Super Bowl, against all odds, it will buoy his faithful, and emboldened faithful can do insane things, like burning mosques, bashing gays and indiscriminately banishing immigrants.
As an inadvertent illustration to the CRN post The Clown In The Pulpit, I really wish this Apprising Ministries piece was satire but it’s not. And now consider that Young, Jr. influences many evangelical pastors.
Lifesite News reports:
Participants in Spain’s first annual Crossroads walk, a cross-country march for the right to life, were confronted with a group of angry Greenpeace activists, who were peeved by the walkers’ pro-life position, according to organizers.
(CRN wishes to warn the reader that the linked article does contain offensive language as used by the Greenpeace activists.)
Dr. Al Mohler writes:
American presidential elections are the world’s most public display of the democratic process. The global media follow the American elections with a fervor that is easily understood — what happens in an American presidential election matters all over the world. Our presidential campaigns are political pageants and electoral dynamos. But, as any honest thoughtful observer will understand, our elections are also great worldview exercises. We reveal our worldview by our vote.
Christian Newswire reports:
In recent months, the media has been flooded with images of citizens gathering in city centers and lining the streets holding banners, waving signs, and speaking up for their religious freedom. Simultaneously, American courtrooms are now bursting with lawsuits brought by businesses and religious organizations demanding protection of their rights of conscience.