My humble first video message. I got to teach for the local young adults ministry last week to finish out their study of 2 Peter. If you’re in the area, consider giving to this awesome ministry: http://www.thriveharbor.com/
Be Mindful of the Return of Christ – 2 Peter 3 at Thrive Gig Harbor
Posted in Bible Study, It's all about Jesus, Prophecy
Tagged 2 peter, 2 peter 3, 2nd coming, Bible, christianity, dispensational, end times, eschatology, Peter, Prophecy, return of christ, second coming, thrive
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Evidence for God is All Around You
Psalm 19 says, “the heavens declare the glory of God.” And Paul declares in Romans 1:20, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead…” But how are God’s attributes seen by the things that are made? And how do the heavens declare the glory of God?
A very common objection to God’s existence is that there is no evidence, and never has been any evidence for his existence. “I’m waiting! I’m open to the idea,” the skeptic claims, “but no one has ever presented evidence!” This objection, however, is either spawned from pure ignorance, or a terribly narrow definition of “evidence.” Most of the time it comes from people who define evidence as direct empirical measurement. In other words, something a physics lab could detect – evidence that in principle could be seen, touched, tasted, smelled, or heard. But that means to count as evidence, “God” would have to be physical, material, a force, a field, a body. Whatever else God might be, he wouldn’t count as God if he were any of those things. So, claiming that evidence must fit the criteria of physics or chemistry just begs the question. Continue reading
Posted in Christian Apologetics, Philosophy
Tagged 5th way, aquinas, argument, argument for god, aristotle, Atheism, cosmological, evidence, fifth way, skeptic, teleology, Theism
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Romans 9-11 Overview at Thrive, Gig Harbor
Last week I had the privilege of speaking at Thrive, a young adults ministry in Gig Harbor. Michael, the director, asked me to introduce their next series in Romans with a 9 through 11 overview. Give it a listen, and if you’re in the area, consider giving to this cool ministry.
http://www.thriveharbor.com/romans/2019/8/15/20-romans-9-11-an-overview-david-baumgaertel
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The Bible Project on the Day of the Lord
There is a popular animated video series called, the Bible Project. It seeks to summarize the Bible and biblical theology in short, easy to understand episodes. I love this idea! This could be a fantastic way to introduce the Bible to people unfamiliar with it, or to help explain some of the more difficult passages and concepts. Until recently I had not watched many of the episodes, but then I noticed they did an episode on “The Day of the Lord.” Continue reading
Posted in Doctrine Study, Prophecy
Tagged interpretation, Prophecy, The Bible Project, The Day of the Lord, theology
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Possible consequences of misunderstanding the nature of the Kingdom of God:
- The crusades
- The Catholic priesthood
- Calvin’s Geneva
- A temptation toward anti-Semitism
- A tendency to confuse law and grace
- A tendency to confuse a Christian’s relationship to Sabbath days
- A temptation to replace straightforward interpretation of scripture for allegory
- Misapplying scriptures about Israel to the Church, or even America
- Despair and discouragement in reaction to apostasy and counterfeit Christianity
- Despair and discouragement at the world’s continued rejection of Christ
- Forgetting or underappreciating the thriving gospel among the world’s individuals
- Neglecting the gospel for the “social gospel” and the liberal political agenda
- Neglecting the gospel for patriotism and the conservative political agenda
- Neglecting the gospel for a comfortable life
- Identifying the church with the state
- Fighting the world’s battles
- Practically forgetting the return of Christ
related: The Application for Every Verse The Kingdom – Part 1
Does the Bible imply that you should be a vegan?
The Washington post recently published an article saying that Christians should all be vegans. The author was inspired by a recent announcement from a prominent evangelical celebrity who claimed he is doing so for health reasons. The article says, good for him, but he should also do it because, “The Bible is clear… Animals are meant to be our companions, not our food.” Continue reading
Posted in Christian Living, In The News
Tagged bad arguments, context, fads, food, legalism, vegan
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The Kingdom – Part 3
This is the conclusion of a study of the Kingdom of Heaven by my friend Michael White. If you missed it, check out part 2.
By: Michael White
A Postponed Kingdom (Continued)
This brings us to the Third and final rejection mentioned before during the previous phase of the kingdom. We will spend some time on it now. This rejection of the Kingdom by Israel happens after the resurrection. Some may struggle with the concept that the Kingdom is still offered to Israel up until Acts chapter 8. To help…
Wiersbe cites 11 reasons that the kingdom was still the primary focus after the resurrection for the first eight chapters of Acts. Continue reading
Posted in Doctrine Study, Guest Author, Prophecy
Tagged church, Israel, Kingdom of God, Kingdom of Heaven, michael white, physical kingdom, Prophecy
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The Kingdom – Part 2
A Postponed Kingdom
This is part 2 of a series written by Michael White on the Kingdom of Heaven. See Part 1.
Jesus, in response to His rejection withdraws from the “house” of Israel and teaches “the crowds” in Matthew 13. He begins to teach in parables, saying “The Kingdom of Heaven is Like…” The disciples are astonished at this. Matthew 13:10 asking “Why do you speak to the people in parables.” It is reasonable to understand their astonishment. John the Baptist had preached the message publicly in Matthew 3 and was astonished after he was thrown in prison even asking Jesus about his identity. Jesus himself had proclaimed it publicly in Matthew 4, and ultimately was astonished at Israel’s lack of faith Mark 6:1-6, Matthew 8:5-14. The Apostles had been told by The King Himself to proclaim the message publicly in Matthew 10 and been astonished at the Demons submission to this coming Kingdom. So after a very public proclamation “repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” and its accompanying miracles proving the validity of their message, they are now told that the message is to be concealed inside parables. Continue reading
Posted in Bible Study, Doctrine Study, Guest Author, Prophecy
Tagged Israel, Kingdom of God, Kingdom of Heaven, Matthew, parable, postponed kingdom
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The Kingdom – Part 1
This is the first part of a study of the Kingdom of Heaven by my friend Michael White. The paper in its entirety can be downloaded here.
By: Michael White
We are all familiar with the term, “kingdom of God,” but what does it mean? What is its nature? When we look at the world around us it’s easy to see that God’s “will…” is not always done “…on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). We are challenged as Christians “How could a good God allow such pain and suffering?” Moreover, there is within the Church significant disagreement concerning various doctrines and religious views, even those that represent blatantly heretical false teachings. If the Kingdom of God is truly among us today in 2016 (Luke 17:21), why aren’t all of our prayers answered the way we want, and why hasn’t Christianity triumphed as the dominant worldview? Since our ability to share knowledge has increased so dramatically with new technologies, and with such an abundance of books and study materials available to us than at any time in human history, why do we see such a wide divergence of doctrinal views rather than a coming together in greater agreement? And what did Jesus mean in responding to a Pharisee’s question about the kingdom of God, when He said “nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you (in your midst)” (Luke 17:21)? Then In the very next verse, Jesus turns to his disciple’s and tells them to watch for signs that would precede the coming kingdom? So which is it? Is the Kingdom of God here now? Then what did Jesus mean that it is still to come (Matthew 17:11)? Is Jesus contradicting Himself in the very same passage? Continue reading
Posted in Bible Study, Doctrine Study, Guest Author, Prophecy
Tagged Israel, Kingdom of God, Kingdom of Heaven, Presented Kingdom, Prophecy, Prophesied Kingdom
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testing 5-2-1 