Evangelical Christian (Religion)
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Pro Church Tools recently sat down with Nicki Shearer, Elevation Church’s Digital Content Director. She is responsible for overseeing all the copy coming out of Elevation Church, the 25,000-member multisite led by Steven Furtick. She sets the tone of church emails, blesses or nixes the language of social media posts, and develops guidelines for responding to events in the news. In a wide-ranging interview, Shearer explains that while they may use certain phrases in church, Elevation Church doesn’t use words like “resurrection,” “calvary,” or “blood of Jesus” on its Easter invites, as that language will “immediately make someone feel like...
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“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself” (Philippians 2:3). One important way to prevent factionalism in the church is to regard other members as more important than yourself. “Humility of mind” is a distinctive New Testament expression. There were similar terms in secular writings, but none that exactly fit the purposes of the New Testament writers. One form of the Greek word was used to describe the mentality of a slave. It was a term of derision, signifying anyone who was considered base,...
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“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself” (Philippians 2:3). Selfishness and conceit can prevent us from doing God’s will. Selfishness and conceit are all too common among people today. It seems there is hardly a prominent entertainer or sports figure who doesn’t portray those characteristics to excess. Yet those traits are the very opposite of what should characterize the humble follower of Christ. “Selfishness” in today’s passage refers to pursuing an enterprise in a factional way. It involves an egotistical, personal desire to...
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“Walk . . . with all humility” (Ephesians 4:1-2). Avoid pride in your position, intelligence, or spirituality. Years ago, when my children were young, my son Mark told my youngest child, Melinda, to take something out of the room. She said, “You’re not my boss.” Mark replied, “Dad is the boss of Mom, Mom is the boss of Matt, Matt is the boss of Marcy, Marcy is the boss of me, and I am the boss of you.” So Melinda obeyed. After that, Melinda decided she was the boss of the dog, and the dog was boss of nobody. No...
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A video of a sermon from 2021 has now gone viral showing the pastor of Mineral Park Baptist church near the Hamilton Bradley County line expressing racially divisive comments during his sermon. Pastor Ronnie James was a featured speaker during The Faith Baptist Camp livestream. The video has now gained over 300 thousand views and local pastors are now calling him out. "We will never heal from stuff like this from this sin until we name it for what it is," said Pastor Samuel Burleson pastor of Covenant Community. Burleson says videos like this aren't uncommon to see in the...
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“Walk . . . with all humility” (Ephesians 4-1-2). Our possessions and positions in life are from God; we can’t take credit for them. Many today take pride in their economic status. They boast about their riches and trust their money, thinking they must be great for acquiring all they have. But remember what Moses said to the Israelites before they entered the Promised Land: “You may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’ But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power...
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You may remember last year when The Dissenter published an article denouncing the deeply erotic and nearly pornographic nature in which a TGC author, Joshua Butler, described Christ’s relationship to the Church. While his description was extremely graphic, comparing Christ’s relationship to the Church with a graphical description of a man’s sexual relationship with his wife, the root issue is a distinct misinterpretation of the kind of love that differentiates the two scenarios. The New Testament primarily uses three Greek words to describe love: agape, philia, and eros. Agape is often described as the highest form of love, a selfless,...
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“Walk . . . with all humility” (Ephesians 4:1-2). Satan will tempt us to be proud of our abilities and accomplishments, but we must remember that every good thing we have is from God. We’ve just studied three steps to humility. Let’s look at the issue from another angle: What kinds of pride threaten to destroy our humility? Where will we struggle to be humble? There are several areas in which Satan will attack us. The first area I call ability pride. We’re often tempted to be proud of our strong points, not our weak ones. I’ve never been tempted...
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“Walk . . . with all humility” (Ephesians 4:1-2). The more we comprehend the greatness of God, the more humble we will become. God is not given proper respect today. He is often flippantly referred to as “the man upstairs”—more of a buddy than the eternal God. Many see Him as nothing more than a cosmic Santa Claus or an absent-minded grandfather who winks at sin. Unfortunately, even Christians can be affected by these views. Such sin dishonors God and undermines the next step to humility: God-awareness. Instead of getting our ideas of God from the world, let’s look at...
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“Walk . . . with all humility” (Ephesians 4:1-2). We are to walk as Christ walked. Our lack of conformity to His standard ought to make us humble. What was your most humiliating experience? Life is full of embarrassing moments, but the most truly humbling experience I ever had was preaching through the Gospel of John. For two years—eighty-eight sermons, about one hundred hours of preaching, between two and three thousand hours of study—I was constantly faced with the deity of Jesus Christ. Living with the deity of Christ day after day and comparing yourself continually to Him is one...
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“Walk . . . with all humility” (Ephesians 4:1-2). The first step to humility is understanding our sinfulness. I’ll never forget a meeting I had at my house with some seminary students. One student asked me, very seriously, “John, how did you finally overcome pride?” I said jokingly, “Well, it was two years ago when I finally licked it, and it’s never been a problem since then. It’s so wonderful to be constantly humble.” Of course, I have not completely overcome pride; it’s a battle I face every day. Satan makes sure we always struggle with it. Overcoming pride in...
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“Walk . . . with all humility” (Ephesians 4:1-2). Christ showed us humility by becoming a man and living as a servant. Humility is not a very popular concept in our society, is it? We are taught to pursue honor and recognition from a young age. When my children were young, they stacked up trophies to the point of absurdity. Award shows are commonplace on television. We seem to have prizes for everything. Humility is an elusive quality. The moment you think you are humble is the moment you forfeit it. But humility is the heart of the worthy walk;...
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God disciplines those He loves. For the nation of Israel, this time of correction is called Jacob's Trouble, or the Tribulation. In Israel and the Tribulation, Amir Tsarfati looks at Israel's rebellion against God before the period of correction begins, the peace and the horror the nation will experience during that time, and the spiritual restoration that will take place when the seven years conclude. Israel abandoned the relationship that God loved for religion which He hates. It is the remnant that survives the Tribulation who will return once again to the relationship the Lord wants. You can find a...
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“Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you” (James 4:10). God graciously bestows every spiritual blessing on the humble. Those who are scripturally humble will recognize their unworthiness when they come before God. They will be like the prophet Isaiah who, in seeing God, cursed himself: “Woe is me, for I am ruined [damned]! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isa. 6:5). Whenever you see who God really is—infinitely holy, sovereign, mighty, majestic,...
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Beloved FReeper FRiends, please keep me in your prayers for healing. I’ve been suffering quite the bout of gastrointestinal malady, including nausea. I am doing my best to keep my potassium levels up, stay hydrated and keep my blood sugar up. I am keeping a close eye on things and if necessary go to my local ER for evaluation/treatment. I KNOW MY REDEEMER LIVES. AND I KNOW HE HEALS. Thank you my Dear Ones in CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD AND SAVIOR.
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“Let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy to gloom” (James 4:9b). The humble individual will come to see that sin is not a laughing matter. Humor has always had a place in popular culture. But in recent decades a more worldly side to humor has emerged. Situation comedies dominate the list of top-rated TV shows, but many are far from what’s really best for people to view. The shows’ contents so often pander to the immoral and tend to put down scriptural values. Meanwhile, the world also runs headlong after activities that stress fun and self-indulgence. Most...
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“Be miserable and mourn and weep” (James 4:9a). Spiritual humility will be marked by a true sorrow over sin. Modern culture does everything possible to avoid pain, to put off thinking about unpleasant subjects, to maximize comfort, and to feel good about circumstances. That philosophy is the reflection of a proud and self-centered attitude, not the humble and God-centered attitude we have been examining during the past week. Today we continue our look at humility in the Epistle of James. The apostle urges people to “be miserable” concerning their sin. The demands of the gospel begin at this point. James...
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MONROE, N.C. — For the second consecutive Sunday, community members from all around Union County voiced their concerns about Bible Baptist Tabernacle following controversial comments made by the pastor. Several signs, community members, and voices were outside the church preaching their frustration toward the church and Pastor Bobby Leonard. “I'm appalled and indignant,” Rebecca Frick said. Leonard said during a sermon that women make themselves targets for sexual assault based on how they dress. He said he wouldn't vote to convict a man who's accused of raping a woman if she wore shorts. “We don't like [what he said]," Sanders...
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Just two weeks after the Southern Baptist Convention announced a new sexual abuse prevention and response curriculum for member congregations, new allegations have rocked a small SBC church in the Florida Keys. Monte Lavelle Chitty, 62, pastor of First Baptist Church in Marathon, has been charged with sexual assault, lewd lascivious behavior and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. A Monroe County Sheriff’s Office news release said a 15-year-old girl accused the married pastor of sexually molesting her after serving her spiked alcohol at the church. A subsequently released arrest report detailed that the alleged victim “felt weak, could...
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“Cleanse your hands . . . and purify your hearts” (James 4:8). Clean hands and a pure heart will always characterize the humble. Hands represent our behavior, the pattern of our outward actions. Scripture uses that symbol when it encourages people to abandon their sinful behavior: “So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you, yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of bloodshed” (Isa. 1:15). Today’s verse uses “hands” in reference to the Jewish ceremonial requirements. The priests were required to wash their hands before...
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