Answered prayer

I really have to share a testimony. My refrigerator went out on Oct. 26th. My wife is in Germany, and food's already a big deal for me without her, but then the fridge went out too?! It felt like I was living in the third world, or camping out! Long story short, the fridge was supposed to be under a warranty (we didn't buy it; it came with our house), but getting it fixed was taking days and days. Then I was told it wouldn't be covered at all! A really nice fridge, but what good is that if the compressor's out?

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The Positives of World Religions

As a Christian and a preacher/teacher, I am frequently teaching people how different cults or world religions differ from Christianity and biblical teaching. In doing so, I have to point out what’s wrong with these other belief systems, how they contradict the Bible, how they go against the evidence, why they are untrue and even demonically inspired. I consider this to be part of my calling. You can’t just proclaim the truth; it’s also necessary to compare and contrast it with anything untrue.

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Are You Sure?

As I’ve previously mentioned, I just completed a course in world religions, studying Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, indigenous religions, etc. Pretty interesting stuff for a guy like me. I visited a Hindu temple nearby and interviewed the young priest. Then I wrote a paper on Islam. But I’ve been studying Islam for years, and my studies continue. I’m presently reading Did Muhammad Exist, by Robert Spencer, a guy you frequently see on TV as an expert on Islam. What he says in this book agrees with what a lot of the scholars I cited in my Islam paper say. Turns out that Islamic history is really shaky, and there’s lots of information on this. There are no collaborating non-Muslim sources for most of it. The only information on Muhammad himself, the Qur’an, or the “history of Islam” most Muslims are taught is very, very vague, unsubstantiated, contradictory, and downright legendary! It’s possible Muhammad never existed! Continue reading “Are You Sure?”

Some thoughts on women in ministry

So a friend posted a link today on Facebook, telling how pastor Bill Hybels of Willow Creek church in Barrington, Illinois has raised up a replacement for himself when he retires in 2018. He has a teaching pastor to do the preaching and teaching, and an executive pastor, who presumably, will handle admin duties and may preach and teach too, I’m not sure. Well, there seems to be all sorts of protest over his allowing a woman to take his place as a pastor. First of all, I would point out that we don’t know the details. What if this woman is strictly doing admin duties? Is that a problem? But on the other hand, what if she preaches and teaches. What about that? Doesn’t the Bible say women can’t be pastors? I’m pretty amazed at all the responses this friend is getting. People are saying Paul was in error, we should listen to Jesus and not Paul, people are saying well, that teaching that women can’t speak in church is just man’s interpretation, etc., etc. I think Christians need more education! I’d like to share a section of a teaching I did on 1 Corinthians 14, because it deals with this subject. Please continue reading to see my teaching notes, cut and pasted into this blog.  Continue reading “Some thoughts on women in ministry”

Fake News

Today I was reading Acts 24 in my daily reading through the Bible, and came upon verse 5, where a lawyer hired to help the non-Messianic Jews get rid of Paul, the Messianic Jew, who had a different worldview than they. This lawyer, Tertullus, said that the Jews had found Paul to be a “troublemaker” who had stirred up riots all over the Mediterranean world. That really got my attention, because it was totally fake news! It was absolutely false, but shows how things get distorted and turned around in this world.

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October 2017 Update

Today I filled in for the pastor of our little church here in Homosassa, as he and his wife went up north camping for three weeks. I was very pleased to be "back in the saddle" so to speak. For the next three weeks, I'm going to be bringing some messages that cover the same material I'm doing in a slightly different format on podcasts and video clips, titled "Saved From What." On the website, I'm breaking it up and only covering one subject at a time, but here at the church, since I only have three opportunities, I'm going to combine two or three things each week.

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World Religions

This school session I’m taking a course in world religions that covers Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Indigenous religions, and Buddhism. I am finding it fascinating! The truth is though, it’s too light for me. I wish I were taking a whole semester or more on each religion! Taking them all in just eight weeks is a very brief overview, that’s all. Continue reading “World Religions”

When Christians are the Minority

With all the craziness going on in our nation lately, I’ve been thinking of how we as Christians are now facing the problem of being out of favor, being looked down upon or scorned in our country, and that is liable to get worse. In a sense, we have been “in power” for most of America’s history. Everyone in the States used to at least recognize God or believe we should recognize and respect Him, respect ministers, believe the Bible is the “good book,” etc. But oh, how that is changing!  Continue reading “When Christians are the Minority”