DOES YOUR YOUTH MINISTRY MESS WITH CHRIST’S BRIDE? FEB 25, 2015 Much ink has been spilled and many words have been typed about shallow approaches to youth ministry and their damaging effect on young people’s engagement with Christ and the local church as they enter adulthood. There are valuable critiques; I’ve issued many of them. Youth pastors, directors, and workers need to be constantly called back to a focus on substantive, biblical, and gospel-centered ministry to young people, so that they do not fall prey to the gleam of a thriving and fun youth ministry that does not contribute to lasting kingdom fruit. A strong and drastic reaction against youth ministry, by some, has been to eliminate it completely—to entirely integrate the younger generations of believers into the life of the church. There’s warrant in this move . . . when it actually works. The problem is that it can sometimes cut out a key season of ministry for both students and leaders, a time that God can use in

Titus 1 v10 10  For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk  and deception, especially those of the circumcision group. Tonight at 7PM. 

Written by  Nikki Daniel FACEBOOK, MOMS, AND THE LAST DAY FEB 20, 2015 I admit it. Facebook is often my lifeline to the outside world. I am a homemaker with three small children, including a nursing baby. I spend most of my time within the four walls of my home raising my children, keeping the house in order, and making sure everyone is fed and healthy. It’s a dream job in many ways, but it also requires daily dying to self. Homemakers don’t get to eat when or what they want, shower when they want, or get a moment of silence when they want it. Relationships with other women are a challenge due to nursing schedules and regular demands. Therefore, many women turn to social media as a means to preserve friendships and stay connected.  Are Twitter and Facebook bad? Most will agree that they are inferior to face-to-face communication, but should stay-at-home moms get a bad rap for frequenting social media? I believe the answer has two parts. Positives “So, whether you eat

John 7:34-52  New International Version (NIV) 34  You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.” 35  The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks,and teach the Greeks?  36  What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?” ·          The people still don’t understand Christ because of their earthly attitude. He continued to speak about His ascension. ·          Ironically, it is true. Jesus would be proclaimed to the exiles and Gentiles. 37  On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.  38  Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” [ a ] 39  By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up

John 7:11-33 New International Version (NIV) 11  Now at the festival the Jewish leaders were watching for Jesus and asking, “Where is he?” 12  Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.” Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.”  13  But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders. ·          Some people truly think Jesus is a “good man”, but they have no intention on following Him as Lord. ·          Those who reject Christ outright belief him to be a deceiver. They rather believe their own broken views and understand themselves to be in no need of salvation.  ·          Some are afraid to say anything about Jesus because they want to wait and see what the crowds says. This is a fear of man more than a fear of God.  14  Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach.  15  The Jews there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning w

1 Cor 12 v14-27 14  Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15  Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.   16  And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.   17  If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?   18  But in fact God has placed  the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.   19  If they were all one part, where would the body be?   20  As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21  The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!”   22  On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,   23  and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat

John 7:1-10 New International Version (NIV) 7  After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want [ a ]  to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders  there were looking for a way to kill him.   Themes appearing: Persecution and tribulation already in view for Christ and His people. Jesus was hated because he was scandalous to them. He was scandalous because he claimed to come from heaven and that he had to be believed upon for salvation. It was also scandalous because Jesus told them that "no one can come to me unless the Father enables them." This again was offensive to them.    They despised him because he taught that the whole world needed salvation and not just the Gentiles.  They despised the truth of total depravity. This was an offensive doctrine to the self-righteous. They wanted to think that there was something righteous about themselves.  2  But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles  was near,   3  Jesus’ brothers  said to him, “Leave Gali

Is porn just a male problem? | The Good Book Blog

Dear LPBC, I pray your week is going well, and by God’s grace your love of Christ is growing more. No matter how our week goes according to our plan, we can always trust our good God. He has not withheld His own Son, but freely given Him to us for our salvation. Recap- We gathered together on Sunday to glorify Him and we once again found Him to be full grace and truth.   During our Sunday School hour two courses were taught. I taught a session on our church covenant in our  Membership Matters  course.  We talked about how the church covenant is central to our identity as a church and how it helps clarify our relationship to one another. Please come out and learn more about our church this week as we study biblical basis for church membership. We begin at 9:30 A.M.  Andrew Nedimyer taught the other class called  Meeting with God . This upcoming week, Lord willing, Nate Mouli will lead us in our next section of this class. I pray you will all be encouraged to grow

The Days of Creation and Exodus 20:11 by   JMH   on   February 9, 2015   in   Bible and Theology , Creation  Taken from here Justin Taylor has caused quite a stir with his post on “ Biblical Reasons to Doubt the Creation Days Were 24-Hour Periods .” The decisive factor for me is how earlier biblical statements are interpreted by later ones, so Exodus 20:11 is BeastMode (a.k.a. Marshawn Lynch) on the goal line in this argument. Re-reading the Van Pelt quote JT gives on Exodus 20:11, I think it misses the point and fails to do the job old-earthers need it to do. The point Moses is making in Exodus 20:10–11 is a different point from the one being made in Psalm 95 and Hebrews 3–4. The author of Hebrews cites David as saying something like this in Psalm 95: God did the creation for six days, then rested on the seventh day. God did the redemption at the exodus, then offered Israel rest in the land. Israel rebelled in the wilderness, so God swore they would not enter into hi