What Does The Sword of the Spirit Mean? In the letter Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus he tells them to put on spiritual armor. Included in his list of gear is only one offensive item: “the sword of the Spirit,” which he says is the word of...
Reflecting on Church #41: Reaching Out to Visitors Versus Hanging Out With Friends With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #41. Aside from...
Why Do We Do the Things We Do? Most people whose faith is more than in name only, have certain religious rituals as part of their spiritual practices. A common one is church attendance. Another may be giving money or tithing to the church...
Three Versions of the Last Supper The final time Jesus ate a meal with his disciples before he was executed is commonly called the Last Supper; he celebrated Passover with them. Today, we continue this tradition in memory of him. Though people...
Reflecting on Church #40: Would You Like to Sit With Us? With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #40. “Would You Like to Sit With Us?” asks...
I Love the Church, Really I Do In this blog, “Pursuing Biblical God,” I write a lot about the church. My comments are mostly critical. This isn’t because I hate the church. It’s because I love the church. Really I do. If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t...
Are You a Christian Pharisee? Whenever I come across the word Pharisee in the Bible, my first thought is, I’m glad I’m not a Pharisee. Then I rush on to read the next verse. Pharisees comprised a sect of Judaism. A religious bunch, they received...
Reflecting on Church #39: A Different Twist on Sharing a Meal With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #39. Many churches share food or a meal...
Do You Really Want Your Church To Grow? Most people who go to church say they want their church to grow. However, they usually have an unstated assumption: they want the new people to be just like them. Although understandable, this is also...
Ten Reasons Why the Bible is Important On an almost daily basis, I’ve spent my life reading and studying the Bible. However, I don’t see the Bible as a rulebook for righteous living or a manual for the faithful to follow, but as a spiritual...
