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SHARPER IRON
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To My Atheist (Agnostic?) Facebook Friend

Aaron Blumer | Sunday, Aug 7, 2022  3

I moved on from our recent, very brief Facebook exchange, thinking it would never come to mind again. I thought, “He’s not even trying, why bother?”

But it keeps circling back. You made me think about how my beliefs might look from your point of view, and you asked a couple of questions that deserve answers.

I’ve decided this, though: I’m not going to try to answer your questions in the messy, more-heat-than-light environment of social media. Instead, a friendly open letter.

One disclaimer: I’m not good at finding things on Facebook once they’re no longer in my face. So I’m answering what I remember as the gist of your questions.

  1. Can you prove that there is a God?
  2. If there is a God, why should I think I owe Him obedience?
...
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Two Years Later: Where Are We Now? (Part 5)

Paul J. Scharf | Friday, Aug 5, 2022 discuss

Read the series.

Cybersecurity is a subject about which I know almost nothing, and would certainly never give advice.

Yet this is an issue that affects all of us—in our communications, finances, and now, especially, ministries.

So, along with many other people, I am dependent upon the expertise, advice and assistance of those who really live within this realm of technology.

I am thankful, especially, for the help of Steven Lee, the founder of SermonAudio, who visited with me in a video that is posted to SermonAudio.com/pscharf.

In last week’s column, I covered The Vault that SermonAudio is constructing on the campus of Bob Jones University.

“The Vault is going to be playing...

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Deciphering Covenant Theology (Part 14)

Paul Henebury | Thursday, Aug 4, 2022  3

Read the series. This and the previous installment use material from my article “The Eschatology of Covenant Theology,” originally published in the Journal of Dispensational Theology, 10:30 (Sep 2006).

The Eschatology of Covenant Theology (2)

The millennial options available to those who filter their Bible interpretation through the Covenant of Grace are, Amillennialism; Postmillennialism; and, what is sometimes referred to as Covenant (or Historic) Premillennialism. These options will now be reviewed below.

Option One: Amillennialism:

Amillennialism is the eschatological viewpoint which, among other things, insists that there will be no literal thousand-year Messianic...

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Our Calling Is to “Walk Worthy,” Not to Get Results

Aaron Blumer | Wednesday, Aug 3, 2022  1

As humans, we have a strong bias toward the practical. It makes sense. Even before the Fall, Adam was given responsibilities that required problem-solving, outcome-oriented, cause-and-effect thinking.

Naming the animals was a puzzle to solve (Gen 2:19-20). How do you name them all without using names twice? How do you name them in a way that is orderly? You don’t have to be Linnaeus to notice that the characteristics of animals follow patterns. Adam would have had some interest in categorizing animals as he named them, and that would have required problem-solving thought.

Then there was the job of tending and keeping the garden of Eden (Gen 2:15). We’re still pre-curse, but the language implies...

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It Isn't an Accident

TylerR | Monday, Aug 1, 2022  2

Many people yearn to make sense of their lives and this world. Why do things happen the way they do? Is it part of a plan? Is there no plan? Using the analogy of a train plodding its way along, there are at least three ways people often think of this world and their place:

  1. The runaway train. It hurtles down a track without a controller at the wheel—whatever happens happens. This is the way of scientism and secular humanism. There is no plan, no purpose, no guiding hand—malevolent or otherwise. There is just random meaninglessness.
  2. Fate. The train that is this world is controlled by an impersonal, uncaring, disinterested, and faceless controller we don’t know, can’t see, can’t fathom. This is “blind luck,” Fate, Destiny....
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Two Years Later: Where Are We Now? (Part 4)

Paul J. Scharf | Friday, Jul 29, 2022  1

Read the series.

I began this series this past March, in which I set out to look back at how we have responded to the events of 2020.

I am not going to focus on the medical or political aspects of the pandemic or the shutdowns. Rather, I am concentrating on local church ministry—zeroing in on how this has affected their outreach, both locally and online. Certainly, coronavirus and all that surrounded it has left a lasting mark on numerous aspects of our ministries.

I am also persuaded that we need to look back at this past crisis only long enough to learn from it and prepare for the next similar crisis. I do not believe that it is a matter of if—but, rather, when—that will occur. Specifically, are...

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Worship Is More than Music

TOvermiller | Thursday, Jul 28, 2022  3

McDonald’s sells more than burgers, Amazon sells more than books, and a AAA membership offers far more benefits than just roadside assistance. We easily associate a brand name or well-known company with a limited sample of its products or services when it actually produces or offers much more. If we’re not careful, we do the same thing in the church when we view or portray worship as the musical part of Sunday morning gatherings. I say this because worshiping God encompasses so much more than music.

We often describe the musical part of church gatherings as though there’s worship (i.e., music), then there’s everything else: announcements, giving, preaching, prayer, and so on. We inadvertently give the impression that when we’ve finished singing, we’ve transitioned from worship...

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An Introduction to My Study and Exposition of Acts of the Apostles

Douglas K. Kutilek | Wednesday, Jul 27, 2022  6

Reprinted with permission from As I See It, which is available free by writing to the editor at dkutilek@juno.com.

I recently completed a series of Sunday Bible lessons on Acts of the Apostles. It was begun in October 2019, and the concluding lesson was taught in mid-June 2022. Even accounting for the hiatus in class from mid-March to early October in 2020 due to government-imposed public meeting restrictions, this proved to be the longest single series I have ever taught (Acts being the second longest book in the New Testament—Luke beating it by a slight margin—was no doubt a major contributing factor!). I did previously teach...

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In Case You Missed It

Wed, Jul 13 -

Book Review – BJU and Me: Queer Voices from the World’s Most Christian University

C. D. Cauthorne Jr.
Mon, Jul 11 -

Is There a Gift of Singleness?

Mark Snoeberger
Thu, Jul 7 -

Our Amazing Ability to Communicate

Paul J. Scharf
Wed, Jul 6 -

Church Discipline: Guarding the Gospel

Forrest McPhail
Tue, Jul 5 -

Telling the Better Story: Christians and "Pride Month"

TylerR
Mon, Jul 4 -

The Principle of the Sovereignty of the People in America

SharperIron
Fri, Jul 1 -

‘Christ Our Hope in Life & Death’

Paul J. Scharf
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Just Laws Alone Won’t Save Us
Tue, Aug 9, 2022 discuss
"In this polarized moment, strong legislation isn’t a substitute for wise and discerning leaders." - Hannah Anderson
American Culture   Character   Leadership   Christianity vs Culture
If I Was the World’s Only Christian…
Tue, Aug 9, 2022 discuss
"If I was the world’s only Christian, or the world’s only kind of Christian, I would have good reason to question my faith....But it’s beautifully and wonderfully true that our God is the God of all kinds of people and that he is building a kingdom of young and old, great and poor, black and white...
Apologetics   Church Diversity
Why Pastors Don't Pray, What We Can Do About It, and a New Book Introduction
Tue, Aug 9, 2022 discuss
 "...some reasons pastors don’t pray. We’re “fixers” by nature....We’ve had no role model prayer warriors....We’re afraid to tell anyone when we struggle with prayer....We have so much to do" - Chuck Lawless
Prayer   Pastoral Ministry
How the Church Has Been Good for Women... and Other Ways It Is “Essential”
Tue, Aug 9, 2022  2
"...the feminist paradigm has quite successfully framed Christianity and the Church as misogynist, patriarchal, and harmful for women.... reframes pagan religions and cultures as being pro-woman, at least until Christianity gained prominence. This narrative, however, doesn’t match the historical...
Women   Feminism   Church History
Nondenominational Churches Are Adding Millions of Members. Where Are They Coming From?
Tue, Aug 9, 2022 discuss
"...it looks like nondenominational congregations are increasing by taking in people who were raised Catholic—which is about a quarter of the general population. At the same time, more and more young people are being raised in nondenominational churches" - CToday
Church Attendance   Evangelicals   Nondenominational Churches
The Southern Baptists’ ‘pastor’ controversy: A study in terminology pitfalls and consequences
Mon, Aug 8, 2022 discuss
"Baptists do believe that humanly speaking, you are certainly free to believe whatever you wish. However, you do not have the right to believe, or disbelieve, anything you choose and still call yourself a Southern Baptist." - Richard Land
Pastoral Ministry   SBC   Women as Pastors
Is It Possible to Be Hyperimaginative in Thinking about Heaven?
Mon, Aug 8, 2022 discuss
"I think it is possible to speculate responsibly, especially about the future Heaven, in that the resurrection of people and the resurrection of the earth itself suggests many things that may well be possible on the New Earth. But no one should claim them with certainty." - Randy Alcorn
Heaven   Near Death Experiences
Against Church Money Gimmicks
Mon, Aug 8, 2022 discuss
"So where do church money 'gimmicks' fit in? They don’t. But that hasn’t stopped leaders from using them as shortcuts to true discipleship. Here are four of the most common that I’ve witnessed" - C.Leaders
Stewardship   Church Finance
What is Government for?
Mon, Aug 8, 2022  2
"I don’t think we can deny that government has authority to make regulations to protect life. In fact, it is a significant purpose of government." - Don Johnson
Political Theology   Political Philosophy   Government   Worldview
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Poll of the Week

Who is saved/elect in the Parable of the Sower?

By Ed Vasicek
Jul 24 2022
Only the good soil -- where the seed bears fruit -- represents the elect (saved).
67% (8 votes)
The good soil and the thorny soil represent the elect.
0% (0 votes)
The good soil, the thorny soil, and the rocky soil represent the elect.
0% (0 votes)
Some elect are represented among the various soils (although the good soil might see more).).
8% (1 vote)
Other
25% (3 votes)
Total votes: 12
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