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Judgment

In Bible Study, Blog, Isaiah on
December 20, 2021

A Child is Born

Christmas is a busy time of year. It’s a time of baking cookies, hosting holiday parties, and singing all of your favorite Christmas carols. It’s a time of wrapping presents, drinking hot chocolate, and last-minute shopping for that one family member you didn’t know was coming into town. It’s a time of hanging lights, decorating trees, and watching classic films, like Home Alone, Christmas with the Kranks, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. For some, Christmastime is filled with joy and cheer. For others, Christmastime is filled with stress and exhaustion.

No matter what life stage or season we’re in, we all have busy schedules at the end of each year, and we all get to a point where it feels like there is so much to do and so little time to do it all in. But as we attempt to fit in all the festivities and events, we miss something. We forget that Christmas is about more than the gifts and the music and the décor. It’s a day when we are to celebrate the birth of a child. And not just any child, but the Son of God.

What is so special about this child? Why does this boy named Jesus deserve our focus, our reverence, our worship? We can discover the answers to these questions by consulting a roughly 2,700-year-old Jewish prophecy written by a man named Isaiah.

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In Blog, Ten Commandments, Theology on
November 8, 2021

In Vain

One of my favorite TV shows is Friends (I know—not the most wholesome show, but it does make me laugh). There are several recurring side characters in the show, but one of the most memorable characters is Janice, Chandler’s on and off girlfriend who appears in nearly every season of the series. Janice is mainly known for one thing—exclaiming in her loud, nasally, nails-on-a-chalkboard voice the phrase, “OH. MY. GOD.” And Janice isn’t the only one to make this exclamation. Between Janice, the six friends, and other characters, the phrase is said 1,069 times over the show’s ten seasons.[1]

Growing up in a conservative Christian household, I was taught to never use this phrase. In my mind, I was just asking to be struck down by the Lord if I dared to utter those three little words in a row. It was such a big deal because it was prohibited in the third commandment – “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain” (Exodus 20:7a, ESV). But what does it really mean to take God’s name in vain? Is this commandment just telling us we can’t use the phrase, “Oh my god,” or is there more to it?

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In Bible Study, Blog, Matthew on
October 18, 2021

Judge Not

We live in a society where judgment is not tolerated. When a person makes certain choices or decisions in their life, they expect everyone to accept and affirm them. But if anyone pushes back or questions the decision, they act as if their identity and personhood is being denied, and they label their questioner as a hateful bigot. And this reaction is amplified if the person who pushes back is a Christian.

The Bible calls Christians to be kind and compassionate (Ephesians 4:32), to love their neighbors (Matthew 22:39), even if their neighbor is their enemy (Matthew 5:44). Because of this, many people, including many believers, think that Christians should not disagree with anyone publicly. Somehow, this is seen as being “unloving,” and if you do try to disagree with someone’s choices or actions, someone is sure to throw the common Bible verse at you: “Judge not, that you be not judged.” (Matthew 7:1, ESV) However, this Bible verse is very often misused, especially in the situation described above. To find out the true meaning of this verse, we must look at it in context.

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