Thousands of Christians will take time tomorrow during the National Day of Prayer to specifically pray for this nation, our leaders, and our future.

Every sin requires Christ's atonement. But the Bible shows God punishing—and repairing—different sins differently.Christian theology consistently holds together truths that seem to want to fall apart: Jesus is fully God and fully human. People are sinners and created in the image of God. The church is local and universal.And yet, despite what we affirm, in practice, Christians are often unable to walk and chew gum at the same time. Instead of holding two truths in tension, we tend to slide to one side or the other, distorting it in the process. We treat Jesus either as an invulnerable, transcendent being or as a mere prophet. We speak as if humans are either so degraded we are capable of nothing but sin or mostly fine with a few rough edges. We think of the church as if it were only our own sect or we minimize the local congregation.Evangelical theologians have done great work in Christology, anthropology, and ecclesiology, respectively, to retrieve those three truthful tensions. But there is a fourth tension yet to be retrieved: All sins ruin us, and yet not all sins ruin us equally.To start, let us be clear: Sin—however small—is a serious thing. And sin is only atoned for by the work of God in Jesus Christ. But saying that Christ is the only one who atones for all sin is different from saying that all sins do the same kind of work on us.All sins break the sinner and create havoc around us. And yet the Scriptures consistently depict the sins we do as different, not only in effect on one another but before God. Within the Law, for example, different social remedies are given for different sins, and so are different sacrifices (Lev. 4; Ex. 21). Not everything requires a bull or a goat. Sometimes a dove will do. In the Prophets and Proverbs, God distinguishes—and even prioritizes—certain ...Continue reading...

The surprising argument that Saul of Tarsus was born into bondage.Of the many letters the apostle Paul wrote, few survived. We have a good deal of his communication to churches as a whole—letters to groups of believers in particular cities. This makes sense. Such letters were read publicly and often; they were copied and disseminated and celebrated as Scripture soon after the ink had dried.Paul sent a number of letters to individuals as well. To read his biblical writings is to sense that you are glimpsing only a fraction of his relational network and influence. Almost all of those letters have been lost.But there are exceptions.It was a tall order for personal letters to ascend to the level of canon. It helped to be bound up with a great figure, a leader of a great community. Timothy, for instance, was a towering second-generation church leader; he was also the bishop of Ephesus, a major city of the Roman Empire and a major Christian center. Titus was a pillar of the Gentile mission and served as the bishop of Crete. Their eponymous letters had huge communities to champion their inclusion in Scripture.A mystery for the ages, then, is why Paul’s letter to Philemon—the leader of a house church in the minor city of Colossae—survives at all. It’s the most personal letter we have from Paul. It runs only 25 verses.The letter reveals a story. In it, a man named Onesimus has fled his master Philemon. Onesimus was most likely a household slave, a bondservant high in the pecking order.To call him a runaway slave is true, though it is misleading for modern readers, who might imagine Onesimus attempting to escape through something like the Underground Railroad.In fact, some scholars argue that Onesimus sought out Paul but planned to return to his master. Steven M. Baugh, ...Continue reading...

? Temple Baptist Church - 5-1-2024John 15:17-25? Introduction:? A.? ? The Lord is giving some last words to His disciples just prior to going to the Cross.? ? 1.? If they kept His commandments and continued to abide in Him, the world would hate them in His stead and take their wrath out on them.? Tonight, we will take a short look at why the world hated Christ so much and now hates the Christian.? 2.? Peter would deny Christ thrice shortly for fear of retribution from the crowd who took Christ.? B.? In these verses, Christ reiterates His command that we should love one another.? Spiritually, we are all that we have outside of Christ.? Though they still hate Christ, He now sits at the right hand to the Father and there is nothing that they can do to Him.? We MUST be there for each other.? C.? I preach quite a bit on loving the brethren because the world and Satan are doing their best to divide us.? “Divide and Conquer” is a biblical principle that Satan knows full well:? Matthew 10:36? And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.? Mark 3:25? And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.? D.? Christ wanted His disciples to know what would happen to them and why it would be so.? Their persecution would be linked to obeying Christ's commandments.? 1.? Verse 17.? They had the human option of not obeying so as to not draw attention to themselves.? In that case, they would not be identified and persecuted.? 2.? If they obeyed Christ's commands, they would be easily identified and singled out for persecution.? 2 Timothy 3:10-12? But? thou hast fully known? my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,? (11)? Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.? (12)? ? Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.? E.? Let us look at what Christ said to the disciples as he gave them reasons for persecution.? ? 1.? Christ wanted His disciples to know that they were in the right Company!? “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.”? Acts 2:1? And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.? Hebrews 10:24-25? And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:? (25)? Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.? 2.? Christ wanted them to know that they were not of the world.? “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world.”? 1 John 4:4-6? Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.? (5)? They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.? (6)? We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.? 3.? Christ wanted them to know that He chose those who believe to be His.? “but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.”? 2 Thessalonians 2:13? But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:? 4.? Christ wanted them to know the fellowship of His suffering.? ” Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you;”? 1 Peter 4:16? Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.? 5.? Christ wanted them to know that the world rejected His word.? “if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.”? Revelation 1:9? I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.? 6.? Christ wanted them to know that they hated them because of His name.? “But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.”? Philippians 2:10-11? That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;? (11)? And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.? 7.? Christ want them to know that He exposed their religion as false.? “because they know not him that sent me.”? 2 Corinthians 4:4? In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.? Ephesians 6:12? For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.? 8.? Christ wanted them to know that they hated Him because He exposes their sinfulness.? “If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.”? Romans 5:12-15? Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:? (13)? (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.? (14)? Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.? (15)? But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.? 9.? Christ wanted them to know that the works they hated would be done by His followers.? “If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.”? Ephesians 2:10? For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.? 10.? Christ wanted them to know that they hated Him because He fulfilled the Scripture.? “But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law.”? When we fulfill scripture, they will not like us either.? John 19:36? For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.? 11.? Christ wanted them to know that they hated Him for no good reason.? They just hated Him!? “They hated me without a cause.”? Luke 23:41? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.? 12.? Christ wanted them to know that He was still their Friend in persecution.? John 15:14? Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.? Romans 8:29? For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.? James 4:4? Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

“As a movement, it is time to aggressively add virtual ministry outreach through telecare and telehealth,” Jor-El Godsey, president of Heartbeat International, told attendees of the organization's 53rd Annual Conference on Thursday, April 25. Without minimizing the need to continue opening more brick-and-mortar pregnancy help centers to give women in-person, ongoing compassionate care, he said […]The post Pregnancy Centers are Helping Women Choose Life in a Climate of Easy Abortion Pill Access appeared first on LifeNews.com.

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Everything Good, the highly anticipated new recording from Dove and Singing News? Fan Award-nominated husband/wife duo Zane & Donna King, bows May 31? from StowTown Records. Carrying overarching themes of joy and peace, the album is a testimony to God's faithfulness in the couple's lives following a difficult season of walking with two of their children Read More

A premature baby boy from Fife has come home for the first time after spending 81 days in hospital. Stephanie Auchterlonie was first made aware that there might be a problem with her unborn baby at her 20 week scan. Medics identified a right aortic arch, a potential symptom of a genetic disorder called DiGeorge […]The post Baby Born Prematurely at 28 Weeks and Weighing Just 18 Ounces Heads Home From Hospital appeared first on LifeNews.com.

The event will include a line-up of some of Israel's biggest artists and will raise funds for victim families and survivors.

In Reversing Entropy, the 95-year-old poet looks lovingly at creation.Luci Shaw is a legend in Christian literary circles. Her many volumes of poetry—named for rivers and clay, the color green, the glint of seaglass—speak to the beauty of creation and the generosity of the Creator. She has written on faith and art, the Christian imagination, and prayer, including a few books co-authored with her friend, Madeleine L’Engle. Shaw is also a beloved teacher, serving as longtime writer-in-residence at Regent College.Speaking with the poet about her latest collection Reversing Entropy (out this spring from Paraclete Press), I understood how she has served as an inspiration for generations of students and readers. She’s gentle, curious, and wise. Her way of seeing the world is wondrous—everything from lichens, to a shivering little lake, to “jewel dew” in the grass, is significant. All the world inspires praise.Reversing Entropy doesn’t just look around; it looks ahead. Luci Shaw is 95 years old, and this collection is understandably full of endings. Leaves fall; ripe apricots drop from a tree; her brother passes away. There is “the inevitable decay / the leaving and the dying.”But there’s also hope. From the collection’s final entry, a long, tumbling prose poem that Shaw says “poured out” of her “like a gift”:Give praise, now, to our God, the Quickener, the One who stirs us into such new life that we, and all creation, may wake to the sound of a fresh music, and start to sing again the songs of love, and longing, and refreshment. …Come Springtime, that most beneficent of seasons, all, everything, every thing, will be thawing, rising, joyful, laughing, tuning up for the evermore, and in every green ...Continue reading...

Idan Damotov says there is no justifying the reckless driving that left him hospitalized after car crash with Ben-Gvir and his entourage

Unsung Hero grossed an estimated $7.75 million during its opening weekend, securing the No. 2 spot in box office rankings. It also finished second in per-theater average. It earned an A+ grade from CinemaScore.

If there was ever a doubt about Tucker Carlson being an antisemite, not anymore. ? It's clear that he's a card-carrying member of a club that embodies and propagates the oldest hate.

This Thursday, May 2, 2024, marks the 73rd ? time that our nation has honored the National Day of Prayer.

Unsung Hero grossed an estimated $7.75 million during its opening weekend, securing the No. 2 spot in box office rankings. It also finished second in per-theater average. It earned an A+ grade from CinemaScore.

The father of late Christian singer Mandisa has said he doesn't believe she died from self-harm and had been “weak,” struggling with recovering from COVID-19, at the time of her death.?

According to Cuba Gooding Jr., his new role as a drug dealer-turned-Christian in “The Firing Squad” is one of the most impactful he's ever tackled and reflects his own redemption story.

Televangelist and prosperity gospel preacher Jesse Duplantis, who has an estimated net worth of around? $20 million, has called poverty a "curse" and says his wealth — which includes a private jet and a? 40,000-square-foot mansion? in Louisiana — comes from being "blessed" by God.

by? Patricia Burke? of? Safe Tech International Excessive screen time has been directly linked to eye damage. In addition, reading in a moving vehicle is associated with motion...The FCC is the Bully Boarding the School Bus: The Eyes are (Not) Having It

By Tyler Durden Just when you thought you’ve already witnessed a lifetime’s worth of examples of the government being excellent capital allocators with your tax...Have Fun Staying Poor: Washington Announces $45 Million Subsidy For Low Income Families To Buy EVs

Authored by Frank Fang via The Epoch Times Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of U.S. Space Command, recently warned about China's “breathtakingly fast” development of space...US Space Force General Says China’s Military Developing Space Assets At “Breathtaking Speed”

By Tyler Durden Just when you thought you’ve already witnessed a lifetime’s worth of examples of the government being excellent capital allocators with your tax...Have Fun Staying Poor: Washington Announces $45 Million Subsidy For Low Income Families To Buy EVs

By Michael Snyder It appears that the people running our system have decided that it is time for a wave of consolidation in the banking...Another Bank Bites The Dust – So Who Will Be The Next Dominoes To Fall?

By Tyler Durden Just when you thought you’ve already witnessed a lifetime’s worth of examples of the government being excellent capital allocators with your tax...Have Fun Staying Poor: Washington Announces $45 Million Subsidy For Low Income Families To Buy EVs

Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Epoch Times We've all surely had dark thoughts that the CIA is really running the United States, including many...Does The CIA Run America?

By Michael Boldin In the American system, the people of the several states are sovereign, meaning they hold final or ultimate authority. Power flows from...Sovereignty and the Constitution: Government as Agent of the People of the States