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A church with one service a week will likely sing over 200 songs in a year. Our church has five services in two languages at two sites on Sunday. We also have Wednesday night programming. Throw in the student service and children’s ministry, and we probably sing close to 2,000 songs in a year (obviously some are sung more than once).Songs elicit emotion. That’s how the art form works. Worship is no exception. Most have a favorite worship song. Most will have a few worship songs they don’t like. One song can mean something different to two people standing next...

Each of the Persons of the Trinity were present at Christ's baptism as recorded in all four gospel accounts Two topics I haven't touched on much before, although we've discussed them at great length on the forum, are the Trinity and the deity of Christ. In this article I will address these fundamental theological truths. What Is the Doctrine of the Trinity? This is the belief, as revealed in Scripture, that there is a single, immutable, eternal God (monotheism), who eternally subsists as the mutual indwelling of three Persons (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit). When properly...

Venezuela's military will escort Iranian tankers bringing fuel to the gasoline-starved country as soon as they enter its exclusive economic zone, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said on Wednesday. His comments came after Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido said the shipment should "alarm" Latin America. Both OPEC members are U.S. adversaries whose oil industries are under U.S. sanctions. Trump administration officials say Washington is considering a response to the shipment. The tankers - Fortune, Forest, Petunia, Faxon and Clavel - are carrying around 1.5 million barrels of fuel, and passed the Suez Canal in the first two weeks of May, Refinitiv...

How does a committed and passionate follower of Islam reconsider his faith and become an outspoken apologist for Christianity? This is a story of being introduced to Jesus through friendships, investigations, dreams, and visions. What follows is a conversation between the late Nabeel Qureshi (@NAQureshi), author of Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus (Third Edition) (Zondervan, 2018)—the first book to win ECPA Christian Book Awards® in both New Author and Non-Fiction categories—and his friend David Wood, who led Nabeel to consider the veracity of the claims of Jesus Christ. The discussion took place in Atlanta, Georgia, during the Evangelical Theological Society’s annual...

God's progressive process of redeeming the world has been done through covenants and dispensations.  These terms somewhat overlap, though not always.  You can generally find various Christian denominations, sects, and theological systems somewhere along a continuum from intellectual legalism on one extreme and behavior legalism on the other.  And placing too much emphasis on either covenants or dispensations can lead one away from the solid middle ground and into one of these two forms of legalism.  This closely mirrors other articles in which I've written about how the same demons of the early Church still haunt us today, specifically...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis to raise ‘evangelization’ above Catholic doctrine in curial reform: report April 29, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – Pope Francis is expected to sign a new reform measure that will reorganize the various agencies of the Vatican, creating a new and powerful dicastery of “evangelization” that will take precedence over the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which protects the integrity of Catholic doctrine concerning faith and morals, according to the Spanish news service Vida Nueva Digital. The existence of the measure, which is a proposed apostolic constitution called “Praedicate Evangelium” (“Preach the Gospel”) was announced by Vida...

[Catholic Caucus] Vatican Reform Plan Takes Shape: Evangelization Prioritized Over Doctrine VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis’ new apostolic constitution for the Roman Curia is stirring up concerns as well as eager anticipation ahead of its expected publication in two months’ time. The exact details of the document, called Praedicate Evangelium (Preach the Gospel), are unclear and are expected to remain so while bishops’ conference presidents and Vatican heads review it before its expected release on June 29. But its content was spotlighted this week, after some media outlets reported on comments made about the document by two key members of the...

[Catholic Caucus] New Vatican document to put evangelization ahead of doctrine ROME - A new “super dicastery” on evangelization might be one of the most significant reforms of the governing structures of the Vatican, according to a new report.Spanish journalist Dario Menor Torres, writing for the weekly Vida Nueva, reveals several elements of the new Vatican constitution that has been in development for years.The biggest novelty in the document, called Praedicate Evangelium [“Preach the Gospel”], will be the creation of the “super dicastery” for evangelization, which will potentially be more important than the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith...

These are some of the most common lies that many Christians have fallen victim to.  I hear many of these quite frequently and in years past have even fallen for some of them myself.  The enemy has used each of these lies to sow great discord, apathy, and fear in the Body of Christ.   It's time to dispel them all. 1. "I must do _____ to be saved or keep doing _____ to stay saved." This is what virtually every religion teaches, but not true Christianity.   Unsurprisingly, every "Christian" cult teaches this as well.  The very definition of...

Christians have been confused by the fact that there are Christian ministers and teachers who, in spite of serious sin, continue to teach the word in a doctrinally correct way. We understand that none of us is perfect and that we all sin. What I am referring to here is ongoing sin which has not been repented of. This is often glossed over with terms such as “character flaws” or “weaknesses”. Often a vile temper is excused as “righteous anger”. Hatred, an unforgiving spirit, bitterness, strife etc. is often brushed aside by the claim to righteous zeal. A judgmental and...

Spanish bishop sees Pope as threat to Catholic doctrine September 28, 2018 » Continue to this story on El Diario (Spanish) CWN Editor's Note: A Spanish bishop has voiced public criticism of Pope Francis, saying that under his leadership Catholicism is in danger of becoming “a Church without a doctrine.” Bishop Juan Antonio Reig Pia made the remarks as he introduced a new book by the late Cardinal Carlo Caffarra, one of the four cardinals who signed the dubia.

While writing this column, on another topic, I was distracted by a friend. He had me look at the news for “the latest” from Pope Francis. I was told he had changed Church teaching on the death penalty, by an amendment to the Catechism. Quickly checking the usual Internet sites, I found this rumor confirmed in many places. While I do not trust “the meejah,” generally, I fear in this instance the reports are true. Moreover, I was expecting this to happen. The “new teaching” had been signaled by the Holy Father many times. He has also, incidentally, signaled his...

In a move that should surprise no one, Pope Francis has once again appeared to contradict two millennia of clear and consistent scriptural and Catholic teaching. The Vatican has announced that the Catechism of the Catholic Church will be changed to declare the death penalty “inadmissible” given the “inviolability and dignity of the person” as understood “in the light of the Gospel.”There has always been disagreement among Catholics about whether capital punishment is, in practice, the morally best way to uphold justice and social order. However, the Church has always taught, clearly and consistently, that the death penalty is in...

St. Alphonsus: ". . . The public authority is given the power to kill wrongdoers, and that not unjustly . . ." St. Alphonsus, Holy Doctor of the Faith Inasmuch as Pope Francis chose August 2, the traditional memorial of St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, bishop and confessor, Doctor of the Church, to make public his attempt to chuck down the Memory Hole the irreformable truth that "the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty," it is only fitting that the faithful recall what this eminent Doctor of Truth had to say on this...

Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.( 2 John 9)The Apostle John’s ministry is a ministry of restoration. There were (and are) many whose faith in Jesus, understanding of God, prayer life, interpretation of scripture, ministry and ethics, have been corrupted and distorted by false christian teachers who have redefined what it means to know God. This is still the case today, and the need for John’s epistles is yet vital to the church. To John, the Lord’s...

We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.(I John 5:18-21)The Apostle John wrote his...

During the homily, Francis asked the bishops to guard and confirm the faithful in the faith, to defend them from "the wolves", which are none other than " the orthodox of the true doctrine."

Several months back Father Hugh Somerville-Knapman, OSB wrote a must read article over at his blog, Dominus mihi adjutor. For those not familiar with Fr. Hugh, a Benedictine monk and priest of Douai Abbey in Berkshire, U.K., he is no liturgical bomb thrower. His arguments are always well reasoned and thoughtful, which is why it’s worth revisiting. “Vale Vatican II: Moving On” verbalizes what a growing number of the faithful are finally coming to grips with. In the words of Fr. Hugh: “it is time now to let go of the Council.” While I encourage everyone to read the full article, there are...

It has been 500 years since Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. And with that simple act on October 31, 1517, the Protestant Reformation was off and running.Luther's righteous act led to the birth of Lutheranism and Calvinism as two major branches on the tree of Christianity. The good news of the Gospel once again became front and center, just as it had been when Jesus got the ball rolling 1500 years earlier. And this Gospel renewal was sorely needed. But as with every period of spiritual awakening, it was...

This is a subject I have very much wanted to address of late seeing as there continues to be so much division, even in the watching community.  It shouldn't be this way.  Those of us who have a genuine saving faith in Christ should be unified even if we disagree on the details.  Don't get me wrong, there is a time and place for godly division, but I see many Believers dividing for the wrong reasons. Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants...