March 4, 2023

Book Review: The Wolf in Their Pockets

The Wolf in Their Pockets (cover)Last year I reviewed a book by Chris Martin – Terms of Service: The Real Cost of Social Media – about how social media affects us and how we can avoid its pitfalls. Since I finished that book, I’ve been recommending it to others (read my review here). So when I heard that he had a new book coming out, I was sure to pre-order a copy of it.

[Full disclosure: I was able to get a free copy of the ebook before the release, hence the reason why this review is being posted before the official release date. But this was after I pre-ordered a printed copy of it.]

The new book – The Wolf in Their Pockets: 13 Ways the Social Internet Threatens the People You Lead – deals with the same theme as Terms of Service but is directed at church leaders and the challenges they face as the members of their churches are under the influence of social media.Continue Reading

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March 1, 2023

How Does “Revival” Happen Today?

Worship lights

It is common to hear religious people talk about attending events called “revivals.” As I write this article, a recent “revival” at Asbury University has captured the attention of believers and unbelievers throughout the country and around the world. As it continued, other “revivals” started in different places. Many people were convinced that this was from God, and, of course, others were skeptical.

This article is not about the events at Asbury University per se.* Instead, I want us to consider this concept of “revival” from a Biblical perspective. If a “revival” is to happen today, what will that look like? How will it come about? Let us consider a few questions briefly.Continue Reading

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February 19, 2023

Video Lessons on 2 Timothy

Bible Study Series: 2 Timothy

We recently completed a 10-lesson series of video lessons on 2 Timothy. You can click on the video player below to begin watching the series. Or you can scroll down to go directly to individual lessons.Continue Reading

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February 15, 2023

The Problem with Ecumenism

Hand shake

Ecumenism refers to the movement to promote unity among various religious groups despite differences in doctrines and practices. Often the focus of this is among “Christian” denominations, yet some want to extend this more broadly to include other religious groups as well. This can be seen in the growing number of outreach activities, ministries, and events shared by different “faiths” who, in previous generations, would not have fellowship with one another. One manifestation of this can be a deemphasis on evangelism since that would imply that someone needs to be taught and converted to the truth rather than accepted in their current condition.

Many people see these kinds of efforts as being unquestionably good. After all, with everything that the Bible teaches about unity, how could ecumenism possibly be a bad thing? Unfortunately, the “unity” promoted by ecumenism is not the same type of unity that is described in the Scriptures.Continue Reading

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February 1, 2023

Members One of Another

Group Praying

“For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another” (Romans 12:3-5).

Paul told the saints in Rome they were “members one of another.” They were part of the same body; therefore, they were to act in a certain way toward one another.

The same is true for us today. As we are members of the Lord’s church – particularly members of a local congregation – certain responsibilities come with that. In order to help us learn how to treat our brethren and fellow members of the body of Christ, we are going to consider what Paul told the Christians in Rome about their treatment of “one another.”Continue Reading

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January 18, 2023

Seek the Welfare of the City

Babylon

The prophet Jeremiah sent a letter to God’s people who were in Babylonian captivity. The letter contained instructions about how they were to conduct themselves while they lived as strangers in a foreign land. It also explained what they could hope for in the future.

Today, we live as exiles in the world. As we consider what Jeremiah had to say to the Jews in captivity, the basic points he made to them are helpful to us as well.

However, before we get to the letter that Jeremiah sent, it would be helpful to understand a little bit about what happened just before this. Back in Jerusalem, Hananiah falsely prophesied that Babylon would soon be defeated (Jeremiah 28:1-4, 11), allowing the captives to return. Jeremiah refuted this (Jeremiah 28:12-14). Afterward, Jeremiah sent a letter to those who were in Babylon (Jeremiah 29:1-3).

The recipients of Jeremiah’s letter may have hoped that he was announcing deliverance in the near future. Instead, they were told that they would be in captivity for “seventy years” (Jeremiah 29:10). In other words, those who had been taken would die in captivity – something that would surely be difficult and disappointing to hear. Notice what Jeremiah wrote to them:Continue Reading

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January 4, 2023

Pressing On Toward the Goal

Mountain Path

At the start of the new year, we focus a lot on goals we want to reach in the future. We may set goals regarding our health, work, or relationships. All of these may be good, but we need to make sure we never lose sight of what should be our primary goal. In writing about his goal to “attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:11), Paul said this:

“Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14).

In these verses, Paul described three things that he was doing and that we also need to do as Christians. Let us consider them here.Continue Reading

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