In this interview with Guy Hammond, executive director of Strength In Weakness ministries (www.strengthinweakness.org) we discuss the intersection of the LGBTQ and Christian communities as well as Guy's recent loss of his wife to cancer. #homosexuality #LGBT

#sermons #TrainYourself

Fatherhood is a glorious and sacred honor. Tough, difficult, and at times excruciating ... but gloriously sacred. The difference between a good father or lack thereof in a child's life can shape and change the outcome of generations to follow. Just take a look around our culture in the West, fatherhood is a waning and deconstructed dynamic in the midst of our evaporating familial culture, yet it is at the core and very heart of God, the Father. Today my calendar is marked as Christmas Eve, the day before we celebrate and recognize the birth of Christ. Of course a lot could be said about the unlikely timing of Christ’s birth in December, or the consumerism and self-indulgent greed that has come to mark the holiday perhaps more than anything else ... but I won’t do that here. Instead I want to discuss the nature of God being a father and giving birth to a son in our world. And while the Holy Trinity no doubt will remain a great mystery and wonder to all who believe for ages to come, the fact is that Jesus knew God as his Father (Jn 17:1-5), and God knew Jesus as his Son with whom he was well pleased (Mat 3:17). Being a recent father myself for the last few years, I have been awakened to a great many things I was not privy to before. And while I could go into great detail about the extent and intensity of my love for my children, or the anxiety that can be caused by knowing that I can’t ultimately protect them from all harm because my power is very limited, or the way that a child’s laugh can change an entire room full of grumpy adults attitudes and dispositions in a moments notice, I won’t do so here. Rather I wish to draw attention to God as a perfect Father. As a Father who does have ultimate power to execute his will, and yet chose to allow his son to be born in a manger in social scandal, to live a plain existence for most of his life only to be unjustly and brutally murdered for the wrong doing of humanity. For my wrong doing. This is a Father like I have never known. This is a Father so unlike me. Whether you find yourself a father, a father-to-be, or perhaps just a man with a desire to one day be a father, know that this is a most holy and sacred calling (Mat 5:48). A calling which is not easy, but one that is so important. It is a sacred honor for us to be like our heavenly Father, to take up that self-sacrificing, loving, and merciful position in our family and society. Remember that our greatest contribution as dads is not the comfort, education, or wealth that we can offer our children, but it is our love and acceptance from which they can navigate confidently into the role and life that God calls them. As we remember and celebrate the greatest Son that ever has lived this Christmas, let us also remember his Father, the greatest Father we can ever know, seeking to imitate him as fathers ourselves. #father #fatherhood #family #Christmas

The story of David and Goliath in 1 Sam 17 has become so famous that it is a phrase that has come to represent anytime there is a victorious underdog. And while David was certainly an underdog from a certain vantage point, obviously we know the point of the story is that God was rescuing his covenant people, even through the most unlikely of vehicles in the most formidable circumstances. David wasn't tall, he wasn't extremely strong, he seemed to be just a simple shepherd boy. Or perhaps not. Perhaps David was a young man who had come to learn to trust and put his faith in his God Yahweh. Perhaps David, even in his relatively short life thus far when he meets Goliath on the battlefield to defend God's honor had already learned what trust and obedience looked like. David says to King Saul (who disbelieves that someone of his stature and age could be victorious in such a circumstance in which he was clearly in over his head - 1 Sam 17:33), that he had actually been victorious in combat with things such as lions and bears, and that this uncircumcised Philistine would be no different (1 Sam 17:34-36)! Where did David get such confidence from? He says that it has been the Lord Yahweh who has been "rescuing him from the paw of the bear and the lion" thus far (1 Sam 17:37). So to David, apparently this was just another walk in the park of battle with the Lord Yahweh at his side to rescue him. Apparently to David, the victories that the Lord had provided already up to this point were simply preparing him for this next challenge. Of course we know what Yahweh's goal was all along, to continue to be faithful to his covenant promises to the Israelites. Yet I think there is something we can learn today from David and his words to King Saul. David calls upon previous victories that he believed the Lord had provided to give him confidence and strength in the midst of a new challenge (and what a challenge it was!). So as we face various "lions and bears" in our lives, whether they come emotionally, spiritually, physically, or relationally, let us remember the victories that God has provided already, from the smallest to the greatest, and let that aid us in facing new challenges with great faith and confidence, knowing that it is the Lord himself who is fighting for us! And let us learn from David as well, that many times the truly frightening enemies to our faith and God's promises to us may not come in the form of Goliath at all, but rather in the beauty of a Bathsheba. Sometimes it is when precisely when we think we are not on the battlefield (2 Sam 11), that our greatest battles are presented. "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers are undergoing the same kind of sufferings." (1 Pet 5:8-9) #faith #devil #discipleship

Here we explore the one faith of Ephesians 4:4-6. #Ephesians #one

Question: This question comes from J: So I've been in a many year struggle with impurity. I've actually been making progress lately and doing better. But my singles leader thinks I should break up with my girlfriend and that would be good for me. I don't agree with this and want to stay with my girlfriend. He also seems to be telling me this more as a command than advice. I know there are scriptures about submitting to and obeying your leaders. (Hebrews 13:17) My question is: How literally should these scriptures be taken in regard to making personal life decisions? I personally feel like I'm being commanded when I should rather be "advised" to do something. Does a ministry leader have the authority to tell others what to do? I've been confused on this point and how to respond to this situation. I don't want to rebel but also don't feel I should "obey". I've also heard this is a common practice in our fellowship of churches. ANSWER: Thanks for your question, though I am quite hesitant to answer this as it seems by the question that this is multifaceted and not as straight forward as it may seem. Even from the surface, there seem to be many dynamics at play here. Let me offer a few thoughts: It is true that we are called to obey to our leaders and submit to their authority because God says that is actually to our advantage and benefit (Heb 13:17). And that these leaders are actually going to be held accountable for their leadership and shepherding role. (No one should be overly eager for this because of some power trip (c.f. James 3:1), which of course we see in headlines all the time). In an ideal world, I would think that this scripture is to be taken quite literally, but of course we also have to be discerning through the word of God in order to not be lead astray. And this is where so much more of the nuance of the story comes in I believe. At the heart of the issue is likely your relationship with your leader, not so much the advice/command that is being given, but your relationship with them. Ask yourself, if they were "advising" you (whatever you think would feel more like advice and less like a command), would you find that easier to then be able to do what you truly want? If that is the case, haven't you already really discounted the biblical principle of "advice" in the first place (i.e. that we would allow ourselves to be "influenced" by what others think to the point that we even change what we think)? (for a great study on advice, counsel, and correction do a study through the book of Proverbs). I would also add that as disciples of Jesus, we are to be radically committed to our personal holiness, righteousness, and repentance (c.f. Mat 5:27-30; Heb 12:14; etc.) and must take this very seriously in our lives. Nothing in the scriptures guarantee us romance or marriage because we follow Jesus, and our discipleship to him must trump all else. So there are clearly a lot of various factors in a discussion like this, and it's impossible for me to give clear input without being more intimately involved, but I would say that the most important thing is your relationship with your leader. Have a conversation with them about how you are feeling about their advice that seems like a command, and try to hear and understand their heart and motives for what it is they are saying and why.

Question: This question comes from Twaambo: "Where in the bible does it say that for a marriage to be ordained by God a couple must be blessed by a priest and also must exchange vows?  Isn't it in most cases we read ... 'and David knew his wife', or 'Abraham knew Sarah' etc. and as long as they consummated then in God's eyes they were married?" ANSWER: The short answer is, it doesn't. Nowhere in the Bible does it seem to indicate that God commands or requires some "official" ceremony for a couple to be married (but the Bible does clearly define what a couple is made up of - one man and one woman, but that is a different discussion).  Two becoming one flesh is the designated sign of a couple being "married" in God's sight (Gen 2:24; 1 Cr 6:16; Eph 5:31) and Jesus references God's original intent in Genesis in his teaching to the Pharisees as to when a couple becomes one. The one should never become two again by human will (Mat 19:5-6). However, having said all that, there is another truth in play here, and that is the principle our humble submission as Christians to the governing authorities (Rom 13:1-7) , on account of our faith in God and his sovereign reign in and over the world..  If a Christian (someone under the new covenant of Christ) says that they don't want to submit to the laws of the land and go through the proper legal and civil processes in order to be married (Rom 13:2) and relies on the argument that in God's sight marriage truly begins at sexual consummation, he or she is being nearsighted and could possibly have their heart ultimately set on selfish desires, which opposes the heart of Christian marriage anyway (Eph 5). While it is true that God's original intent seems to be that "marriage" begins as "two become one flesh" (sexual consummation), as Christians we must also humbly and willingly submit to the governing authorities whom we find ourselves under, because our submission to them is the same as our submission toward God (Rom 13:2).

We have come a long way from my childhood gaming experiences like Pong, Super Mario Brothers, and Mario Kart. And of course some of the video game legends like Galaga, Pac-Man, Zelda, and many others are a ton of fun and have provided many hours of entertainment (and babysitting) for an entire generation (and counting), but in my efforts to make disciples of Jesus in 21st century America over the past couple of decades, I have noticed a phenomenon, Internet Gaming Addiction. Recognized as a DSM-V disorder, the internet and modern gaming have created an environment and opportunity for Satan to thrive in the lives of a younger generation (and not so young generation as well). From immersive gaming experiences such as Halo, World of Warcraft, Call of Duty (and countless others) to simple games that pass the time like Mindsweeper, Candy Crush, and countless games on things like facebook that older generations seem to be really drawn to. There is an internet gaming addiction for everyone it seems. It might be hard to believe, but there are actually people that die every year from multi-day internet gaming binges. So why would someone play video games for days on end to the point of exhaustion, cardiac arrest, and ultimately death? (apparently this isn't that new as the first video game deaths were in 1981!) The answer of course is sin. I have spoken elsewhere about how porn is the new tobacco, but I think gaming perhaps fits the bill just as well. And this is the phenomenon that I have come across so often. For many younger people, if not most, it can feel difficult to call gaming sin. It's just having some fun, right? It's not actually hurting anyone, right? But so often it is actually sin, and it is actually hurting someone, just goes unrecognized and unlabeled as such. Debauchery, idolatry, selfish ambition, escape from reality and withdrawal to a fantasy world ... all of these acts of the sinful nature that are “obvious” (Gal 5:19-20) can be easily applicable to internet gaming for so many. Of course playing a video game in and of itself is not a sin, just like so many other things in our lives, but we can easily manage to find a way to make it sinful. Satan loves to take something that is not inherently evil, or perhaps even something that God created as good (such as sex) and turn in on it's head and offer it to us as a cheap imitation that leaves us unsatisfied and longing. Jesus is clear about the attitude that we should take toward sin (even gaming): that if it is causing us to stumble (to lose sleep, to fail at important things in life like school, bills, and relationships) than we should cut it off, gouge it out, and throw it away! He says that our attitude should be that we would rather lose and eye or an arm and go to heaven, than have our entire bodies sent to hell! And this is coming from someone who knows about hell better than anyone. #technology #righteousness #discipleship #discipline #gaming #sin

Question: This question comes from Emily: In reading an article on the origins of the Old and New Testaments I found this quote: "Others have sought to find a basis within the Bible itself for what is inspired. Bailey points out the frequent reference to  2 Timothy 3:16  “All scripture is inspired by God [theopneustos]…” The idea here is that scripture is “God breathed.” But “the scripture,” for the author of 2 Timothy, whether Paul or one of his students, could only be referring to two thirds of the Old Testament. The Jewish community had not fully selected all the texts that would come to be known as “scripture” and none of the New Testament books would be included. This passage can only refer to books known at that time 2 Timothy was written and this doesn’t ultimately help us resolve our question." I'm NO bible scholar (why I'm asking for help on this), and just want to make sure I'm not using 2 Tim incorrectly because it's how we've done it before. I know it's a main scripture we use in studies to convince people the entire bible was inspired by God. Insights would be appreciated! ANSWER: Thanks Emily, yes it is true that Paul would have strictly speaking only had in view the OT when he said that "all scripture" is God breathed (same with 2 Pet 1:20-21), and you should not over press the issue otherwise (for instance I sometimes state to people that Paul would have been referring specifically to the OT) . But that does not mean that the New Testament is not inspired by God. For instance, Peter refers to Paul's writings that were circulating at the time as equal to the "other (OT) scriptures" (2 Pet 3:16) which would indicate at least for Peter that he considered Paul to be writing under the guidance and providence of the Holy Spirit and was on equal footing with the Old Testament writings (for more see Douglas Jacoby's articles here, and here). For a great introductory work on this topic please see Lightfoot's "How We Got The Bible". Also, I would state that 2 Tim 3:16 is not what we are necessarily using to "convince" people that the bible is inspired by God. The obvious objection to that would be that you are just saying the bible is inspired by God, because it says that it is, which obviously it does say it is, but that doesn't make it true. Faith comes from hearing the word about Christ (Rom 10:17), and the primary place we can "hear" the word about Jesus is from the bible. Faith that the bible is actually divinely inspired (and thus an authority for our lives) often comes from us being exposed to it and reading it for ourselves.