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Worship

In Blog, Prayer, Theology on
April 17, 2022

Prayer Basics

Without communication, a relationship will never survive. I’ve had many friendships fade away because I just lost contact with them. And the same is true with other kinds of relationships, too. Marriages that lack communication often end in divorce. Miscommunication between bosses and employees tend to result in missed deadlines and uncompleted tasks. Parents who never communicate or cultivate relationships with their children are often estranged from them later in life.

Our relationship with God is no different. While a lack of communion with God won’t end in divorce or loss of relationship, forsaking practices like prayer and Bible reading can hinder one’s fellowship with God, making them feel like God is far away from them. Bible reading is a fairly straightforward discipline, and it’s rather easy to recognize how God speaks to us through His Word. But many Christians struggle with prayer. Who do we pray to? When should we pray? What should we pray for? Even people who have been believers for years are asking these questions, and all of them and more will be answered in this Prayer Basics post!

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In Blog, Book Reviews, Systematic Theology on
December 27, 2021

Fix Your Eyes

If you’ve been around here for a while, you’ve probably noticed that theology is very important to me. I spent five years at a Christian college studying theology. I read about theology in my free time. I write about theology for the blog. I post about theology on social media. I follow theologians on Twitter and Instagram. When I moved a couple years ago and was looking for a new church, the church’s theology was one of the most important things for me to consider, and I love it when pastors teach about deep theological concepts on Sunday mornings.

I enjoy theology, and it’s something that comes natural to me. However, something that is not quite so natural for me is worship. I’m a fairly analytical, non-emotional person. I don’t typically listen to a lot of Christian worship songs, but whenever I do, I don’t often raise my hands or tear up as I listen to impactful lyrics. While I enjoy a more contemporary worship service, my number one goal was not to find a church with all the lights and fog machines and an environment that evokes emotion. None of these things are necessarily bad. I’m just more of a “thinking” person rather than a “feeling” person.

Yet, focusing solely on theology and neglecting worship can lead to pride and hypocrisy and needing to always be right. On the other hand, focusing solely on worship and neglecting theology can lead to ignorance and shallow faith and being deceived by false teachings. Theology and worship are equally important, and this is what Amy Gannett emphasizes in her new book, Fix Your Eyes.

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In Blog, Book Reviews, Self-Help on
August 9, 2021

Getting Over Yourself

There’s a new kind of gospel being spread amongst the western Church today. This gospel is a very me-centered gospel, one that is focused on MY dreams and MY destiny. It tells you that God has something greater for YOU, YOU have untapped potential, God has a vision for YOUR life. Those who preach this say that God is turning YOUR setback into a comeback and that the best is yet to come for YOU.[1] This message is very hyper-focused on the self, and it is incredibly anti-gospel. It could be described as a “self-help” or “new prosperity” gospel, and pastor Dean Inserra exposes this false gospel in his new book, Getting Over Yourself.

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In Blog, Book Reviews, Trinity on
May 17, 2021

Delighting in the Trinity

Many have attempted to describe the Trinity and how God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit relate to each other in simple terms. Some have said that the Trinity is like a shamrock, and the shamrock’s three leaves represent the three persons of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Spirit). However, this analogy could suggest that each person of the Trinity is only one part of the Trinity and not fully God without the other two persons.

Others have said that the Trinity is like the three states of water – liquid water, ice, and vapor. All three of these states are fully water, and all three persons of the Trinity are fully God. But this analogy could suggest that God changes form (Father becomes the Son, Son becomes the Spirit, etc.), and this is actually a heresy known as modalism.

Neither of these analogies accurately describe the Trinitarian relationship we read about in Scripture, and I’ve heard of several other analogies that aren’t quite right either (eggs, apples, triangles, etc.). As believers, we need to have an accurate view of God and the relationship between the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. This is why Michael Reeves wrote his book, Delighting in the Trinity.

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In Bible Study, Blog, Psalm on
December 7, 2020

God is Within Her, Will She Fall?

“God is within her, she will not fall.”

You’ve probably heard this phrase before. You’ve seen it on flowery Pinterest graphics and on pink t-shirts in pretty calligraphy, or perhaps it was the keynote message of a women’s ministry event or conference you attended. It sounds like a good, biblical message. God is with us and in us. Therefore, we cannot fall. We cannot fail. We can do anything. It’s a very uplifting and empowering message for women in particular.

But is this message biblical? Is it actually found in the Bible? Yes and no.

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