I had never had a real interest in theological positions or discussions about Salvation. One day the Lord impressed upon me that I needed to study the subject of Salvation for myself so that I would know for sure what was truth, Calvinism, Arminianism, or something in between. I reluctantly dove into this study thinking it would be dry and boring. What I found was the exact opposite. God opened a whole new bigger picture for me about Salvation. This study is not exhaustive, nor can it ever be here…
Read MoreTag: Church
Building a Theology of Peace in the Old Testament
Would you go to the Old Testament to develop a theology of peace and your position on a Christian’s involvement in war? Or do you tend to ignore or gloss over the Old Testament on the issue of peace and participation in war because it does not fit your peace theology? The Old Testament has been a problem and a stumbling block to the question of whether a Christian should go to war. How do we, who hold a peace position, reconcile the teachings of Jesus and the New Testament…
Read MoreContrary to Popular Opinion, College or Seminary Education is not Beneficial for Pastors
God is quite clear in many passages of Scripture, and through the example of Jesus, that higher education is not beneficial for pastors. Ignoring all that God has written about the subject, most churches require at least a college degree if not a seminary degree for their pastor. Subconsciously, the church has bought into the belief that the educated few hold the key to understanding the deeper things of Scripture and that Christians need to look to the educated, who are mere men, for answers to the difficult questions and…
Read MoreHome “Sunday Schooling”
The answer for the spiritual education of our children in the home church Training children and young people in the ways of the Lord is very important for passing on the faith to the next generation and to their children who follow. Building-based churches have used Sunday school and youth groups for years in an attempt to train children and young people. However, in the last 50 years or so, each succeeding generation trained in the church Sunday school has become more Biblically illiterate than the previous generation to the…
Read MoreSpiritual Understanding
How to acquire spiritual understanding and how to help others have spiritual understanding.
Read MoreHow to Turn the Hearts of Fathers to Their Children
The Importance of Turning the Hearts of Fathers to Their Children God sent John the Baptist to prepare people for lasting revival so that the church would endure after Jesus returned to Heaven. Jesus’ ministry lasted only three years. At the end of those three years, the revival that began has continued for two thousand years. What God said that John the Baptist would do to prepare the people for Jesus, was to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of children to their fathers.…
Read MorePreparing for the Future of the Church
A proposed change in the Spiritual education of children and young people It is vitally important that we prepare now for the future of the church. How we train our children and young people has great bearing on the spiritual commitment of the next generation. God has high expectations and standards of conduct for our youth and young adults. Our intentions and motives have been right, but has the spiritual education in Sunday Schools, vacation Bible schools, Christian schools and church youth groups been consistently producing young people who are…
Read MoreThe Key for Lasting Revival
One of the Godliest kings in the Bible was King Hezekiah. Hezekiah brought about a great spiritual revival and reformation in Judah. God tells us this about him: “And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did. He removed the high places, and broke the images, and cut down the groves, and broke in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called…
Read MoreTotally Rethinking Church, Part 1: Stepping “Out of the Box”
(Note: The purpose of these articles on Totally Rethinking Church is not to incite a rebellious attitude against the established church or encourage an elitist attitude; but to stimulate your thinking to look at the Scriptures and evaluate the church, so that you can help make the church more like Christ would have us to be.) Millions of Christians in the last several years have been totally rethinking what “church” is and are looking for a deeper relationship with Christ. A spiritual revolution and revival is quietly sweeping across America…
Read MoreTotally Rethinking Church, Part 2: Sheep – A Key to Understanding God’s Design for the Church
For many years, I felt like I was not being fed spiritually at church as much as I wanted to be. Many Sundays I felt like I was given skim milk instead of real meat that I could sink my teeth into. The meetings, activities, and teaching responsibilities in the church always kept me busy, but they did not really satisfy my spiritual longings. Little did I realize that I would have to become a farmer to understand God’s answer. Many of the truths in the Bible are given using…
Read MoreTotally Rethinking Church, Part 3: A Refreshing Change for Church Leadership
The caring “pasture” shepherd pastor that is God’s plan for Church leadership is the type of pastor that we all have a deep longing for. God’s design for church leadership is much different than what we find in most conventional “feedlot” style, building based churches today. It requires a total reprogramming of our minds of what Spiritual leadership is and how it is carried out. In the process of changing the format of worship from a church building to a house church, we have the opportunity to totally rethink what…
Read MoreWhy You Should Sing in Your House Church
Singing is a very essential part of our worship of God and needs to be a part of every house church. Our desire is to help you as best we can to make a beautiful, joyful sound in singing praises to our God. God loves singing, and loves to hear us sing praises to Him. The purpose of this article is to help you see how important your singing is to God, and to encourage you to perfect the singing ability of those in your house church. Singing, whether a…
Read More