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Replacement Theology Overturned in Romans in God’s Ultimate Salvation Plan for a Jew and Gentile Church
It is interesting to note that the modern State of Israel has been established on May 14, 1948. The last time the Jews inhabited a nation was during the Hasmonean Kingdom (c. 141-37 BC) which followed after the Maccabean Revolt (c. 167-160 BC). There, they had political sovereignty and religious autonomy. Rome conquered the Hasmonean Read more
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I’ve Been Published
I’m excited to share that my work, “A Theology of Hope for Missing Persons and Lost Causes,” has been selected as the graduate student essay for Salubriatas: International Journal of Spirit-Empowered Counseling, published through ORU’s Digital Showcase. You can follow the link below to download the journal for free and give my writing a read! I’m especially grateful Read more
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Book Review: Preaching With Cultural Intelligence: Understanding the people Who Hear Our Sermons, by Matthew D. Kim
In the book “Preaching with Cultural Intelligence: Understanding the People Who Hear Our Sermons,”[1] Matthew D. Kim leads preachers to understand how to effectively communicate across many various boundaries including cultural and ethnic boundaries, gender and denominational boundaries, the boundaries of varying locations, and even the boundaries of various religions. Central to his work is Read more
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A Theology of Love
Introduction: The Problem of God Apostle Paul writes to the Church of Rome that the existence and majesty of God is common knowledge among all people, and that these truths of God are, “manifest in them,” being displayed by creation (Rom 1).[1] In other words, God does not believe that atheists exist. At the most Read more
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Enter into Rest
For me, the five hallmarks or indicators of personal success are quite the same as with professional or pastoral successes, so I will strain to separate the two. I would say that the five hallmarks of personal success, to me, are as follows: Although my five hallmarks of personal success overlap with success in ministry, Read more
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Planting Missional Churches by Ed Stezer
Main Takeaways Chapter 1: Basics of Church Planting 1. Planting a church should have a missional goal to reach the field around it and to addapt it’s approaches while maintaining its theology. 2. Church planters can often be energetic entrepeneurs but should not lose touch with the fact that their jobs are one of spiritual Read more
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Contextual Christianity without Compromise
A new church plant’s survival is largely based on it’s ability to engage the culture it finds itself in. For instance, Griffith and Easum explain in Ten Most Common Mistakes Made by New Church Starts, that many churches fail to survive due to a fantasy vision that fails to exegete the culture of the community Read more
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Reflections on Common Church Planting Mistakes
One of the most surprising mistakes mentioned in Griffith and Easum’s book, Ten Most Common Mistakes Made by New Church Starts, concerned church planters having “no plan for the other six days of the week.”[1] The authors explain how churches that are built around a model based on codependency to the pastor will only have Read more
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Chapter Summaries/Reflections: “Ten Most Common Mistakes Made by New Church Starts” by Jim Griffith and Bill Easum
Chapter One: “Mistake Number One: In pursuit of the Great Commission, church planters neglect the Great(est) Commandment.” (Griffith and Easum, 8) “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.” (Revelation 2:4) The church of Ephesus had remarkable works, labor, and patience. They hated evil and loved good. They were able to Read more
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Return to Apostolic Christianity
I believe the toughest question author Reggie McNeal poses in his book, The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church1, concerns “The Shift from Church Growth to Kingdom Growth” as summarized by Tony Bowick in Sums2, or, as McNeal writes, “how do we deconvert from churchianity to Christianity?” This is the toughest question due to the Read more
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The Illusion of Self Righteousness
“Our view of the nature of God influences our understanding of sin. If God is a very high, pure, and exacting being who expects all humans to be as he is, then the slightest deviation from his lofty standard is sin and the human condition is very serious. If, on the other hand, God is Read more
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Sword of the Spirit
I saw myself in Yosemite National Park and was in awe with the beauty and majesty of the trees and valley. In my hand I was holding the reigns of a horse. I was establishing trust with this horse, and it was at peace. Suddenly, a man took the reigns from me and he was Read more
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Rebuilding Old Ruins
I see myself sitting at a picnic bench in an unkept park that is run down. It’s such a broken place. Poverty stricken. A group came in to clean it up. They started picking up the trash and mowing the lawn. They put up a volley ball area. Still, all around the park were projects. Read more
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Standing as an Intercessor for God’s End-Time Promises towards Israel and the Church
Why God is not done with Israel. Key themes to understand, to intercede for Israel. I. Who is Israel? II. Israel and the church (Romans 11) After Jesus’ Triumphal Entry to Jerusalem – He did not begin to reign as Messiah. Instead, his Triumphal Entry culminates in His cursing a fig tree, cleansing the Temple, Read more
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Steadfastness for the Journey
I see myself holding a baby. There’s a sense that I have to focus only on this baby. I realize this baby is Jesus. I try to put him down in a carrier and am distracted by things around the house. What does it even mean to sit at his feet? I feel bored and Read more
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A Bruised Reed
Prayer Request from David “Esophageal cancer & left ureteral stem needs healed. This has been almost 2 years. I dropped from 185 to 116. Thank you for helping me pray for a complete healing.” Lord what would you have to say to your servant David? I began to see a twig that was alive. It Read more
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Single Vision
As I prayed for a friend. . . She was laying on a hospital bed. The Lord was on the right side of the bed, looking intently at her vitals. I said, “wow, she is very sick.” Lord, what would you have to say? There was a strong sense that He knew more than any Read more
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Come to the Table
As I prayed for a friend . . . Lord, what would you like to do for her? I began to sense a strong feeling of fear. Would you like to give that fear to the Lord? I handed the fear to the Lord and it looked like cards turned face upwards. Showing the cards. Read more
...and in his temple all cry, “Glory!” 