Acts 6:1-7 provides the prototype for the ministry of deacons in the church. Without spirit-filled wise deacons, a church will undergo great distresses which presents the potential to fracture the church. If those who are dedicated to prayer and ministry of the word are tasked with the work of deacons, the church also suffers greatly. We can observe that these two roles in the church (ministry of prayer & word, and ministry of mercy) are both necessary.

Today I'm going to answer the question "Does the Bible talk about sex?" The short answer is "yes". The longer answer is: in both the Old and New Testaments, in multiple books, across multiple genres sex, and sexual activities are commanded, spoken about, described, prescribed, warned about, forbidden, sung about, prayed for, repented of, and reflected on.

I knew as soon as I previewed this topic I would begin to get pushback. It can be awkward to discuss sexuality even in the most trusted company. Some, out of an abundance of caution, try to avoid any sort of discussion of sexual ethics. Some try to assert that sexuality is a "private" conversation. Some try to say sex isn't an issue of theology. Some try to avoid the conversation by saying sex is a political topic and as we all know politics should never be brought up on a Sunday! Today I'm offering some firm, loving, and urgent pushback to some of the objections to preaching about human sexuality.

The "old" Jerusalem was the place given many nicknames. It was the historic city home to the Jewish leadership that crucified the Lord Jesus. While it was supposed to be the epicenter of loyalty to the One true God, it became the place of execution for the Son of God. The "new" Jerusalem is something different from the historic city of the 1st century. What the "old" Jerusalem could and should have been, is what the "new " Jerusalem would certainly be.

The truism "you can't learn to run till you learn to walk" is an example of progressive succession. Is a progressively successive development of Christian virtue an accurate description of 2 Peter 1:5-9?

Today, I am not going to resolve the controversial topics debated by Christians in this chapter. What I'm going to do is display a few of the things discussed in those debates, and then conclude by demonstrating that even in this most debated passage, Christians (regardless of their side in the debates) ought to take comfort, and grow in confidence in Christ from this passage.

Parents have a responsibility to protect their children. Even the rats know this! Sometimes a situation is so dire that a parent will risk great danger to themselves in order to ensure the immediate preservation of their children. This is a principle which is observable in the animal kingdom, and among us descendants of Adam and Eve.

Needless to say, hospitality in numerous forms is something always on my mind. But recently, it came to my attention that we were shown amazing hospitality while we were on a trip

As John received this vision he wrote it down on a scroll (1:9-11). The details of the vision tell of both specific instructions to each of the local seven historic churches (chapters 2-3), along with many scenes of what was yet to come regarding the destruction of Jerusalem, the passing away of the "old order" of things (IE Temple sacrificial worship), the establishment of the "new order" of things via worship done in spirit and in truth (Christian worship focused on Christ's life, death, resurrection, ascension, and reign) and the victorious, everlasting rule of Jesus.

The first few verses of Ecclesiastes give us the repeated themes often revisited throughout the book. The phrase “Under the sun” appears 29 times throughout the book and the word for “Meaningless” appears 38 times throughout the book. 

Maybe you want to start family worship, or reading scripture together, or a devotion and you don't know where to start. I am going to keep it simple and tell you, to start anywhere! All of the Bible is for us and our children. Yes, even the stories about war, peace, death, life, concubines', greed, offerings, adultery, and love. 2 Timothy 3:16 is a wonderful verse that exemplifies what Scripture we should teach our children.

But God (Romans 5:8), who is rich in mercy and abounding in compassion, saw fit to give to me grace. What I used to be is no longer who I now am. The grace of God has been revealed in my life through many victorious changes. The primary change I've shared here is how my life used to be ruled by deceit, but now, my life has become ruled by the Truth.

Dear reader, who I am now is not who I used to be. I have never met another person more overwhelmed with deceit and lies than I was. I would lie about small things and big things. I would lie to employers, coworkers, friends, mentors, my siblings, and my parents. The dominant trait of my character, activity, and preoccupation of my mind was deception.

The Apostle Paul frequently spoke of who he was before Christ confronted him. In his telling of who Jesus was and why he mattered Paul often has 3 parts to his story - who he used to be, what changed him, and who he is now.

Our lives are like those who lived in ancient times. Our lives are journeys. Our lives are spent on their way towards the place of eternity. Either our destination is an eternity in God's presence, or an eternity apart from God's presence.

We as parents are consumed with mixed feelings of missing our children, and anticipation at finally having our homes back. We live in a sinful world where parents can't wait to send their children away. Children are being sent away to be taught about the world by someone other than their parents. But is it their responsibility? Who's job is it to teach and train our children about this world? Whether your children attend public, private, or homeschool, the training of our children to know the Lord is the job of the parents.

Board Games are great for date nights at home.

Each week we recommend some songs, a prayer focus topic, and roughly 5-6 chapters of reading. This week we've been reading through 2nd Samuel and I noticed something I had never seen before.

While much of the church through history has debated the various interpretive approaches to Revelation, in the United States today the most popular and "mainstream of consciousness" interpretative approach is the futurist dispensational approach.