The Resurrection

A Broadcast with R.C. Sproul Skeptics question whether the resurrection actually happened. But we have the eyewitness testimony of people who saw, touched, and spoke with the risen Lord. From his series Dust to Glory, R.C. Sproul helps us defend this historical event.

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Summing Up

~ Merrit

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. ~ Philippians 4:8-9

There is a principle in these two verses that I think people tend to miss, one that is critical to healthy and happy living.  These two verses are quoted often, I’ve even heard them quoted to “prove” that we shouldn’t use bad language, but to me, that sort of thing really misses the point. Let’s see if we can find a little more than meets the eye here.

Read more: https://lifereference.wordpress.com/2019/01/18/summing-up-5/

Are the Parables of Jesus Authentic?

~ SeanMcDowell.org

Jesus told some of the most famous parables in world history. Whether it is the parable of the prodigal son, the sower, or the good Samaritan, Jesus is commonly known as a storyteller.

But besides tradition, what reason to we have to believe Jesus actually told parables? How do we know the parables attributed to Jesus genuinely trace back to him?

Considerable debate is spent examining the passages in which Jesus claims to be God. My father and I have an extensive chapter on this issue in the revised Evidence that Demands a Verdict. But less ink is often spent defending the authenticity of the parables of Jesus.

Since the Synoptic Gospels report over forty parables, which contain some of Jesus’ most memorable and powerful teachings, it is also vital to consider the historical evidence they actually trace back to Jesus.

More to read at: https://seanmcdowell.org/blog/are-the-parables-of-jesus-authentic

An Amazing Ending

Philippians 4:10-23

Paul closes out his letter in this final part of chapter four. This is largely a personal message to the Philippians, and there are some things about it that we can learn, especially if we keep the theme of the letter in mind; being worthy of the gospel.  As Paul has shared what it means for a believer to live the Christian life and to walk with Jesus as opposed to just believing, in these last verses we see this teaching in practice.

Read the rest: https://lifereference.wordpress.com/2019/01/19/an-amazing-ending/

10 Things You Should Know About The Lifting Of Hands In Worship

https://www.samstorms.com/enjoying-god-blog/post/10-things-you-should-know-about-the-lifting-of-hands-in-worship

Press On!

by Don Merritt

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.Philippians 3:13-14

Thus, Paul ties this together for us with a rallying cry that has spanned two millennia, thrilling the followers of Jesus, encouraging all of us to strive to take the gospel to the nations, and moving us to minister to one another in His love.  This is where Paul takes his stand, and this is where we stand with him for the cause of Christ.

All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained. Philippians 3:15-16

Following his great rallying cry of verses 12-14, Paul will make a plea to the Philippians and by extension to us, to continue forward in Christ. He begins with these two verses.  This is a transition into his exhortation for us to follow his example. You can see that by the way he links the two sections with the first sentence, yes; we who are mature should take the view that he has expressed, and if we find ourselves disagreeing on some point, don’t worry for God will sort things out.  I sure wish more Christians in our time would take this view!

Notice he goes on to urge us to live up to what we have already attained, which moves us to his larger exhortation. Before we get to that exhortation, maybe we should ask ourselves what it is that we have attained. By our faith we have entered relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ and received forgiveness of our sins and eternal life. In chapter one he urged us to be “worthy of the gospel” and now he urges us to “live up to what we already attained”.

Comment at: https://lifereference.wordpress.com/2019/01/17/press-on-2/

Why God Can’t Take Away Suffering

In his book, God Can’t: How to Believe in God and Love after Tragedy, Abuse, and Other Evils, Thomas Jay Oord delves into the heart of one of the most difficult questions Christians face, an issue that theologians have wrestled with for centuries: Why does an all powerful and loving God allow tragedy, abuse, and suffering? With insight and compassion, he uses real life examples and testimony combined with groundbreaking ideas to challenge conventional wisdom on this difficult subject.

Written in straightforward language, this book will be of great comfort not only to victims of assault and survivors of disasters, but to anyone dissatisfied with unconvincing explanations of God’s complicity or control of terrible events.

Whether or not you agree with everything the author proposes, God Can’t has much to recommend and will provide plenty of food for thought. Oord starts the book with a real-life tragedy cutting straight to the pat answers normally given for such events, like “There’s a higher purpose,” or “We can’t understand God’s ways.”

He reels off a list of genuine evils and explains the audience for his book: anyone who wonders where God was or what he was doing when they needed him. Describing the heartbreaking stories of four people, he outlines the typical questions that we ask such as “Is God punishing me?” “Does he care?” or “Why doesn’t he prevent pointless pain?”

 

Read more: https://www.redletterchristians.org/why-god-cant-take-away-suffering/