Tag Archives: church

On Earth as It is in Heaven #1:
What Does That Actually Mean?

By | 4 Jan 2024
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On earth as it is in heaven graphic

Committed Christ-followers and pew-warming pietists alike have been reciting the opening phrase in the title of this article for literally over 2,000 years. Anyone who has hung around any church or organization calling itself “Christian” for even a few minutes will recognize it as coming from the Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew 6 and Luke 11. It is the second… Read More »

Is Bethel a Cult?

By | 6 Dec 2023
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portrait of Pastor Bill Johnson of Bethel Church in Redding, CA

A tremendous amount of mud-slinging is currently going on in the Church these days. I’ve addressed that topic in multiple articles here on Miscellaneous Ramblings. In case you’ve missed any of them, here’s a brief list for your reading enjoyment and — I hope! — spiritual edification: Of Blind Men & Elephants Filled With The Troll-y Spirit The… Read More »

Fear

By | 1 Dec 2023
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woman showing fear photo

Ever since the Rebellion in Eden, God has spoken through His Word a single, consistent message to scads of people over several millennia: “Don’t be afraid!” This command is recorded hundreds of times in Scripture. Someone claims to have accurately counted 365 such verses. This means we literally have 1 for each day of the year. This seems… Read More »

The 4 P’s of Following Jesus

By | 31 Oct 2023
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following Jesus image

In my humble opinion, all Christ-followers should be exhibiting the four P’s in their lives. As His followers, every one of us has been called by our risen Lord to partner with Him in making disciples of the lost, thereby transforming the culture in which we live. If we are not effectively and powerfully impacting those within our… Read More »

Worshiptainment

By | 24 Oct 2023
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modern worship photo

Worshiptainment is a term coined by tradition-bound “heresy hunters” on the Internet to attack modern worship. While none of us — especially me! — can discern their hearts and minds, their words can certainly give us a good idea of their thought processes because “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (see Matthew 12:34). This article… Read More »

Disappointments

By | 17 Aug 2023
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disappointments road sign

Introduction Several years ago, our church’s guest speaker was a former pastoral staff member, a Calvinist-Baptist minister closely aligned with John MacArthur and John Piper doctrinally. His message centered on the illness, death, burial, and raising-from-the-dead of Lazarus in Bethany recorded in John 11. His sermon remarks opened with the statement “God will disappoint us” and then continued with… Read More »