As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“A federal judge has ruled that Maryland unlawfully discriminated against a Christian school due to its traditional views on marriage and gender identity when the state denied it access to a voucher program.” - CPost
“Jesus Christ is the final word by which God has revealed His redemptive purposes in the world, a revelation to which nothing can be added.” - DeYoung
In my service for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, one of the things I set out to accomplish this fall was to study the subject of Hanukkah in order to bring special messages on that topic.
With God’s help, I was able to do so in three churches, along with sharing the material in a Bible study group that I teach regularly—and I have greatly enjoyed the experience!
“The high court heard oral arguments regarding the constitutionality of Maine’s school-choice program, and several of the justices appeared skeptical of the state’s defense of its refusal to include schools that teach their religious beliefs.” - BPNews
When we think of the story of Jesus’s birth in the little town of Bethlehem, we envision a beautiful and peaceful scene with shepherds and wise men gathered around a manger, worshipping the young Christ. But that’s not the whole picture! Matthew reminds us that the birth of Christ was not only associated with happiness and hope but also with feelings of profound sorrow and deep despair.
“David’s story feeds into Jesus’ proverb: ‘all who take the sword will perish by the sword’ (Matthew 26:31). Jesus was telling Peter who began fighting to defend him from being taken to the cross. It was a time when lots of people thought it was right to use violence to fight for independence.” - Mark Horne
The church I now pastor had, before my time, a tradition of Santa Claus giving out candy at the church Christmas Dinner. We handled the situation by eliminating the dinner (everyone is too busy anyway). In time, we had some people who were very anti-Santa. Some people brought up their children to believe in Santa Claus, others used the Santa motif, but taught their children it was pretend, and then others, like us, were concerned that if our children found us untruthful about Santa, would they think that Jesus is also a myth?
Reposted from Rooted Thinking.
The lights dim as the music begins to play. The energy in the crowd seems to almost crackle audibly. You feel a surge of anticipation for the songs you know, the empowering words you always hear, and the inspirational, larger-than-life people you see standing before you. At a well-designed worship service, Bible conference, or summer camp, God seems real, close, and exciting.
“Holocaust denial aims to cast doubt on the facts of the Holocaust, the systematic murder of 6 million European Jews during World War II. Adherents claim Jews fabricated evidence of their own genocide to gain sympathy or extract reparations from Germany.” - RNS
Discussion