http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/evangelical-religion/ en-us Wed, 6 Jan 2010 01:18:53 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2421836/posts When growing up in a Christian home, we enjoyed delicious meals prepared by a caring cook—Mom! We also started every meal with prayer offered by a caring overseer—Dad! There were two of us children—my sister two years younger and myself. Then when I was 17, my mother at age 43 gave birth to twins! They enjoyed the same family table that my sister and I sat down to before they were born. jgrantswankjr http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2421836/posts#comment Wed, 6 Jan 2010 01:18:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2421657/posts Well we all knew it would happen. Even the ELCA bishops did. The same bishops that tried to tell their conservative members that "blessing" and "hold publicly accountable" did not mean marriage. The ELCA is performing, endorsing, and encouraging marriage ceremonies. Oh the glee I'm sure the ELCA bishops and pastors have to see it all happening. It's like a dream come true, for them. Funny thing is, these "Christian" leaders are leading their flock into lifestyles of sin. All with a big smile on their face. God loves people caught up in the homosexual lifestyle. But His message to... Exposing the ELCA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2421657/posts#comment Tue, 5 Jan 2010 21:03:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2421497/posts Introduction In all the extant biographies of England's worthies, we rarely hear of one who was 'more devout and godly' than the writer ever knew, who not only led 'a heavenly life himself', but also 'very earnestly and heartily' laboured 'to persuade others' to do the same. Yet such a man was John Bradford - scholar, royal chaplain, itinerant preacher, contender for the true faith and martyr. Not without cause did an Anglican bishop and fellow martyr, Nicholas Ridley, write to him: 'O good brother, blessed be God in thee, and blessed be the time that ever I knew thee!'... Banner of Truth http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2421497/posts#comment Tue, 5 Jan 2010 18:08:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2421492/posts An International House of Prayer in Independence was searched overnight...new details are still coming in. We've been told that authorities are still on scene investigating. The raid began about 9:00pm Monday and included the church as well as the pastor's house nearby. A member of the church was reportedly arrested on federal fire arms charges. KMBZ 980 AM Kansas City http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2421492/posts#comment Tue, 5 Jan 2010 18:02:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2421427/posts But God January 5, 2010  "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)." (Ephesians 2:4-5)  For two one-syllable words, the opening words of this passage speak endless volumes of truth. Before they appear, there is nothing but wrath and death. Then suddenly, there is rich mercy, and great love, and grace, and salvation, and eternal life! The difference is God!   The world before God intervened was dead in trespasses and sins and completely... Institute for Creation Research http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2421427/posts#comment Tue, 5 Jan 2010 16:31:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2421423/posts January 5 Personal Life: Let God Alone But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. --James 1:4 God is saying, "I stand ready to pour a little liquid fire into your heart, into your spiritual being!" We respond: "No, Lord, please excuse me. That sounds like fanaticism--and I would have to give up some things!" So we refuse His desire, even though we want all the benefits of His cross. There is this thoughtful phrase in The Cloud of Unknowing: "He wills thou do but look on Him and let Him alone."... Literature Ministries International http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2421423/posts#comment Tue, 5 Jan 2010 16:29:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2421419/posts I wasn't born and raised in the Reformed church.  In other words, I am a Reformed immigrant.  Like many people in the Reformed church today, I migrated out of broad based evangelicalism and non-denominationalism.  Many of my friends, both ministers and laypeople, have had similar immigration experiences.  Recently, at the funeral of my father-in-law, I had the opportunity to get reacquainted with many of my Reformed immigrant friends.  Much to my surprise, I found myself having a very similar conversation with this group.  They shared with me that they felt like something was missing in their Reformed experience.  While they... reformation21 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2421419/posts#comment Tue, 5 Jan 2010 16:25:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2421261/posts Spurgeon's Morning & Evening - January 5 -------------------------------- Morning Devotional "And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness." - Genesis 1:4 Light might well be good since it sprang from that fiat of goodness, "Let there be light." We who enjoy it should be more grateful for it than we are, and see more of God in it and by it. Light physical is said by Solomon to be sweet, but gospel light is infinitely more precious, for it reveals eternal things, and ministers to our immortal natures. When the Holy... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2421261/posts#comment Tue, 5 Jan 2010 12:48:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2421077/posts To The Editor: I never really thought of Sarah Palin as being inspiring until I read the letter on Dec. 26 by K. Guyette. As a proud new great-grandmother, I'm sure Palin and her husband did not "let" her teenage daughter get pregnant. That usually takes place without mother of father around. But my daughter, like Palin, "let" her teenage daughter keep her baby -- no discussion of abortion. She, like Palin, "let" her daughter live at home and continue to go to school. She, like Palin, "let" -- in fact, welcomed -- that precious baby into her heart and... The Hendersonville Times-News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2421077/posts#comment Tue, 5 Jan 2010 03:10:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420937/posts Walk in Truth January 4, 2010  "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." (3 John 4)  The phrase "walk before me" is used six times in the Old Testament. Here in our text is the foundational setting. God’s standard for us does not waver. "Be ye holy; for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:16).   Eli the High Priest was confronted by a "man of God" because Eli did not "walk before" the Lord. The prophet warned that those who honor God, He will honor, and those who despise God, He will... Institute for Creation Research http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420937/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 23:42:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420935/posts January 4 Personal Life: A Friend of God And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God. --James 2:23 After all, what higher privilege and experience is granted to mankind on earth than to be admitted into the circle of the friends of God?... It is well for us to remember that Divine-human friendship originated with God. Had God not first said "You are My friends," it would be inexcusably brash for any man to say, "I am a friend of God." But... Literature Ministries International http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420935/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 23:41:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420766/posts There is evil hate in Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, and their Tea Party Patriot supporter’s voices when they campaign to deny affordable health care to every American, all the while extolling the virtues of their Christian faith. The truth is that they are either lying hypocrites, worshippers of Satan involved in a grand plan to destroy America and the Christian faith, or ignorant of what it means to be a follower of Christ. Christians know that their paramour, Jesus Christ, gave two commands to his disciples when asked what the most important commandment was. He said to love God and... The Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420766/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 19:26:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420511/posts ANGLETON—Winning Muslim converts to Christianity is difficult, but veteran missionary Kevin Greeson knows a way—start with the Quran. Greeson, who has served 16 years with the Southern Baptist International Mission Board working to start Christian movements among Muslims in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal, stressed the importance of spreading the good news of Christ with Muslims. “The best way to fight terrorism is to share the gospel. And I believe that not because I want to fight terrorism, but because there are lost people,” he explained. Debating religious tenets with Muslims is a waste of time, Greeson added. Muslims are taught... The Baptist Standard http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420511/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 13:29:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420474/posts Spurgeon's Morning & Evening - January 4 -------------------------------- Morning Devotional "Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." - 2 Peter 3:18 "Grow in grace"-not in one grace only, but in all grace. Grow in that root-grace, faith. Believe the promises more firmly than you have done. Let faith increase in fulness, constancy, simplicity. Grow also in love. Ask that your love may become extended, more intense, more practical, influencing every thought, word, and deed. Grow likewise in humility. Seek to lie very low, and know more of your own nothingness. As you grow... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420474/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 12:16:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420295/posts As an obedient believer, you are to stand firm in the strength of the Lord, to be sober in spirit, and to reamain alert in order to resist the schemes of the devil. However, in all areas of your walk as a believer, you are incapable in your own strength and insufficient in your own resources to overcome the wiles and temptations of Satan. Therefore, you must put on the full armor of God to be an overwhelming conqueror in your continuing spiritual battle against the forces of hell(based on Ephesians 6:10-18; James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8-10; Revelation 12:11).1. The... In-Depth Discipleship http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420295/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 01:15:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420207/posts To halt this “soul drain,” to answer the fundamentalist challenge and, most of all, to understand our faith better, Peter Kreeft looks at five major points of conflict... Whose Bible is it, anyway? We needn’t be bitter in defending our beliefs. Even though many fundamentalists think the Catholic Church is under the control of Satan and all or most Catholics are headed for hell, not all think that — and we shouldn’t think the same of them. However narrow-minded their faith often is, it’s also usually genuine, both in personal sincerity and in basic Christian orthodoxy. Fundamentalism is not some... cerc http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420207/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 21:53:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419931/posts With much confusion in the world today regarding Jesus Christ, it is crucial that the original record be researched--the New Testament passages relating to the divinity of Jesus Christ. Allvoices http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419931/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 13:49:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419911/posts Spurgeon's Morning & Evening - January 3 -------------------------------- Morning Devotional "I will give thee for a covenant of the people." - Isaiah 49:8 Jesus Christ is himself the sum and substance of the covenant, and as one of its gifts. He is the property of every believer. Believer, canst thou estimate what thou hast gotten in Christ? "In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." Consider that word "God" and its infinity, and then meditate upon "perfect man" and all his beauty; for all that Christ, as God and man, ever had, or can have, is thine-out of... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419911/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 12:35:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419877/posts Satan, the primary adversary of God and man, has great and evil power as the prince of this world. Part of his diabolical plan is to deceive all mankind, to accuse believers before the Lord, and to cripple God's children by encouraging them to sin. Jesus Christ, through His redemptive death and victorious resurrection, has overcome the power of Satan. This victory has been given and is readily availble to those who are in Christ(believers)(based on Romans 6:5-6; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2, 6:12; 1 Thessalonians 3:5; Hebrews 2:14-15; 1 Peter 5:8; 1 John 3:8; 4:4; 5:4-5, 18-19; Revelation 12:10).1.... Old and New Testaments as the only authoritative rule of faith and conduct. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419877/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 08:07:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419444/posts Spurgeon's Morning & Evening - January 2 -------------------------------- Morning Devotional "Continue in prayer." - Colossians 4:2 It is interesting to remark how large a portion of Sacred Writ is occupied with the subject of prayer, either in furnishing examples, enforcing precepts, or pronouncing promises. We scarcely open the Bible before we read, "Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord;" and just as we are about to close the volume, the "Amen" of an earnest supplication meets our ear. Instances are plentiful. Here we find a wrestling Jacob-there a Daniel who prayed three times a day-and a... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419444/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 13:29:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419439/posts Georgetown was full of mingling human bodies going and coming. Only God knew where. But no one appeared to be hurrying--just going and coming. jgrantswankjr http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419439/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 13:21:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419082/posts 2.Why is the study of theology important? From the dawn of human history, every people group across the world has been struggling with the great questions of human existence: “Who am I? Why am I here? What am I doing? How do I find meaning and happiness?”. Different civilizations and different persons have formulated different answers to these questions, ranging from the ultra-hedonistic principles of Cyrenaicism to the ultra-ascetic principles of the Hindu Jainists. However, both of these extremes, and every other human philosophy that lies somewhere in between, is insufficient to answer these questions. The great underlying supposition of... CPRF http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419082/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 19:25:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2418884/posts Spurgeon's Morning & Evening - January 1 -------------------------------- Morning Devotional "They did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year." - Joshua 5:12 Israel's weary wanderings were all over, and the promised rest was attained. No more moving tents, fiery serpents, fierce Amalekites, and howling wildernesses: they came to the land which flowed with milk and honey, and they ate the old corn of the land. Perhaps this year, beloved Christian reader, this may be thy case or mine. Joyful is the prospect, and if faith be in active exercise, it will yield unalloyed delight. To be... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2418884/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 11:47:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2418525/posts Pastor Rick Warren of the Southern California megachurch Saddleback Church is encouraging his parishioners to donate $900,000 within two days. In an “urgent” letter posted on the church’s web site Wednesday, Warren explained that church expenses went up this year to help care for the financially hurting community while the end-of-year donations are down. Saddleback needs the $900,000 by New Year’s Eve to stay out of debt, the founding pastor stated. “On the last weekend of 2009, our total offerings were less than half of what we normally receive – leaving us $900,000 in the red for the year, unless... The Christian Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2418525/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:09:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2418390/posts 1. What is theology? The term “theology” comes from the Greek words for “God” (theos) and “word,” or “body of knowledge” (logos); hence, it means, literally, “the body of knowledge about God,” or, more simply, “the study of God”. Therefore, in its strict sense, theology has to do only with the knowledge of the Godhead, and not with the other doctrines found in the bible. However, for many centuries, the term “theology” has had a broader connotation, and is often used to refer to the entire body of knowledge related to the Christian worldview, including all the various truths that... CPRF http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2418390/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:04:59 GMT