We know nothing about this minority church besides their name, location, and service time. When the service begins, words are displayed overhead while we sing along with recorded music. Many people raise their arms in praise to God. The worship occurs organically, so naturally that I don’t realize there isn’t a song leader. As we […]
In Baptism, We Turn from Sin, Follow Jesus, and Receive the Holy Spirit Another concept that only appears in the New Testament is baptize and baptism. Baptize occurs fifty times, and its counterpart baptism appears twenty-one times. These two words often show up in the Bible’s four biographies of Jesus and especially in the book […]
I recently visited a church that upheld Acts 2:42-47 as their model for church. Shocked, I checked the passage to make sure I remembered it correctly. Here is what the Acts 2 church looks like: Their Four Keys The church in Acts 2 has four priorities: studying good teaching, hanging out, sharing meals, and praying […]
This Pentecostal church receives us warmly. The greeter is an amazing ambassador and will interact with us several more times throughout the morning. He introduces us to the pastor’s wife and it’s not long before her husband seeks us out. The pastor pointedly asks if we’ve ever been to a Pentecostal Church. When I say […]
We Can Impact Others by Being Intentional with Our Words Are we someone who others want to talk to about spiritual matters? Are we open to pursue a meaningful spiritual conversation? A Timely Phone Call As I made lunch, my phone rang. Few people have my number—only family and close friends—so I expected another scam […]
Under Holy Spirit Inspiration Simeon and Anna Affirm Jesus When He Is a Baby Shortly after Jesus is born his parents take him to the temple in Jerusalem to present him to God and go through the purification rites as prescribed by Moses. As they do so, they receive two startling surprises from what others […]
God Gives Us Holy Spirit Inspiration to Guide Us for Our Benefit and His Glory For the last week, I had planned to write the introduction to my next book. I had the whole thing outlined, and I knew what I wanted to cover in the opening pages. Each day I asked God to give […]
Changing Churches Should Be Rare In our Facebook group we discussed the post “When Not to Change Churches.” Justin asked a pertinent question: “When should you change churches?” I knew part of the answer, but I needed to contemplate how far to take my response. Part of my hesitation stemmed from the reality that sometimes […]
We Get a Glimpse into the Spiritual Realm Through Scripture We live in a physical realm. In our physical world, we experience it with our senses. We see things, touch things, and hear, taste, and smell things. Through our senses, we experience our physical reality. However, there’s also a spiritual aspect of our existence, which […]
Personal Bible Study is Essential; Group Bible Study is Even Better When I study the Bible, it’s usually by myself. Though I seek the Holy Spirit to guide me, I seldom have the input of other people. Though there’s value in personal Bible study—which everyone should pursue—greater value comes when we explore Scripture in community. […]