I suppose the issue of baptism has been so divisive within the church because of man’s proclivity toward tradition. We hear this most often in the phrase, “Well, that’s just how I was raised.” As if that is an authoritative argument. I propose that we ask with Paul, “What saith the Scripture?” (Rom. 4:3)
We believe that Jesus is God. But do we believe that Jesus is God because the historical record backs up the proposition or because we choose to believe by faith? Do we believe in His deity by faith or do we come to this conclusion through historical, empirical evidence?
Continue reading “5 Thoughts on the Deity of Christ. How is it Proven?”
Understanding the Background of the New Testament – Part 1
When the Old Testament narrative ends the northern tribes (Israel) have been decimated by the Assyrian Captivity and the southern tribes (Judah) have fallen to the Babylonian Empire. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah tell us the story of the journey home from Babylon and the rebuilding of Jerusalem and her beloved temple.
I never get over how strong the temptation is to preach religion instead of preaching that which I am commissioned to preach, Christ!
I Corinthians 1:23, II Corinthians 4:5, Colossians 1:28
Currently I am preaching through a sermon series called Heroes: 8 Stories of Incredible People. The second sermon was slated as a charter study of the life of Peter. When I study the life of Peter I see an incredible walking contradiction, a man of incredible strength and epic weakness. At one moment he is walking on water and the next he’s slipping into the waves. It seems no apostle is more commended and subsequently corrected than Peter, many times all within the same passage.
We are currently in a 5-week study through the book of James in our Sunday Morning Services. I love preaching through books of the Bible and the book of James is one of my favorites. As you may know the book of James was written by a very influential pastor (James the pastor at Jerusalem) during an important transitional period in church history.
A few weeks ago I preached a message entitled “Why did you Create Me?” And the service just seemed to go so very well. I love preaching to the people who attend Southern Hills and I get such joy in doing so. This led me to begin questioning why this is the case. Why do I find such great pleasure preaching to the People of Southern Hills. I came up with a few reasons I believe to be true.
Over the past two summers the Lord has burdened my heart to preach a series of messages on controversial issues. Last summer the series was entitled Hot Topics. The sermons I presented were meant to cause thought provoking discussion with our church members. Racism, Politics, Sexuality, Going Green, Social Networking, and Abortion were some of the topics I felt motivated to share with our people. This summer the series was entitled: Questions for God. In this series we asked: Why do bad things happen to good people? Is there a Hell? Is God a Republican or Democrat? Is it Fate or Free-Will? The format in both cases was simple. I gave the contemporary argument, we looked at the issue from both sides and then we looked into the Scripture to see what God had to say on the issue.
