Traitors for Christ
[ This is an edited version of a portion of an assignment I had for Liberty University. ]
There are four main reasons to believe there is a possibility that people may be saved outside of specifically confessing the name of Jesus:
When I went to read this article on msnbc.com (hat tip hotair.com):
"What if humans could be made twice as intelligent?"
I figured something like this was inevitable:
According to Hunt, there’s evidence to suggest that many humans, if significantly smarter, would lose their belief in God
"There is a small tendency for people with high scores to be more liberal in their social attitudes and less likely to accept strong religious beliefs. This makes sense; we can know things by reasoning or we can accept something on faith. If we all became very good reasoners, there would probably be a small shift to preferring reasoned over faith-based explanations of the phenomenon of life," he wrote.
Not near as bad as I thought it might be…and the writer, Natalie Wochover, tempered it even more, following those words immediately with: Continue reading “Better Looking Atheists”
History Lesson
Before we continue in Colossians…we got a whole 2 verses done last week :-)…I wanted to share a quick history lesson.
As I wrote those words I could just imagine some of the boys in the front row looking less than enthused at the idea. 🙂 You probably think you get tortured enough with history at school, eh?
Well, the good news is that there is no quiz afterward, it'll be pretty short, and it's going to be interesting because it is about us, not some dead king from centuries ago..who you'll have to memorize what the number after his name was.
"Was that George the III or George the IV?"
Although that kind of history can be quite interesting too if it is allowed to be.
Our Church's Founding
So, have you ever wondered why you are sitting here today?
And kids, I'm not talking about "Because my parents made me"…or adults, "Because I'd feel guilty if I played hooky to rest." 🙂
Instead, why is there even an Antrim Church of Christ? This area has, and has had, plenty of church-going alternatives. Why are we here?
Now…I'm sure I'll get parts of this wrong…for which I'll immediately blame Winslow. 🙂
No, I'll blame taking notes about it at an airport while being tired from a long week with too much travel…and from what is referred to as the telephone game, where every generation of sharing information messes it up a bit.
As I understand it…our humble little congregation started with the Crams and Deans meeting in each other's homes. Their faith was rewarded with others joining their gatherings, including Dick & Evelyn Davis and their kids.
Then someone had a bright idea…maybe they should get a preacher!
We won't be knocking anyone out of the number one spot any time soon :-), but it is good to see at least one person listening to Traditores Radio almost all day yesterday (and one time up to four).
We are proud to announce that Traditores Radio is now listed in the Windows Media Guide under Internet Radio. We are one of only thirty-six stations in the "Religious" category. (Right now we are the last station on the second page. Please be forewarned the listen link will likely only work in a Microsoft set-up…for instance, it failed in Safari on a Mac.)
Getting listed was actually was a fairly involved process (required a fully executed license agreement and more), but the Microsoft folks in their licensing and media guide/radio areas couldn’t have been more responsive, more helpful, or nicer.
Thank you Microsoft from Traditores.org and Traditores Radio!
First, I don’t personally believe that God interferes with NFL football games. I'm not saying He never has or He never will…
But I don't think Tim Tebow, leading the Broncos, has won because of God’s divine intervention.
Although, I will admit, after the way that Denver/Pittsburgh play-off game ended, it sure seems like more of a possibility. 🙂
And…if you read all 66 books of the Bible…you can see that God will intercede when it glorifies Him (including when it'll help draw people to Him). Continue reading “It Isn’t His Quarterbacking That Glorifies God (UPDATED)”
I Double Dog Dare You
I've previously mentioned a friend of mine who preaches down in northwest Arkansas. He is an expository preacher, whereas I am a topical one…and we've had some fun going back and forth about the benefits and detractions of both.
Well, this past week he said, "This year all I want is to hear you preach through a book of the bible 🙂 pick a short one like 1 John or Ruth and see how it goes."
And then, in a follow-up tweet he said, "I double-dog dare you ;-)"
Now…being male…when you are double-dog dared, you have no choice…no matter how crazy or dangerous the challenge is you've got to do it! 🙂
Continue reading “Dear Least Important Church… (Colossians 1:1-2)”
So, as I was reading through today’s verses (reading through all 66 in 2012), it hit me. Back in Genesis 18:22-33, Abraham tries to get Sodom and Gomorrah off the hook, actually (respectfully) arguing a bit with God about it (although notice his concern for God’s reputation).
However, in Genesis 22:1-14 we hear God tell Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac…and…queue the sound of crickets…
Abraham says nothing…he just goes and almost carries it out.
Now, yes…the Bible doesn’t record every word. The Holy Spirit inspires its writers on what to include and what to exclude.
And yes…it could be a sign of Abraham’s increased maturity…both in that he now trusted God so much he no longer questioned His acts or decrees…and that he know the Lord would take care of it (e.g. God could resurrect Isaac, see Hebrews 11:17-20).
But, seriously? All that concern about Sodom, and nary a peep about Isaac?
What do you think?
Just added…a schedule so that you can read through all 66 books in one year with us. Please just choose “In One Year” in the menu at the top…or the link that you’ll see show up in this post. 🙂
Well, it has been an inauspicious start to 2012 for Traditores. I’m going to blame it on my cold, but although we did broadcast my first sermon of 2012, we didn’t record it. 🙁
I forgot to hit "record."
Well, considering what the cold has done to my voice, maybe that’s more of a blessing…at least for all of you. 🙂
P.S. I went ahead and rerecorded the sermon (well, I suppose technically, recorded it the first time :-)). You can listen or download it from our Sermons page or the page with its study notes.
Serendipities
In an article titled, "Mighty Mouse come down and save the day…," I mentioned how God provides us with little serendipities…and yesterday another one of those seemed to bless me. I was at one of the auto parts stores yesterday, looking for an additive to winterize my motorcycle's gas…and who do I run into in the store? The guy from R.C. Cycles who does the maintenance on my Harley…and who told me exactly what I should get in the back on the left in "Additives."
And the fact that such a convenient coincidence happened itself was serendipitous…because it reminded me how this whole year has been a "convenient coincidence"—right from losing my job just as it started to wrapping it up with a week long cold.
Now that sounds odd, doesn't it…that I'm saying that being laid off and being sick are somehow beneficial…?
But, if it weren't for both I would not have known the right thing to preach on today…or what my greatest spiritual need is.
I don't know about you, but after a week of being ill I feel pretty helpless…
And after seven months of not having a job…and now almost a year out not being entirely sure of how I am going to continue to pay all my bills…
After being sick…and after having my financial foundation crumble out from under me…
I realize just how much I am in need of the One I preach about each week up here.
VISION
Well, we've made it to the last letter of my VISION for the Antrim Church of Christ. First, a quick review of the first five letters:
And Christmas Day is appropriate for the N, because N stands for nucleus and nucleus represents the One whose birth we are commemorating…and celebrating…today.
My vision for the Antrim Church of Christ is that Jesus will be our nucleus.
Atomic Theory
The problem with choosing a metaphor for anything is that there is always a point at which it falls apart. All the more true when the object of your metaphor is an infinite, perfect being. However, as long as we don't try to take it too far, saying Jesus is our nucleus is a great word picture. As I mentioned in my original VISION sermon:
Continue reading “How’s that Coulomb Force Working Out for You?”
(I wrote this in a particularly snarky frame of mind, so if you aren’t in a good mood or are a Yankees fan, please back away from the computer and save reading this for another time. :-))
I know I spend way too much money at Amazon MP3…but I’ve been addicted to music since I first started developing my own collection. (Prior to that my tastes were my father’s…basically adult contemporary. It’s still music I enjoy and have great respect for, but at some point…with a 70’s teen…Olivia Newton John and Englebert Humperdink had to give way to Kansas and Journey—after a short detour into The Village People. Come on, you gotta admit “Y.M.C.A” and “Macho Man” are catchy!)
Either way, I check out Amazon MP3 at least once every 24 hours to see what their MP3 Daily Deal is. More often than not it is a genre I have little interest in (it’s often indie coffee-house type stuff), but it does mean that during each visit Amazon’s whizz-bang computer gets a shot at enticing me to buy something else I don’t really need, and it knows from my buying history I’m a pretty big fan of Christmas music. (If you check out my “Christmas Album ‘Must Haves’ (2011 Version)” you’ll see I am a traditionalist…give me the old standards sung by people who could have been my grandparents or great-grandparents.) One recent time when their page refreshed Amazon MP3 shocked me by suggesting “A Very Gaga Holiday” by…well…that’s pretty obvious. 🙂
Why shocked? Continue reading “Going Gaga Over Christmas”
Pregnancy Tests
I still fondly remember the night, about five years ago, when I went to brush my teeth for bed and Michelle said to me, "What would you say if I told you I thought I might be pregnant?"
I responded, "I'd say, ‘Why do you think that?'"
Without the forcing you to hear the rest of that story again, the punch line is that the awesome news was that she was, indeed, pregnant, and the following August Augie arrived.
The news of his pending arrival, however, was a surprise to both Michelle and me. Again…without forcing you to hear the story of why…we really had no reason to believe Michelle could get pregnant.
And we are definitely not the first…and won't be the last…parents-to-be to receive unexpected news of a nascent human whose arrival date is in less than nine months.
Perhaps a few men and women sitting before me have had a similar experience? 🙂
Positive pregnancy tests have led to myriad joyful and anxious surprises, haven't they?
Reason for Complete Astonishment
Which leads us to joining the Nativity Story at the point when the cast on stage is a young woman and an angel. Let's turn to Luke 1:26-33:
Okay…I really should be working on my sermon, but I figured I’d list my “must have” Christmas albums and songs (almost all available on Amazon Music)…in no specific order:
Continue reading “Christmas Album “Must Haves” (2011 Version)”