The church is divided and broken by a failure to properly address sins and conflicts. I see it all the time, at every congregation. This person takes issue with that person, then there are bad feelings, then bad talk, and it eventually reaches its breaking point. People leave, congregations split, and the name of God is profaned. Continue reading The Broken Church
In my personal experience, the most unpopular book of the Bible is Lamentations. I’ve never seen a pastor preach on Lamentations. I’ve never seen a Bible class focus on Lamentations. I’ve never seen a Sunday-school teacher have children memorize verses from Lamentations. And, I’ve never seen anyone proof-text pieces of Lamentations in arguments to support their doctrines. I’m sure there must be people who study Lamentations; however, my experience is that I’ve never seen it happen. It seems like Lamentations is a pretty unpopular portion of the Bible.
It’s unfortunate that Lamentations is so neglected. The book contains a lot of powerful instruction on personal accountability, making repentance, and God’s capacity to forgive and restore even after He has stricken His people. Continue reading Lessons of Lamentations
Back in the 1990’s I would go to a congregation, meet people, and I would be invited to a Wednesday night Bible study. When I went to the study group, I took my Bible and everyone else brought theirs. Someone led the group, we’d pray, then we’d open our Bibles and read them. The group leader would provide some insights into the text, and we’d pause here and there to discuss the interpretation of the text. That was Bible study.
Twenty years later, in the 2010’s… I go to a congregation, I meet people, and they tell me they have a “small group” on Wednesday night. I go to the small group, and I’m the only one bringing my Bible. We pray to bless the food, we eat, we make small talk, then we watch a video. When the video is done, we have a short and shallow discussion of what we thought about the video. Then the evening is over.
What happened to studying the Bible?! Continue reading Bible Study is Not Dinner and a Movie
There is often a misunderstanding of the Pharisees and Jesus’ issue with them. People commonly think the issue Jesus had with the first century leadership is they were “religious” or “works-based”. That was not the issue. God actually did tell us to do stuff, and He actually does require us to obey His commandments. So, obeying God’s commandments can’t be the problem Jesus had with the pharisees.
The problem is many people today fail to distinguish God’s commandments from man-made doctrines. Continue reading What was Jesus’ Beef with the Pharisees?
Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?” And then will I declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” (Matthew 7:21-23)
Who are the people that believe they have salvation but Jesus will deny having known them? Continue reading Whom Jesus Never Knew
