Matthew

Where was God in Newtown?

December 17, 2012 by Tim Sherfy

sandy hook,freewill,open theism,newtown,tragedy,forgiveness,love,God and evil,why does god allow evil,why do bad things happen to good people,newton ct

Whenever there is a tragedy such as the horrific killings in Newtown, Connecticut, people want to know how a good and loving God could allow such inexplicable violence. How can God truly be worth serving if He allows murder, rape, kidnapping, depravity and abject evil to exist in our world? Is He not powerful enough to put an end to it? Is He even in control at all? These are fair questions that come out of unimaginable grief and trauma. I think it is okay and even healthy to ask these questions. But people want to do more than question God, they demand an answer. It’s here that I think too many Christians are missing the mark.

Boycotting Christmas

December 13, 2012 by Tim Sherfy

Christianity,J.C.Penney,Ellen Degeneres,Greg Boyd,AFA,Donald Wildmon,American Family Association,discipleship,Christmas,true meaning of Christmas

Every December there are groups of Christians who protest or boycott companies who do not use the word “Christmas” in their advertising. One group is outraged because J.C. Penney (ironically hailed by the same group for using the word ‘Christmas’ in their ad campaigns) is using Ellen DeGeneres, a homosexual as their spokesperson in their commercials. These are the kind of actions that caused me to abandon Christianity to instead live my life as a follower of Christ. This is why young people are turning away from Christ in record numbers. If this is what it means to be a Christian, who wants to be one? Who would want to identify with an elitist mentality that focuses on the judgment of others?

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Building the Church

December 10, 2012 by Tim Sherfy

fiscal responsibility,church buildings,building campaign,unity,church budget

I’ve heard many preachers talk about building the church. It sounds like such a noble thing to say, but it depends on the context. I’ve seen far more churches concerned with building the structure that houses the Church, rather than building up the people who actually comprise the church. Most of the time, I hear the need for a larger building justified by saying that it is required to reach more people for Christ. Really? Jesus told us to go out into all the nations to tell others about Him (Matthew 28:19-20). He never said to build a large facility so that the people of the world would come to us.

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Using Your Talents

November 26, 2012 by Tim Sherfy

talents,skills,god's will for your life,why am I here,life purpose,spiritual gifts

Most of us are familiar with the parable of the talents found in Matthew 25:14-30. In the story, the master gives his servants a varying number of talents before he goes away on a long trip. To one he gives five, to another two, and to the other one. When the master returns, he calls in his servants to see what they have done with what he gave them to use. The first two servants doubled what they received, but the other one simply offered back exactly what he had been given. The servants who multiplied what they had were praised, while the one who had done nothing received harsh judgment from his master; he was stripped of what he had and thrown out of his master’s presence.

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What Do You Value Most?

November 19, 2012 by Tim Sherfy

Jesus first,discipleship,dave ramsey,total money makeover,financial peace,living for Jesus,values clrification,values

Are you living by the values of society or the values of God? It’s easy for the line to get blurred. Sometimes it can be difficult to discern whether something is God’s blessing or simply the result of selfish ambition. Especially for those of us in the West, the temptation to conform to what our culture considers to be normal can be overwhelming. We try to keep up with the Jones’s instead of humbly serving and loving them. Our focus tends to be on our personal enjoyment or on the size of our retirement nest egg. Satan is having a field day with our values, and too often Christians are excusing it in the name of God’s favor.