Even If i Walk Alone

Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus

Acts

Bringing an End to Poverty

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Homeless man sleeping on the street

I recently had the privilege of attending a screening of the documentary “58:”, a film commissioned by Compassion International with support from several other ministries. The movie detailed stories of people living in poverty and enslavement around the world. The documentary was very well done and I highly encourage you to check out the film and the accompanying website and book. The premise is that we can end extreme poverty in our lifetime if we would simply have the will. We have the resources and the technology and have in fact made great strides in the last 20 years. However, we can do better and put an end to poverty sooner rather than later.

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Pursuing Holiness

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Two roads diverging

As you go throughout your days, are you pursuing a life of holiness? Are you consciously striving to be the person God created you to be, a person who is consumed by the love of Jesus? This isn’t a new concept, but it has been brought to my mind in fresh ways through recent teachings by Bill Hybels and David Platt. Not only has God placed a unique combination of passions and skills in each of us in order that we might do the work He created us to do, but He has also charged us to conduct ourselves in a manner that is pleasing to Him (Philippians 1:27).

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Freewill and the Sovereignty of God, Part I

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Awesome Sunset

I should have known when we embarked on our “Tough Topic Thursday’s” that there was no way a single blog post on any subject would be sufficient! Today we will dive into the topic of freewill. This might get a little heavy, but stick with me; we need to lay the groundwork for the next week or two on this issue.

So many have questioned why bad things happen to good people or why a loving God allows evil in our world. To understand the answers to questions like these, we first have to understand the concept of freewill. Let me state first and foremost that God is sovereign over the outcomes in our world(Psalm 103:19; Acts 2:22-23; Acts 4:27-28); He is in control and no matter what occurs on earth, He is able to bring His overarching plan to pass. God is all powerful (Jeremiah 32:27; Revelation 19:6 ) and can bring anything He desires into reality. However, He chooses to give humans freewill and to work with them in bringing about His plans.

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Should Christians Attend Church? (Part I)

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Church

Our modern churches look very different from the early church in the New Testament. This is particularly true in the West. In America, our landscapes are dotted with mega-churches on sprawling plots of land where thousands of people gather to worship freely each week. Contrast this with the house churches in Asia where believers gather in small spaces under cover of the night in fear of torture and imprisonment if caught.  The Asian churches much more closely resemble the early New Testament churches in virtually every way. With that in mind, does that make attending the safe, luxurious churches in America wrong for the follower of Jesus?

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How Big is Too Big?

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I want to start with a disclaimer: I currently attend a large church (4,000+ attendees each week). Perhaps it is because of this that I have recently been pondering if perhaps the so-called megachurches of our day are hindering the spread of the Gospel. Hang with me here, because I’m only stopping to consider some questions that have been troubling me.

Large Church

This is not an indictment of any church based solely on their size. I know of many good things being done by large churches across the world. As I study the New Testament model for churches however, I am struck by how far we have deviated from that original design. [Read more…] about How Big is Too Big?