Reformed. Christianity. Evangelism. Modern Culture.
Following the recent acts of terrorism and religious extremism on the streets of that ever serene city of Paris, Mike Evans asks a question, How do we pray for Paris? He then goes ahead and outlines four important points:
In the case of the attacks in Paris the intent was to shock and, by shocking, to stimulate nationwide fear and alarm. Even more importantly, terrorism, as practiced by Islamic State, recognizes no difference between civilians and military personnel, because their war is not primarily against a specific nation or state but against a culture.
How should we react as Christians?
1. Mourn with those who mourn.
Families have lost loved ones; many have been seriously or permanently injured and face an uncertain future. Pray for the churches in the Paris area as they reach out to families, neighbors, and friends who have been victims of these attacks that they may not only help them rebuild their lives but also be signposts to the gospel of Jesus Christ. …Read More!
In Singapore there is a form of godliness that is rooted in materialism and it’s called “Christless Christianity”…
At “Miracle-Seed Sunday” in Singapore’s New Creation Church last month, the pastor’s sermon was preceded by PowerPoint and video presentations, and donations were overseen by auditors.
[ Singaporeans] are flocking to a new species of churches making appeals more in common with “Material Girl” pop-singer Madonna…
Wearing a white leather jacket and jeans, Senior Pastor Joseph Prince asked God to reward a crowd of about 1,200 with houses, cars, jobs, pay raises and holidays if they contributed to New Creation’s multimillion-dollar funding drive.
Prince’s 24,000-strong flock belongs to a flourishing breed of churches from Houston to Sydney winning followers with a focus on personal well-being. As the rise of so-called mega churches helps make Christians the fastest-growing religious group
[Some misguided teachers] say “make the service so attractive, appealing, and relevant to the unchurched that your members are eager to share it with the lost people they care about.” This is church for the unchurched (translation: unsaved/nonbeliever). That again is not a Biblical model. The Biblical model set up the church as the “pillar and support of the truth,” the place of fellowship for believers where they can be trained and strengthened to go out and proclaim the gospel to the lost. Then when the lost are found they are welcomed into the church. ~Steak and a Bible
Letter of Marque rightly notes that…
God, the Holy Spirit, inspired the Apostle John to take up his pen and write this word of encouragement and warning to us. In these words we will also find God’s explanation regarding the raging popularity of the Seeker-Driven Mega “churches”. According to scripture, they’re not successful because they’ve tapped into the latest movement of the Spirit, or because their on the cutting edge of revival or because they’ve found a way to communicate the timeless truths of scripture in fresh relevant ways. Nope. Here’s what God says:
“Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” (1 John 4:4–6)
HT Jim West.
This cartoon depicts what has become of good churches…they are very hard to find!
HT friends on FB.
Jim Bublitz takes no prisoners as he writes this blistering
but deeply insightful article- Full Link here
That sounds reasonable, doesn’t it? I mean, after all -who would honestly say that they’ve never sinned? Probably nobody. And since unbelievers already feel guilty enough over they’re past mistakes, then it goes without saying that we should spend the vast majority of our time preaching a positive message of Good News to them, rather than dwelling on the negatives. In this post, we’ll actually go inside of a prison and test-out this theory on convicted felons. If anybody ought to understand their own guilt and sinfulness, it would be real/live rapists, murders, and thieves, right?
Warning: Understanding the things in this video could challenge your entire view of ‘relevance’ in evangelism.
I’ve mentioned before my experiences in the church that I used to attend which, over time, transitioned into a model based on what is prescribed by Bill Hybels and Rick Warren. If I were to pick out one key reason why I left that church when I did, this would have been it. I knew there was something wrong when a year of time passes with very little mention of sin. Oh sure, bad habits were talked about Read More
The next time you go to a mega church, you will not be seated alone. Well to be more inclusive and increase numbers of attendants more novel methods are being employed. You see, you can now tag along your neighbour’s chihuahua and hamster to church if you want to. I kid you not.
In a society obsessed with pet dogs, cats, rodents, fish and reptiles, it only follows that churches should open their doors to Fido.
“As a boy in San Antonio, Paul Flotron helped his family raise miniature schnauzers,” writes Mark Oppenheimer in the New York Times. By age 10, he had accumulated a menagerie of “dwarf crocodiles, African pancake tortoises, birds, boa constrictors, hermit crabs, fish, and always dogs.
“Today, Flotron runs Creature Comforts Great and Small, a St. Louis pet-care business, and leads Noah’s Ark, a pet ministry of Grace Church, a large nondenominational Protestant church. Noah’s Ark runs a pet-food drive, supports a no-kill rescue, brings pets to visit the sick and infirm, and hosts a grief group for those who have lost a pet,” reports Oppenheimer:
“We actually have Bible study and discuss passages that are animal related,” Mr. Flotron said. “We make that our foundation.” …Read more!
Big Brother Your brother’s keeper is watching you…
[HT Defending. Contending]
A friend of mine on Facebook scribbled this finishing remark found in a review of a bad London restaurant [which] could be said of many seemingly-successful churches:
“Perhaps the secret to the restaurant business in this country – in particular in London – is not to concentrate on the food, but to give people a place they want to go and be with large numbers of other people who appear to be having a good time. If they see that, they’ll tell themselves that they, too, are having a good time. S__ has mastered that, to me, slightly depressing trick.”
[HT D. McMasters via Facebook]
It’s been coming and soon it will be here. Crowd control has always been a nightmare since the days of the ‘brood of vipers’ open air sermons of John the Baptist to the modern day children’s trampoline tea and biscuit parties of a pastor’s wife. Many delighted mega church ushers seemed to jump for joy this week supposing they had landed themselves a useful gadget in ultimate crowd control but stopped mid air as police in the UK seized large numbers of a gadget that has been supposedly dubbed ‘the ushers touch’.
A MILLION-volt stun gun disguised as a mobile phone is being smuggled into Britain by criminals. Potentially-lethal K95s are 24 TIMES more powerful than a police Taser. But There’s More
A Twisted Crown of Thorns ® 