Barring getting lost on the way back from an after-hours bar and popping into one to grab a nap on the way home, it is unlikely that you will see either of the Shark Guys occupying church pew space on a Sunday morning. That said, this story did nearly cause a religious conversion of Paul on the Road to Damascus-like power. It was later determined that the bright lights we thought we saw and errantly attributed to a beacon from a celestial lighthouse were caused by a combination of dehydration and standing up too fast. Pope Benedict XVI (Return of the Robed One) is ...
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First off, let's define a few words here... We need to define: Love, Everyone, Will Have, Joy The tendencies is to open up the dictionary to determine what a word means, but I prefer to open up the Bible and see what God has to say about it. I trust His judgment any day over man's ideas. [*ISBE*][LOVE] luv ('ahebh, 'ahabhah, noun; phileo, agapao, verb; agape, noun): Love to both God and man is fundamental to true religion, whether as expressed in the Old Testament or the New Testament. Jesus Himself declared that all the law and the prophets hang upon love (Mt 22:40; ...
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Messengers or Manipulators? By John MacArthur First Corinthians 2 makes it clear that Paul shunned manipulative oratory. He didn’t do what many preachers do today; he wasn’t into manipulating his crowd. In fact, he says in 1 Corinthians 2:1, “I didn’t come with superiority of speech” (that’s oratorical ability), I didn’t come to bowl you over with my oration, I didn’t come with “wisdom.” He says further in verse 4, “My message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom” (I didn’t use technique; I didn’t use manipulation). I didn’t want your faith to “rest on the wisdom of men” (literally, the ...
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In church, a lot of people seem to have the view that doing God's work is the job of the guys up the front, the 'pros', the pastors, teachers, apostles and prophets. But check out this verse... "Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work..." It says that their job is to equip God's people (aka the church) to do his work - not to do it all themselves! Doing the work of God is the job of us everyday ...
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Are there a growing number of “hypocrites” in church? That’s what a lot of the unchurched believe. With more church services adding entertainment to their format, people would still rather be fishing, or golfing, or relaxing (Hey, it is supposed to be a day of rest, right?). What’s really interesting about the recent poll is that most of the unchurched still believe in God, as well as the traditional doctrines. And don’t forget about our mega-channel TV religious programming choices, along with a vast internet fare, including online Bible studies and Christian discussion forums. But there’s nothing quite like personal contact with others of ...
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