Fundamentals
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Testing Every Spirit
God’s people have always wrested with understanding whether or not a doctrine or a practice is from God. However, God has not left His people without solution. In the Old Testament, in Deuteronomy 18:20-22, God basically says that the prophets were to be tested in their words. If their prediction comes to pass, they are Continue reading
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Washing Away Our Sins
Is baptism for past sins, present sins, or future sins? On the surface this might not seem like a difficult question, but there is some depth here to investigate. What sins are washed away by baptism? Washing Sins Away Matthew 26:26-29 records the last supper of Christ, and, in this, Jesus says His blood is Continue reading
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I Know Whom I Have Believed
What do you know about your faith? In a recent book called Religious Literacy, author Stephen Prothero critiques the general theological ignorance of the United States – usually credited as the most religious nation in the world. Some statistics cited point to fewer than half of American adults know that Genesis is the first book Continue reading
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Meaningful Worship
What attitude do we have when we enter into worship of God? How do we view the act of worship, and what importance do we place on that action? We may fall into mundane patterns of comfortable repetition, and we allow life to exit the worship process in our attempts to keep worship proper and Continue reading
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Jacob’s Struggle with an Angel
In Genesis 32:24, we have one of the more perplexing stories of the Old Testament in which Jacob wrestles with a messenger of the Lord. Jacob has been living in Haran for the last fifteen years after cheating Esau out of his birthright. He will soon encounter his brother, and he is not sure what Continue reading
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Congregational Maturation
No Christian is disposable or dispensable to the congregation of which he or she belongs. As we create a picture of what we want a congregation to grow into, each individual is a part of the process. There is no shortcut to maturity – as a group or as individuals – and, as the individuals Continue reading
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Changing Identities
I live with an autism spectrum disorder. I acknowledge this, and I refuse to be treated medically. My autism is part of who I am. It is my identity, and, if a person with an ASD is high-functioning enough to be self-sufficient and a productive member of society without medical intervention, I strongly believe it Continue reading
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Taking Sin Seriously
In his book Studying Sin Seriously, Wendell Winkler speaks to the results of sin – its decisiveness, its deceptiveness, its disgracefulness and destructiveness. Sin is a topic we should, in fact, take seriously, and, in this lesson,w e are going to look at the basic nature of sin and what it does to us as Continue reading
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Building a Stronger Church
What does it take to build a strong church? We want to be members of congregations that are stable and firm, but how do we reach that point and, having reached it, maintain it? Building and Maintaining a Strong Congregation Faithful Teaching. In II Timothy 4:1-5, Paul warns Timothy to hold to the truth despite Continue reading
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Congregational Body Building
Ephesians 4:11 begins by talking about some gifts given to us through the types of people we are around or are influenced by – the apostles and prophets, evangelists, spiritual leaders, and teachers. Paul goes on to explain in verse 12 that these gifts are given for the “equipping of the saints,” making us ready Continue reading
Simply Gospel 