Claimed, gathered and sent

To many non-Christians, the church seems irrelevant. Dan Kimball speaks to this issue regarding the post-modern generation. “People in emerging generations are open to discussing … truth. But they're looking for conversation, not a lecture, and facts, not rhetoric.” [1] To speak the language of today’s seekers, one must learn the language. Daniel Hill desired to understand younger, unchurched people. “For Hill, whose day job is ministering on staff with Willow Creek Community Church 's Axis outreach, Starbucks provides a context to build meaningful relationships with postmodern, Gen-Next twentysomethings who are far from God.” [2] God given intellects give us creativity in outreach. [1] Dan Kimball, “I Like Jesus … Not the Church,” Outreach and Evangelism Today, 14 March 2007, n. p. Online: http://www.christianitytoday.com/outreach [14 March 2007]. [2] Brett Lawrence, “Starbucks Spirituality,” Leadership Journal, Fall 2002, ...

“Sacred Scripture indicates … how deeply related are the knowledge conferred by faith and the knowledge conferred by reason…” [1] Rejecting reason denies being made in God’s image as intelligent beings. Reason without faith denies God’s plan, rejecting fellowship with him. “Intelligence enables everyone, believer and non-believer, to reach ‘the deep waters’ of knowledge (cf. Prov 20:5).” [2] Credo ut intellegam ("I believe in order to understand') and intellego ut credam ("I understand in order to believe") need to be kept in tension. Through faith, we understand who we are and where we fit in. Life can be intolerable without faith. God’s plans are “plans to prosper … not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jer 29:11). “Most reflective believers with a theistic orientation realize that the truth of God’s existence is not immediately obvious.” [3] Anselm, a “reflective believer,” [4] stood “… in a long line of thoughtful believers w...

For my devotional time this morning I was reading Hebrews 12, you know the chapter that starts out, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses..." (Heb 12:1). What powerful imagery, how moving. It makes you feel like you can hang in there with this great throng that has preceded you in the faith. It is the second half of the verse that I was meditating on this morning. "... let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us" (Heb 12:1b). Several thoughts came to mind. First of all, "the race that is set before us." My son, Christian, was a distance runner from middle school through college. He did best of all at the mile. He did very well at longer distances like cross country races or road races. He did ok at slightly shorter distances, but the mile was where he shined. That was his race. When he ran the race set before him, that he was best built for, he succeeded. What about us? Do we look at others' walks of faith...

Have you ever wondered what your spiritual gifts are? In my class on leadership, we were required to take the following test to determine those gifts. See what yours are. Romans 12 Motivational Gifts Test http://www.gifttest.org/

I just finished my summer courses, one of which was Ministry Communication. On the final, we had a choice of several scriptures for which to produce a sermon outline. One of them was Psalm 23 and this is my outline. Following the Shepherd Introduction Have you ever felt so desperate, alone and helpless that you just wanted to be taken care of? When I was divorced, before I met my husband, Ray, sometimes I just wanted to be taken care of. I remember how it felt when I bought a good used car from a Christian brother that had been advertising on the local Christian radio station. He was so honest and forthright. He did not try to take advantage of me or talk me into a vehicle I could not afford. When I took the vehicle in for servicing, he made sure everything was done right. All I could say was that I felt taken care of. I had not felt that way in a long time. This man was a stranger, except for the fact that...

God's people face many challenges in living an incarnational lifestyle in today's world. Postmodernism presents us with challenges such as a belief that there are no absolutes. On the other hand, there is an unprecedented openness to spirituality. In postmodernism, “The issue is the “imposition of one set of cultural ideas upon another.” [1] Oppressive ideologies are taboo. The answer is following Jesus’ example of love. “Through humility, love, and patience … preachers can take measures to dispel the concern of people who have witnessed atrocities and deceptions in the name of truth … and … God.” [2] Christ reaching out to the marginalized with a “radical embrace,” [3] his inclusiveness, appeals to postmoderns. The universality of the gospel, for all would be a drawing factor. Regarding metanarratives, “The gospel is not a metanarrative, an ideology imposed on people, but an intranarrative, a reality exposed in one people and one person—Christ.” [4] ...

In reading the scriptures, it is sometimes difficult to determine what applies to us and what doesn't. Take a look with me at 1 Timothy 5 and Paul's words to Timothy. Widows: instructions strictly for the first century Several verses in this passage refer strictly to Paul’s time, such as the widows’ list. In verses 9-10, Paul cites the criteria for receiving support. The restriction regarding younger widows would be strictly for that time as well. Verse 15 addresses the local situation of younger widows that have left the faith. Elders The instruction to drink wine for his stomach (verse 23), was specifically for Timothy. Though possessing healthful properties, Paul was not prescribing wine for all stomach problems. “Whenever we share comparable particulars (i.e., similar specific life situations) with the first-century hearers, God’s Word to us is the same as his Word to them.” [1] On this basis, the following verses apply to us today. Verses one and two are ...