Effective missionaries are lifelong learners of culture, working to understand where their people currently are so they can lead them to a true, yet truly enculturated, understanding of the grace and truth of Jesus Christ. They understand that the core of the Good News can come wrapped in different packages and expressions. That is all to say, this book by Reggie McNeal resonates with my passion for people with a missional faith. That we should be more missional. To survive as a church in this modern western world, we need a huge paradigm shift of being missional.
The kingdom of God captures both good and bad people. The message is given to both. They live together and are given a chance to change and grow. The kingdom does not operate according to human calculations. We do the work which God has entrusted to us, and then trust in God to bring about the result.
In order to be served, we must first learn to serve. We need to submit, totally, to the person God leads us to in order to build us up. Learning to be humble and to deal with the temptations brought before us by means of trusting God’s grace, we can have the free life of an armorbearer. “The spirit of an armorbearer is the spirit of Christ. It is the heart of a servant”.
But beginning in chapter 12 Paul turns his full attention on the ethical implications of the gospel.” (393) The process of sanctification is constant. The Holy Spirit is always transforming us into the image of Christ. When we accept and believe the Good News an evident change will occur in our lives. Paul then teaches of how our lives will be transformed by the mercies of God. Romans 12:1-2 reads that we will be
Both Kenneth and Margret were required to ask forgiveness from afar until they receive punishment for breaking the church rules. It has been about two years since Kenneth has left the church. Throughout that time he has been hopeful that his wife Margret follow, but with no avail.
Dear, Elizabeth Proctor Elizabeth I am writing this letter because I don’t think I have completely explained my feeling and all the decisions I had made for our family. So word by world I would do my best to explain. For the last seven months, our relationship has been strained. I have been dishonest with you and unworthy, but the actions that I risked were for our family. I feel terrible guilt for what I have done.
It was one of the most heart breaking decisions I ever had to make but I could see the pain that old dog was going through and I couldn’t stand to see him hurting anymore. Carlson promised me he would try his best not make it painful for Scruffy but I was too upset to say anything. He led him out of the bunkhouse and I just had to lie down. It tore me apart having to see him leave and know that was the last time I would ever see him. The guys tried to distract me from the situation but it was all I could think about.
This right and wrong is then carried with them into adulthood and becomes the basis for making choices. Chester Dolan writes, “Religions, if they want to survive, will begin to take seriously their responsibility for teaching moral behavior. They will learn how to rid their own organizations of hypocrisy, and do the same for others.
Appreciate the Importance of Study People must be motivated before they will study a subject. Christians have all the reasons they could possibly need to study the Bible. Consider a few. As you do, note the emphasis on regular, frequent study. #1: Study so you can obey God and grow in His service.
Prayer in public schools is a controversial topic that has taken top-billing on many of Americans minds. In the article, Banning Prayer in Public Schools Has Led to America’s Demise by Gary Bergel states in the first paragraph, “On June 25, l962, 39 million students were forbidden to do what they and their predecessors had been doing since the founding of our nation – publicly calling upon the name of the Lord at the beginning of each school day.” Bergel is attempting to state that America has decreased in morals since this date as well as forbidding prayer at that time. These are the first two incorrect points of this article. They are by no means the only ones but these will be the two major points of contention addressed. First, the date Bergel uses is in reference to the court case of Engel V. Vitale in New York.