(A good story to rehearse any time of the year)
What is the Christmas story? Is it really just a baby in a manger, or a baby plus angels, shepherds, and wise men? Is that really the whole story, or is there more? Is Christmas really even a story at all, or is it just an event in a bigger story, and if so, what is the rest of the story?
If you believe every conspiracy theory that comes along, you’ll end up paranoid and delusional. On the other hand, if you don’t see a reason to think a conspiracy of evil is afoot, then you’re not paying attention. Learn to discern what’s edifying versus theories and fables that are a trap designed to suck you down a rabbit hole. There is a conspiracy to lead humanity in a symphony of destruction, but we don’t have to dance to that tune.
OUTLINE
This is not a typical sermon topic. However, there is a spiritual point to be made.
I’ve pondered and prayed about this subject for many years and what I have come to understand about it has enriched me. I believe it will benefit you as well.
Continue reading “Conspiracy Theories and the Symphony of Destruction”
We read the Old Testament and find the Jews as the good guys of that story, then we turn the page to the New Testament and find Jesus as the good guy of that story. But if they’re both the good guys of the Bible, then why do we find them in constant conflict throughout the gospels? Discover why Jesus called the Jewish religious leaders hypocrites and why they opposed him and ultimately killed him. You’ll gain a new appreciation for the gospel stories and learn not to repeat the mistakes of the Jews.
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Continue reading “Jesus and the Jews – What’s the Beef?”Anyone who has read the New Testament knows Christians are supposed to walk in the spirit, not the flesh. We’re to be spiritually minded, not carnally minded. But what is a spiritual mind, and how do you get one, and just how does one go about walking in the spirit?
The good news is that the Spirit, life, nature, and character of God are already in the New Testament believer. What we have to do is learn to let what’s on the inside flow to the outside and walk in it.
OUTLINE
Continue reading “Inside Out Minded: What It Means to Walk in the Spirit”
A few years ago while visiting family for the holidays, I was asked to share something at our gathering, like maybe reading the Christmas story, you know, the one depicted in every church play and recited by Linus in A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Now maybe it’s just because I’m a guy, or I might have watched too many episodes of Tim the Toolman Taylor souping things up because he wanted “More Power,” but I don’t get stoked over babies, shepherds, and cattle lowing in a manger. Don’t get me wrong, I believe that story and I’m all for it, and cardboard angel wings strapped to a kid for a play are cute, but I’m looking for something more, like a supernatural reality with the power to change things.
While praying about what to share, the Lord brought John chapter 1 to mind and showed me that it’s “the other Christmas story.” It’s the same story viewed from a different perspective.
Continue reading “The Other Christmas Story”Does the Bible really teach that spiritual and moral decline are a sign of the last days and the second coming of Christ? For that matter, what are the last days and when do they start? What if Satan has conned the church into believing for an increase in evil that doesn’t have to happen?
Discover a Biblical understanding of what the last days really are, what’s happening in those days, and the church’s job of advancing the kingdom on earth.
In previous messages in the series, “Sin: Knowing the Truth About It Will Set You Free,” we have learned that there is no longer any condemnation for sin and that the Old Testament law system has been abolished. Yet the term sin is found in the New Testament and even before the giving of the Old Testament law sin existed. So if sin isn’t the infraction of a law system, what is it and where did it come from?
Find a New Testament definition of sin and learn how to live free from its destructive effects by living the new covenant, kingdom way.
Message presented to ZChurch.life April 27, 2024
Review of previous messages
The primary point of this message is to get us to stop hearing the word “sin” as meaning individual infractions of law in a works-based system and the associated condemnation for failure.
We need to understand the different meanings of the word “sin,” and when, where, and how to apply them.
Continue reading “Unraveling Sin’s New Testament Definition!”The following is a guest post by my friend Riley J. Hood. The subject of voting for the lessor of two evils has been a constant theme since I began to be politically active in the 1990s. Riley addresses the matter well, so I will post his comments as representing my own views on the matter.
“Go and tell David, saying, Thus saith the Lord, I offer thee three things: choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.” I Chronicles 21:10
By Riley J. Hood
I was watching a DVD made by Christians in 2016. They had a question-and-answer session, where a poorly worded question about choosing the lesser of two evils was read. “As a Christian, my conscience is deeply conflicted in this election. I don’t feel right voting for the lesser of two evils. How do I participate in the election without violating my Christian conscience?” I don’t know of any real person who makes that argument in such airy-fairy terms. The question is an obvious straw man.
It was answered by Dr. Ben Carson, “It is a very appropriate question for me, because I’m a brain surgeon, and the reason God gave us a brain is so that we could make decisions. You know every day when you get out of bed and you get dressed and you walk out that door, until that time you get back in that bed you are making choices between the lesser of evils because we live in an evil world. If you are unable to do that then you really can’t exist. So that’s a cop-out quite frankly.” He continued his answer by comparing choosing a paper cut versus having both your legs amputated. Then he appeals to the audience to be concerned about the nation. His argument has some truths in it, such as living in a fallen world, and God giving us a brain.
But quite frankly the cop-out is “choosing the lesser of two evils,” if and when you didn’t have to. What Dr. Carson leaves out is that a healthy person doesn’t have to give himself a paper cut, because he is more afraid of amputation. It is kind of like a person with a crummy job thinking his only two choices are being worked to death for substandard pay, or to break his pinky with a ball-peen hammer so he can collect disability. All the while ignoring his options to find a better company to work for.
Continue reading “The Lesser of Two Evils”Message delivered to ZChurch.life March 23, 2024
A lot of believers go around wondering what their calling is, questioning whether they are called to ministry, and if so, to what ministry. While not everyone is called to an official full-time ministry with a fancy title, every member of the body of Christ is called to bear fruit, bear much fruit, and have fruit that remains. So how do you find your ministry? For Elder Bob Peck, it’s been by seeing a need, then meeting that need.
Do we have to serve? We don’t have to serve, we get to serve.
Two errors –
Imagine yourself in a time of prayer in the presence of God. Now imagine that in the middle of fellowshipping with Him, you discover you’re currently committing a sin. Would you suddenly feel condemned? Would you cringe and turn away from His face? Would you fear being separated from your heavenly Father’s love? If so, then you don’t have a full revelation of what happened at the cross and have not thoroughly grasped the realities of the new covenant. It’s time to drive a stake through the heart of old testament, works-based thinking, and get a new covenant perspective.
People struggle to understand sin and forgiveness.
We seem to think that we got saved by grace, but stay saved by works and not sinning again.
My breakthrough began when I realized the difference between the Old Testament and the new.
My big breakthrough came when I realized I could sin while standing right in the presence of God, fellowshipping with him, and not be separated from his love for a single moment.
The primary point of this message is to break the stronghold of Old Testament, works-based thinking that brings into bondage and condemnation.
Continue reading “Getting a New Covenant Perspective”
Perspective 