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this is so sad. My gut tells me that these two boys may have been initimate and after the ‘act’, that was just to much for the straight boy to handle. That is why Larry dressed as a boy on the day he was murdered. It was probably his first time with a young man and he didn’t know how to handle it either. It wasn’t what was portrayed by television, media, and the society. How sad for both of them and all those who knew them.

Okay,so using your argument that the beatitudes are about the Kingdom of Heaven and it isn’t about earth, are you sayng God does not comfort us here on earth (vs.4), that we cannot receive God’s mercy until heaven? (vs.7). How about verse 11, that we will be reviled and persecuted because of following Christ here on earth. I can’t imagine that this verse is referring to heaven, could you? I believe this particular verse is there to encourage us to hang in there and keep on spreading the gospel despite reaction from others.

I’m not sure how this Pastor will deliver the message. I just know he said he was going to be talking about change. (see website link) Since we have a clear picture from the beautitudes about the type of people that will inherit the Kingdom, than one can determine to use this scripture as an examination of our own hearts. Could you agree with that?

Do you still believe by a church advertising their sermon series “Jesus for President” in some way demeans Christ or Christianity, I would like to know how?

No he isn’t reduced down to campaign slogans and platforms. Didn’t you read the article or visit the weblink?
This church is starting a sermon series that uses SCRIPTURE to tell of the message of Jesus Christ.
So many people are looking to politicians & new legislation to change their lives when they should be looking to Jesus for real change. The platform is from Jesus Christ, it is the gospel. This is no different than when Paul uses this comparison in Athens (Acts 17: 16-34)vs.23 “for as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you”.

So please tell me how that demeans Christianity or Christ? This Pastor is just looking at the world around him that is so enthralled with what politician is going to bring about the greatest change, when REAL change would happen if all would turn to Christ.

this is the type of change that I think most people want. Change that can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere and that will affect them for the rest of their life, both here and for eternity.

I will be praying for this ministry to grow. If only all Christians, not just muslim converts, would have that same passion. The desire to preach the gospel despite the cost.

Praise God that his Father and brothers are now Christians. God is awesome!

Man, I have got to try that reverse psychology thing...

“They are going to try and tell you I’m old, fat and middle aged....oh....and did I mention Menopausal?
Don’t believe them”.

Nice way for Obama to describe himself and than tell voters not to beleive it????Give me a break

There is an entire story being played out. Think of it this way, God is the author of a book and we, the creation, are Chapter 1.

Would you tell a book author to start over because you don’t like how he began with Chapter One? No, of course not! You must read the ENTIRE book to understand why God does what he does. The bible is the greatest love story ever told. He doesn’t just save one damsel in distress, but he will save anyone who wants to be saved. So the question is, Do you WANT to be saved?

The ending of the story has not yet happened but it will. God has given us a sneak peek into what will happen in the near future, if you just read it.

God’s word, the bible is to be taken as a whole, not picked apart and just read in parts.

Great post! I want to meet this man and let him know what an inspiriation he is to many of us Christians who are bold enough to even talk about Jesus.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. The Prosperity Gospel is a FALSE gospel being taught by many. How do I know????? Would the message of the prosperity gospel work in Africa? In China? In Fiji? God’s message should be available to the entire world. If you try telling a poor, starving human being in Africa that they just need to tithe more to reap blessings they would leave filled with more despair. Jesus Christ came to offer hope to those with none, and this hope doesn’t involve money.

It isn’t money that is a problem. It is the heart of the person using the money. The motivation behind it. That is why the bible says the “love” of money is the root of all evil. Not that ‘money’ is the root of all evil.
There are many who feed the homeless with their own money because they are motivated by their love for God because they sincerely have compassion on those who are hungry and they want to do something to help.
There are many who feed the homeless with their own money because they are motivated by pride. To make themselves feel good. Same deed, different motivation.
Every instance in the bible where Christ is discussing money or money is at the root of the issue, it is the heart Christ sees.

I would like to know if most Catholics who post on this thread believe they get to heaven by good works?

How dare you say I hate Mormons. Some of my family are practicing Mormons. I’m not sure how you thought my statement was hateful. I was merely stating that there are so many differences between the doctrine of Christianity and Mormonism that make a distinct difference in our beliefs. It is interesting you didn’t debate or disagree with the differences I did speak of, you only did what most poor debaters do and start to begin to make false accusations against someone pointing out the truths.
This is a tactic that many politicians do when they can’t truly state what it is they stand for or believe in. Is that your case?

Saundra,
I have read all the post and I wanted to respond to you. Many times Mormons use the same words as Christians yet they have different meanings.
Same words, different dictionary.

The most distinct and defining difference is Christians believe Jesus Christ is God. That is a huge difference, of gigantic proportions.

Mormon faith teaches that one must do enough good works to earn themselves a higher level of heaven. A true Christian is obedient to God’s word because we love him, not out of obligation. Believers are going to heaven because of God, it is not anything we will do or have done.
When you ask a child to wash the dishes, most often they will grumble about it and complain because they see no benefit in doing it. However, if that same child decides to do the dishes, without being asked, in order to make their parents happy and they decide to sweep the floor without being asked, than the parents are blessed by it. If all you ever did was truly believe in Jesus Christ, that is enough! It is finished. But we continue to grow in our obedience to his word because we know it pleases him. After all, he died for us, even while HE KNEW we were sinners. It is for freedom that God died. (read Galatians 5). What is this freedom he was talking about. It is freedom from performance religion.

I could go on and on, but I can tell you one thing. I pray that my Mormon friends will come to understand what God’s grace is all about. They are simply wearing themselves out trying to earn their way to heaven. see this website:
http://concernedchristians.org/

It is interesting to me where some who think they are ‘holier’ than other Christians simply because they don’t “fall into” the trappings of Christmas, are the same people who continue to eat horribly and not exercise. After all our bodies are the temple of God so why not take care of it? Legalism is nothing but self-centeredness (spiritual arrogance) not Godliness.

QUESTION:
Do you think Osteens message is a message that can be delivered in the poorest parts of Africa?, or China, or India? I highly doubt he would be taken seriously in any of those countries. His gospel (not the gospel of Jesus Christ) can only be preached in America where prosperity and outward appearance of fulfillment is attainable.

ANSWER:
NO, NO, NO! He is adding to the simple message of the gospel and there are all kinds of warnings in the bible against this type of teaching. This is what Paul was warning the Galatians about in chapter 1. They were listening and turning to a different gospel, which is NO gospel at all.

The message of Jesus Christ is a very simple message of salvation. It is not about becoming rich or ‘feeling good’ about yourself. Christ died for FREEDOM. It is a message that can be preached to any people in any economic situation. It is not based on acquiring material things in this world. It is only about Freedom in Jesus Christ.

I think this is extremely sad. One day she either will use those words as part of her testimony to the life change that JESUS will do in her life, or she will be tormented by those words for all eternity.

I pray for her soul, that God will have mercy on her. She obviously is a very sad person, which reflectss most people in Hollywood. The only reason she was able to get laughs is because Hollywood has conditioned them, like cattle, to react to anti-god sentiments or in this case, Anti-Christian statements. May God invoke his Spirit to change the hearts of those in Hollywood.

Than I guess I am a Berean. I’m sorry I had never knew the definition of that. I looked it up myself and you are correct in your definition and I would agree that that is what I like to do. Thanks for teaching me something new!

Nope! Just a sinner who the true God has saved. Nothing special about me....sorry to disappoint.

Seek the truth.

I can sense your anger in your response. I’m sure it is only natural to feel this way, when one attacks someone who you hold in high esteem.
But I once was easily swayed and niave to actually what the bible does teach. Until God, opened my eyes to his truth, I took everything my pastor taught as gospel. Now I look into God’s word to measure what was taught and either confirm the teaching to discern the truth. Keep in mind, the bible is to be read, studied and thought of as a whole. Do not pick and choose verses, out of context. I do know (for fact) that Bishop Jakes denies the trinity and my friend, that is false teaching. That is not what Jesus taught, nor what scriptures reflect. Find out for yourself.
If you don’t know who the Holy Spirit truly is, what the bible says about him, then you may not have the power to discern truth from lies, good from evil.

It is not enough to believe in God,even Satan and his angels believe in God and they SHUTTER. Make him LORD and SAVIOR of your life and then (only then) does the HOLY Spirit guide you and give you discernment. Please be careful your eternal salvation should be IN Jesus, not Bishop Jakes.
When Joel Osteen denied that Jesus Christ was the ONLY way to heaven, I knew immediately he was a false teacher. He spoke these words on the Larry King Show you can find out for yourself. Jesus himself, with his own mouth, said HE WAS THE ONLY WAY, not ONE of the ways. He rebuked those in the book of Matthew who were trying to point out all the “things” they did in his name. He replied “get away from me, I do not KNOW you”. Study God’s word and discern for yourself. May God richly bless you and fill you with his Spirit.

Sounds like a popularity contest to me!