La Grange Texas (TX)

A community of loving, caring people who worship the Lord together, support each other, and desire to reach out to others so that they might also experience the true freedom that comes from faith in Jesus Christ.

Our purpose is to glorify God through the clear proclamation of His Word, so that individuals might enter a personal relationship with Him through the person and work of Jesus Christ and might worship Him rightly.

Rockaway New Jersey (NJ)

A fundamentalist baptist church in central orange county ("oc") south of disneyland)

What The Bible Says - Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

What The Bible Says - Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

Need: Bi-Vocational, Self-Supported, or Missionary Pastor

What The Bible Says - Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

What The Bible Says - Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

Bro. Randall Hammonds 2 Smauel 23:8-12.

"A Mighty Revival" - Pastor Garry Castner - 4/21/24.

"A Mighty Revival" - Pastor Garry Castner - 4/21/24.

2 Chronicles 10:15 KJV — So the king hearkened not unto the people: for the cause was of God, that the LORD might perform his ...

2 Chronicles 10:15 KJV — So the king hearkened not unto the people: for the cause was of God, that the LORD might perform his ...

Deconstruction is about tearing down, opposing, and moving away from? rather than? towards? anything or, for that matter, Anyone. At stake is whether we live in a world where it is possible to truly know truth and its Author, or not.?

It wasn't only because of missionaries from the West, says a Tongan Australian theologian.Christian overseas missionaries were more successful in Oceania—the region spanning the Pacific Islands, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and New Zealand—than anywhere else in the world.In particular, people in the Pacific Islands (which include Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Vanuatu, Tonga, and more) were receptive to the gospel because “their ancestors’ strong beliefs in a divine presence and in the afterlife made them very open to Christian faith,” wrote Jacqueline Ryle, a contributor to the 2021 reference volume Christianity in Oceania. Tongan Australian theologian Katalina Tahaafe-Williams says her research reveals the same: The growth of Christianity in the region was not because of white Europeans but rather due to Indigenous missionaries who translated Christianity in a way that made sense to locals.Tahaafe-Williams, who lives in Sydney, served as the Indigenous coeditor for the book alongside prominent global Christianity scholars Kenneth R. Ross and Todd M. Johnson.“Our goal was to recruit Indigenous writers from all over the region to contribute to this volume,” she explained. “It was my task to connect with potential authors, theologians, leaders, and church members from the Pacific Islands … we were very committed to finding, however challenging it might be, authors who were part of that particular culture, thereby making the work very authentic.”CT Global books editor Geethanjali Tupps spoke with Tahaafe-Williams on why Christianity flourished in the Pacific Islands, how migration patterns have impacted the church, and why the region shouldn’t serve as the poster child for climate change issues.Continue reading...

? Temple Baptist Church - 5-8-2024John 14:15-19; 15:26-16:7? Introduction:? John 14:15-19 If ye love me, keep my commandments. (16) And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; (17) Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. (18) I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. (19) Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.? John 15:26-27 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: (27) And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.? John 16:1-7 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. (2) They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. (3) And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. (4) But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you. (5) But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? (6) But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. (7) Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.? A. As we continue to look at the prophecy of? Christ's work on earth ending, it has caused great consternation to His disciples.? 1. The Lord has said that He is going away and they cannot go with Him but promises that they can come to where He is later.? John 13:36 Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.? 2. The Lord has foretold that His disciples will be hated for His name's sake as they hated Him first.? John 15:18-20 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. (19) If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. (20) 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; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.? 3. The Lord has foretold that His disciples will be persecuted and put out of the synagogues and ultimately will die for the cause of Christ.? John 16:2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.? 4. Sorrow has “filled” their hearts. “Filled:” A sorrow that consumed them at this time.? John 16:6 But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.? B. The Lord is now telling His disciples that it is “expedient” that He go away.? 1. “Expedient” – a means of attaining an end. Something good and profitable. In their best interest! Oft times, troubles, and trials in the child of God's life are expedient. They are necessary in the short term to bring about something good in the long run.? 1 Peter 1:6-7 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: (7) That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:? 2. They did not understand now but, when the fulness of the Person of the Holy Ghost will come, they will realize the expedience of Christ's going away.? C. Why expedient?? 1. Because the price for sin had to be paid, the resurrection of the dead had to be accomplished, and the two ascensions had to occur. The first ascension to place the blood of Christ upon the Mercy Seat in heaven and the second ascension so as to produce our High Priest, Advocate, and Mediator.? 2. Because God dwelling with man was not sufficient as God dwelling in each man individually. Christ in the flesh was limited because He became flesh and flesh cannot be everywhere at one. The Holy Spirit of God could indwell each individual man.? 3. Because of the empowering of each believer to bring about boldness in witness.? D. I do not want to preach a series on Pneumatology, the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, but do want to do justice to what is said in these verses. In verse 7, we find that the Lord will send the “Comforter” to them. “Comforter” –? παράκλητος? paraklētos? par-ak'-lay-tos? – Summoned or called to one's side, especially called to one's aid. An intercessor, succorer, assistant.? 1. The Promise of the Comforter.? John 14:16-19 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; (17) Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. (18) I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. (19) Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.? a. Verse 16. The Promise of His Coming. “I will pray the Father, and He shall give”? b. Verse 16. The Promise of His Comforting. “Another Comforter” To take the place that Christ had before His death, burial, and resurrection.? c. Verse 16. The Promise of His Continuing. “abide with you for ever” He will never leave nor forsake the child of God. “I have Somebody with me, to bear my heavy load!”? d. Verse 17. The Promise of His Counsel. “The Spirit of truth”? e. Verse 17. The Predicament of His Presence. “whom the world cannot receive”? f. John 15:26. The Purpose of His Work. “He shall testify of me” A lot of religionists speak much of the work of the Holy Ghost, but the work is not His entire purpose. The Holy Spirit, in His Person, and the Holy Ghost, in His Word, ALWAYS POINT THE BELIEVER TO CHRIST AND NOT TO HIMSELF!? 2. The Person of the Comforter. He is God! At this point, I want to look at a theological statement that shows the Equality of God the Holy Spirit..? “God is one God, manifesting Himself in three Persons—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. These Three are all co-equal in all power and attributes.”? a. He is One with God. “God is one God, manifesting Himself in three Persons—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.”? b. God is one God! “One God” shows the absolute truth of the unity of the Godhead or Trinity. The word “Trinity,” like the word “Rapture,” is not found in your Bible but the truth of the Trinity is all through your Bible.? 1) The word “Godhead” is used three times in the Bible with the number three speaking of perfect unity. “Godhead” speaks of divinity and comes from a root word meaning “perpetual.” The word “perpetual” means unending or continuing forever.? Acts 17:29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the? Godhead? is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.? Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and? Godhead; so that they are without excuse:? Colossians 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the? Godhead? bodily.? 2) In the Old Testament, we find the unity of God established. the First Mention of God is found in Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God” with the word “God” being plural. This Hebrew name for the Trinity was used in the plural form:? 'ĕlôhı̂ym? el-o-heem'? 3) In Genesis 1:26 and 11:7, we fine the? phrase? “let us”? used when speaking of the Godhead or Trinity.? 4) In the New Testament, we find the three-fold work of the Godhead? separated? and explained.? 1a)? God the Father sent? His Son to die for the? sin of the world;? 2a) God the Son gave His life for the payment of the sins of the whole world;? 3a) God the Father sent? the Comforter (Holy Spirit)? to indwell and teach the believer.? c. In the New Testament, we find the separation of offices.? 1) As the United states has three branches of government, the Godhead has three Persons with distinct works.? 2) The Holy Spirit has every attribute (Omniscience, Omnipotence, and Omnipresence) of God the Father and God the Son making Him also Almighty God.? 3) “These Three are all co-equal in all power and attributes.”? 3. The Purpose of the Comforter.? a. He was to be their Comforter! I thank God every day for the amazing grace that He has extended to us in salvation and given to us in our earthly sorrows. My beloved sister, Sharon, who has cancer has been one of the greatest examples of God's grace that I have ever seen. We love and may miss her for a little while here but will spend eternity with her there. We then comfort others with the comfort that we have comforted of God.? 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; (4) Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. (5) For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.? b. He was to be their Teacher. “Spirit of Truth.”? 1) The world cannot discern the Truth of the Word of God.? John 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.? 1 Corinthians 2:12-14 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. (13) Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. (14) But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.? 2) The Believer can know the Truth of the Word of God.? John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Why Wayne Grudem's interpretation of Ephesians 5:21 is untenable.In Ephesians 5:21, Paul instructs Christians to “submit to one another.” These words have traditionally been understood to require mutual submission, even among family members. The reformer John Calvin, for example, acknowledged that the notion of a father submitting to his child or a husband submitting to his wife might seem “strange at first glance,” but he never questioned that such submission is indeed what Paul prescribes.In more recent years, however, this reading of Ephesians 5:21 has been called into question—ironically, in the name of theological conservatism. Many evangelical scholars now assert that the submission in this verse is not mutual submission (everyone submits to everyone) but one-directional submission to those in authority (some submit to others). The most outspoken proponent of this view is Wayne Grudem, a prominent theologian who helped establish the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.Grudem, who recently announced his retirement from teaching, has argued for more than three decades that Ephesians 5:21 could be paraphrased as follows: “Those who are under authority should be subject to others among you who have authority over them.” On Grudem’s reading, this verse requires a wife to submit to her husband, but it does not in any sense require a husband to submit to his wife.In defense of this interpretation, Grudem appeals to the meaning of hypotassō, the Greek verb translated “to submit” or “to be subject.” Grudem claims that this verb “always means to be subject to someone else’s authority, in all Greek literature, Christian and non-Christian.”“In every example we can ...Continue reading...

Gentle parenting is one tool to train up children who have disabilities with love and wisdom.As a toddler, my son would often lash out at other kids for no apparent reason, causing incidents at daycare, at home, and in the church nursery. At times, he would even hurt himself in his distress. After more than a year of trying to encourage the “right” behavior, I felt like this was more than age-appropriate tantrums.We sought an evaluation, and our son received multiple diagnoses that confirmed he’s neurodivergent, a term that commonly encompasses brain-based differences such as ADHD, autism, learning difficulties, and more.One way to consider how my son experiences the world is to think of his brain like a highly sensitive smoke detector. A typical smoke detector on your kitchen ceiling will alert you to a potential emergency in the room. However, one that is highly sensitive might alert you to a neighbor smoking a cigarette as he walks by your window on his way to the store.My son’s nervous system makes him similarly sensitive. He’s hyper-attuned to potential threats in the world around him, and sometimes the most typical everyday interactions can become extremely distressing for him, even resulting in acute anxiety attacks.As first-time parents, we did our best to follow conventional advice about establishing routines and maintaining authority. We disciplined him with consequences, withheld privileges, and rewarded any display of self-control. Any physical discipline only succeeded in making us seem like a threat and triggering his fight-or-flight response.Traditional forms of discipline were not working, and my husband and I knew we needed to change the way we parented. Yet I still wondered if this was compatible with my faith. I could not escape the maxim “Spare the rod, spoil ...Continue reading...