False Christian teachings, trends….
The purpose of this post is to provide an informed opinion on the events of the past week, via Rosaria Butterfield. She is a former lesbian and professor of Queer studies at Syracuse U; she was born again after reading through the Bible several times to write against it. She says a bit about her past in the 1st of three 5-minute videos. Each video deals with one of the terms of the title of this post, and more about her bio is given in the introduction of the post.
This post contains a sermon from James 1: 2-11 on God’s purpose in sending trials and how to deal with them such that you might begin to know Christian maturity, fullness… being made perfect. Since all Christians will encounter trials from God to grow their faith, it is critical that you know how to go through these trials; upon what you should focus and why that ought to be your focus. This sermon makes those things very clear.
The video of this post announces the names of 63 well-known people who died in 2023: 11 musicians / singers; many actors; a few football greats; and a few wrestlers. The purpose of this post is to remind readers that life is very fragile and short; and that it is essential to put some time into considering what happens after you leave this world. The welfare of your eternal soul depends upon knowing what God wants from you; being trendy; socially acceptable in your faith will certainly cause you spiritual ‘ship wreck.’
The 12-minute excerpt in this post answers the following questions: What is it to partake of the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner? What is one to discover via self-examination prior to taking the Lord’s Supper?
Are you truly displeased with yourself because of your sins? What is it to rest upon Christ?
A new Pew Research Center in-depth report, “Spirituality Among Americans,” revealed that “7 in 10 U.S. adults describe themselves as spiritual in some way, including 22% who are spiritual but not religious.” …they think of themselves as spiritual people or say spirituality is very important in their lives.” Seeking to define what “spiritual” meant to the 11,000-plus nationwide survey respondents, the report found that 27 percent “define ‘spiritual’ by mentioning beliefs or faiths associated with organized religion, such as belief in God (12%); Jesus, the Holy Spirit or elements of Christian theology (8%); or obedience to religious teachings (5%).” The survey added that many also say the word “spiritual” is about being connected with nature, “such as mountains, rivers or trees – can have spirits or spiritual energies.”
This post contains an excerpt and the full video from which it derives. It covers some widely misunderstood scriptures regarding ‘calling’ by God and much more that is relevant to the Christian life. Pastor Hines opened with the intention of discussing Romans 12:1-2, but via questions from listeners was led into explaining the phrase ‘God desires all to be saved….’ He explained two passages related to that from 1 Timothy 2 and 2 Peter 3. [Highlight points follow excerpt.]
R C’s sermon carefully explained The Day of Atonement; covenant blessings and curses; propitiation; expiation; the cross; imputation; substitution… the foundation stones of the gospel. If you desire to know the biblical gospel message; bolster your own gratitude to the Lord; draw nearer to Him by possessing greater knowledge of Him…, then this sermon can benefit you. If you have been in a false church, this sermon will help you specifically understand what is false about it.
I found the following song while I was searching the video page of a new YouTube site, StrangeLyrics. I was deeply moved by the lyrics, vocals and guitar; this is a wonderful song for preparing one’s heart to pray and read God’s word. The site has over 350 videos seemingly consisting of hymns and contemporary Christian music. If you like to sing along with Christian music, check out the site.
This post contains a 20-minute sermon and the transcript from Alistair Begg. He apparently addressed the sermon to college youth. I heard it today before church and thought it to be an excellent sermon that has a lot to say to all age groups, especially the elderly like myself. It is based on Ecclesiastes 12.
In the 3-minute video of this post, Pastor Nelson, of God Questions Ministries explains what it is means to be ‘poor in spirit’ from Jesus’s statement in Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.