Bible, theology, culture, etc.
The internet is a strange place. A friend of mine forwarded a blog post from a website that I have never been to before, asking if I would consider writing a response to it. The blog had the (all too common nowadays) provocative title "Hey Conservatives, The Bible Says When A Fetus is Alive - … Continue reading Does the Bible Actually Condemn Abortion?
https://youtu.be/qklDJ_PwJe4 Notes: Tonight we begin a very short series that will be a fly-over of the book of Jonah. The book of Jonah, containing the famous story of Jonah being swallowed by the fish, is one that most people, even if they are not Christians, are familiar with. However, I want us to look at … Continue reading Jesus and the Storm (Jonah 1:1-17)
500 years ago, the church was very different than it was today. 500 years ago, the church was organized under the pope in the Roman Catholic system, which acted more like a government than a church. The church believed that salvation was only found in the Roman Catholic church, and God’s teaching could only be … Continue reading How to Read the Bible (2 Tim. 3:14-17)
American's are divided. In light of the recent tragedy in Paris, many conservatives (and some liberals) are calling on the president and their governors to put up road blocks to stop Syrian refugees from entering our country. The fear stems from the possibility that ISIS could plant their soldiers in the masses of refugees fleeing into … Continue reading Thinking Through Refugees
27 And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, 28 and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask … Continue reading Puncturing Pretensions (Mark 11:27-33)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFSBbjhgKio - Notes - Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed...My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will … Continue reading Known and Loved (James 5:16, 19-20)
Sometimes, when I am reading God's Word, it feels like I am soaring through a galaxy of glory. I am being convicted of sin, seeing the sufficiency of Christ's atonement, the comfort of the sovereignty of God, the intricate plan of redemptive history, or the power of the resurrection. The Bible seems so relevant and so … Continue reading The Bible Isn’t About You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDLpBNLKkTc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vecsIgsqX0 Notes Second to the Bible, which book in the English speaking world do you think is the most popular? Go ahead, tell your neighbor what you think. Believe it or not, it isn’t Harry Potter, or Lord of the Rings, or Chronicles of Narnia, not even close. Actually, the most popularly sold English … Continue reading Let’s Talk: Depression & Anxiety
Do your parents have those stories that they tell, over and over again? You know, those embarrassing stories about stupid things you did when you were younger. No matter how many times it has been shared, it always seems to come up sooner or later. Well, one story that I have burned into my memory … Continue reading Pinky-Promise? (James 5:12)
Imagine with me, tomorrow you show up at school, and your best friend runs up to you, tears in their eyes, voice shaking, and says, “Everything is gone. Everything, I lost everything.” You try and calm them down, but they begin sobbing, “The tornado that came through last night touched down right by our house … Continue reading “Have You Considered My Servant Job?” (James 5:10-11)
Marc Sims 