either/or … both/and logic

In recent years, people connected with the church, have made active attempts to change how they think and speak.  Specifically, they advocate for the replacement of “either/or” logic (statements and questions) with “both/and” logic. This need comes from key motivations To prevent contradictory statements of faith To pay attention to parts of God’s word ignored, overlooked, not focused on enough I am passionate about this, therefore I must...

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equipping the church

These are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. (Ephesians 4:12-13) It was...

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pediatry

pediatry A rarely used term for pediatrics, meaning an area of medicine concerned with the health of infants, children and adolescents, their growth and development, and their opportunity to achieve full potential as adults. It is the study of the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and disorders in children. podiatry The medical study of the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the foot. This was in relation to Michelle (15 year old girl) seems...

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who is abraham's seed?

First read Genesis 12 and Genesis 13 to find the section where God is promising Abraham about his descendants. Next read Galatians 3:15-21: When Abraham was promised the land to be inhabited by his descendants, there is a correction: Scripture doesn’t say “to his children,” as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says “to his child”—and that, of course, means Christ. Using the concordance link (left sidebar) read again the parts you found in Genesis, specifically the word descendants (Strong's number 2233). So what appears to have...

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gender specific messages

introduction The use of terms referring to gender occur throughout the bible (e.g. mother, father, son, daughter, wife, husband).  Some apply to specific people.  Others provide information about a principle.  For instance: Characteristics of a wife … (Ps 31) How women should behave in church meetings … (1Co 14:34-35) Definition of a widow … (1Tim 5) How fathers need to treat their children … (Eph 6) But how does reading Galatians...

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God agrees with ME (friendship)

introduction When you read the bible, how do you discover and understand what God means?  Do we simply read the words and go apply it?  Do we listen to a church sermon from or the advice of a Christian and simply do as suggested? Why did Jesus say to the religious leaders and scholars of his day that knowing the words is not enough (e.g. John 5:39-40)?  What did he say we need instead? Can understanding what God means...

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danger of false teachers

“Listen! The Lord is coming with countless thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment on the people of the world. He will convict everyone of all the ungodly things they have done and for all the insults that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” (Enoch as quoted by Jude) In the church there are people who will try to convince you that God allows us to live immoral lives.  Their argument is since God is all loving and forgiving,...

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homosexuality: a special sin?

introduction Why are certain actions, attitudes, and ways people live viewed with a special kind of disdain?  Why are they given a level of badness above others?  Pedophilia, murder, rape, are just a few examples. Another, and the example used here is homosexuality.  Why?  Because in recent years, not far behind when speaking of marriage, is the topic of whether or not homosexuals (people who sexually desire the...

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building a house for God?

King David turned to the assembly and said, “My son Solomon, whom God has chosen as Israel’s next king, is still young and inexperienced. The work ahead of him is enormous, for the Temple he will build is for God himself!  Using every resource at my command, I have gathered as much as I could for building the Temple of my God. Now there is enough … The people rejoiced over the offerings, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly...

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french monks

by Elsie Hemming Tears flowed down my cheeks as I read the letter from Father which was opened after his murder.  His love and forgiveness for his killers makes me feel ashamed and distressed.  For some months, I have felt guilty about not seeing Christ in pedophiles, terrorists, killers of women in the name of 'honour' - I know I should but I cannot believe that Christ could live in such people. My daughter disagrees with me.  She tells me that until a person accepts Christ and recieves the holy Spirit, we should...

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my pastor for a horse

If history had developed a different set of tasks for the pastor of our local churches, would the people who seek to be today's pastors be doing those things instead of what they are now doing? Why do we do the things we do? Why do we do them the way we do? Do tasks and jobs, activities, create the role (pastor or otherwise), or does the role determine what we need to do and how we do them?  That is, "I am X because I do Y",...

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do we need to gather together?

If we are one with the Head (Jesus), we are one with the Body (church), even if we are not gathered together.  But, if we are not one with the Head, we are not one with the Body, even if we are gathered togethe...

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relational responsibity

Whose responsibility is it? A woman is sitting on her own.  She is new to town and knows no one.  She does not even have family with her. Whose responsibility is it to initiate an interaction.  Is it hers to introduce herself or for others to approach her?  Assuming she has a level of courage in this scenario, relationships could form even if no one approached her because she can make the first move. But what if this lady has been experiencing some trauma in her life or something else that is causing her to hold...

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