Tag: Idolatry

By micoots
23/11/2016 0

Thanksgiving as Theological Act: What Does it Mean to Give Thanks?

Article November 23, 2016

Thanksgiving as Theological Act: What Does it Mean to Give Thanks?

A lack of proper thankfulness to God is a clear sign of a basic godlessness.

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“Thanksgiving is a deeply theological act, rightly understood.”

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Thanksgiving is a deeply theological act, rightly understood. As a matter of fact, thankfulness is a theology in microcosm — a key to understanding what we really believe about God, ourselves, and the world we experience.

A haunting..

By micoots
21/11/2016 0

A Reflection and Some Lingering Concerns after the RTS Trinity Conference

Second, as noted earlier all persons of the Godhead have all the attributes of God and this list usually includes power and glory. But this seems to be another difference between orthodoxy and ESS/EFS/ERAS. Is God’s authority (power) an attribute or not? Orthodox teaching says yes. Grudem and Ware say no. At ETS yesterday, Grudem said that authority is not a divine attribute, it’s a relationship. In Ware’s book, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, he claims that the Father has supreme glory as well as..

By micoots
20/11/2016 0

So What Are You First, Christian, or Something Else?

If you are going to call me something I suggest you call me a Christian first, and I am commanded by Paul here to let the life of Jesus be all over me in the way I act and treat others so the title of “Christian” would have validity. I am not hiding my ethnicity, age, or gender. These are part of me, but they come after my union with Jesus.

This last Sunday I had the joy of preaching from Colossians 3:1-17. I entitled the sermon, “What you wearing?” with the subtitle, “Wha’d you call me?” Plea..

By micoots
16/11/2016 0

Political Idolatry and Mocking Your Mission Field

Many in the church have worshipped at the feet of this idol and are simply overjoyed that this idol seems to have produced results. And the mocking has begun. My Facebook is filled with comments about snowflakes, hypocrites and lefties who supposedly are so evil and so despicable that they need to be ridiculed for their tears. The problem is that these snowflakes we’re mocking are my mission field. I talk to so many of them on a weekly basis. Despite Scripture’s warnings about letting no unwhole..

By micoots
15/11/2016 0

Bridges or Walls? (RJS)

There is a well known image often used in evangelism – the bridge diagram. The cross is a bridge spanning the chasm between God and humans. A google search on “bridge diagram” will turn up many examples. The bridge to the right is a very different kind – connecting Buda and Pest.
We, too, are called to build or be bridges. Now, clearly we don’t replace the cross or the one-off work of God through Christ in any way, shape or form … but that doesn’t change the point. Bridges bring connection, wall..

By micoots
15/11/2016 0

What Every Church Needs to Hear

This sermon by Jason Micheli
For the last 18 months, according to the Principalities and Powers, this Tuesday’s election was supposed to be the most important event in our lifetimes if not in history, an odd and hyperbolic claim for Christians to accept given that the only democratic election portrayed in the Gospels is when we choose Barrabbas over Jesus. Christians are right to be passionate about the candidates causes for whom they advocated; likewise, Christians are right to feel queasy-to-a..

By micoots
15/11/2016 0

Learning From The Judges

“The people of God relived the cycle of relapse, retribution, repentance, and rescue over and over again throughout biblical history. And, dare I say, the church has seen a similar cycle over the past two thousand years as well. But we have a tendency to think such things cannot happen in the life of the church today.”

Certain periods of history stand out to me as particularly instructive for the course of all of history. That is, sometimes we can zero in on one period of time in the past, obse..

By micoots
14/11/2016 0

A God Big Enough to Heal All Creation

By Kevin Maney, who received his PhD from the University of Toledo in Curriculum and Instruction, majoring in educational technology and minoring in educational leadership. He completed his studies for a Diploma in Anglican Studies at Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge, PA, and did his coursework almost entirely online. He was ordained as a transitional deacon in the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) on February 9, 2008 and as a priest in CANA on May 1, 2008. He is now the re..

By micoots
13/11/2016 0

Do You Play Hide and Seek in Worship?

As a child, if I broke a rule while my parents were out of the house, they would return home to find me doing extra chores. My kid logic went something like this: if my parents see the newly empty dishwasher, they might not notice the newly empty cookie jar. Not surprisingly, my sleight-of-hand typically failed. My parents saw right through my childish trick.

In a similar way, religion can be a place we try to hide from God. There’s something about rhythms and rituals, formality and functions ..

By micoots
11/11/2016 0

The Day the Revolution Began

Personal Thoughts, by John Frye
Scot McKnight is posting about The Day the Revolution Began, the latest book by scholar-historian-pastor N. T. Wright. I have read the book and found it fascinating, accessible, and courageous. Wright even admits that as he was writing the book, he reconsidered some of his own positions and changed them as he diligently examined the sacred text. Disagreeing with many who promote a traditional (Reformation-informed) view of the atonement as expressed in Romans 3:21..