Here are some thoughts about the relation of the Church to the resurrection of Christ. If this is sound, it destroys any notion that the Church can be found in the OT, and eliminates one of supersessionism’s major arguments for throwing off the label of replacement theology (i.e., that the Church has always existed). This comes from the forthcoming book.

Pastor Mark Minnick preached a very helpful message this morning from Mark 1:21-24 that treats the subject of demonology in considerable detail:

A Powerful, Indwelling Demon Reacts to Jesus Christ

I heartily recommend the careful consideration of this treatment of the subject of demonology and examining your own beliefs in light of it to see how biblical is your demonology.

“Play has helped me not to be defined by my difficulty or my desert. It’s helped me to see life as more than something that is challenging. It’s helped me see that my joy is not dependent on my health and my play is not dependent on whether life is good.” - Common Good

“At its meeting earlier this month, the Christian Reformed Church of North America instructed the board to bring a progress report on the confessional-difficulty gravamen to next year’s denominational meeting.” - RNS

“Do you ever feel too small for God, as though your worries don’t deserve his attention? As though he has more important things to do than tend to that tricky relationship, those hidden regrets, that dwindling bank account?” - Desiring God

“R.B. Oullette is the author of what I consider to be the best and most influential popular-level defense of the King-James-Only position…. I believe R.B. Ouellette made a sincere effort to write it with a gracious spirit.” - Mark Ward

“President Joe Biden opened the debate with a raspy voice and disjointed, rambling answers, reigniting Democratic concerns about his age and ability to take on former President Donald Trump.” - Politico

Related:

By Caleb Hilbert. Read Part 1.

(Evidence in the NT, continued)

“In most people’s understanding, ransoms are paid by good people, but demanded by horrible people…. ‘the kidnappers demanded a ransom.’” - Randy Alcorn

“A recent poll by the Public Religion Research Institute found that support for same-sex “marriage” dropped by at least two points last year, and support for “gay rights” anti-discrimination policies fell by four points.” - Breakpoint

Related: Same-Sex Relations, Marriage Still Supported by Most in U.S. - Gallup

“A ‘top-down approach’ essentially means that theologically speaking, God has the right to inform and reform how I — or anyone — should approach him in worship.” - P&D

“Christians…increasingly want their church to point to God, not only in the explicit worship and teaching, but also in its appearance, how it makes them feel, and the subconscious ways they experience the space.” - Barna

“This State’s establishment of a religious charter school violates Oklahoma statutes, the Oklahoma Constitution, and the Establishment Clause. St. Isidore cannot justify its creation by invoking Free Exercise rights as a religious entity.” - Baptist Press

By Caleb Hilbert

In high school, I was a part of the debate team, where I learned the importance of crafting a persuasive argument based on logic, reason, and information. I may not be exceptionally skilled at it, but I understand its significance. Sadly, some people think debating is simply being contrarian. However, argumentation requires more than merely taking the opposite stance; it demands logic, reason, and, yes, evidence.

“Though abortion supporters would have you believe otherwise, many women regret choosing abortion…. In recent years, doctors have developed a safe and effective method to allow women undergoing a chemical abortion to halt and reverse the procedure if they change their mind” - Public Discourse

“because we’re the image of God, yearn for beauty. It’s in our DNA; we can’t help but admire it. On the other hand, we routinely destroy it.” - By Faith

“Certain truths, however, incline me to be more hopeful…. religiosity has undulated throughout American history…. Another solace is that serious evils have arisen even in more-Christian eras, and this country has defeated them” - Acton

“Keep meetings short. Long, heavy meetings are hard for everyone. The typical person can focus for 65–70 minutes. Few can concentrate on demanding mental work for more than 90 minutes.” - TGC

“Around 7 in 10 (69%) believe people’s perceptions of Christians in the U.S. are getting worse, while 21% disagree. Another 10% say they aren’t sure.” - Lifeway

“If the reports are accurate, then this 1,600-year-old fragment would be our oldest copy of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas—not to be confused with the so-called Gospel of Thomas. Neither text deserves to be called a Gospel” - AiG

“Trump shared with the crowd that he was ‘really good’ at a ‘Faith and Freedom’ rally earlier that day. ‘I didn’t interject, [but] it could have been better if I used a couple of bad words….When I see people start to walk out, then we’ll stop, okay?’” - Church Leaders

“A church congregation is more than just a group of people; they are a family. In times of crisis, it is crucial to communicate with them personally.” - Phil Cooke

“The big topic this year was the issue of same-sex attraction, celibacy, and ordination. There were a series of overtures sent to the assembly to address this issue. The result was the establishment of a committee to review the EPC’s biblical and confessional commitments” - Mere Orthodoxy

“The law of ‘standing’ in American constitutional law is complex and particular applications of that law are contested. Still… a party seeking to sue in a federal court ‘cannot be a mere bystander, but instead must have a “personal stake” in the dispute.’” - Law & Liberty

I’d like to begin a brief series on what our relationship should be with our local church. Like any culture, our culture—early 21^st-century American conservative evangelicalism—has its strengths and its weaknesses, its sore spots and its blind spots. I think there are some elements in our church culture that have greatly improved on the way things used to be done—improved in the sense of becoming more in line with biblical teaching—but I think there are also some important elements that we tend to de-emphasize.

So a few posts on some of those.

To begin with, I’d like to talk about the importance of church membership.

“’We lost. Someone must have cheated!’ This is also not a biblical response. To claim a conspiracy and delegitimize a duly elected official is also a way of putting your finger on the scale.” - P&D

“Israeli public policy… is perhaps more willfully anti-racist than that of any other parliamentary state, a dissenting opinion requiring the provision of otherwise distasteful ethnographic clarifications.” - Providence

“The Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists (AWAB) announced on June 17 that, as of June 1, it has joined with The Affirming Network of the CBF.” - Baptist Press

“The more Christian colleges and universities cut core programs or close altogether, the more talent there will be on the job market—people who invested years of their lives for advanced degrees in order to educate future generations in the light of their faith.” - Acton

“At its national synod this week, the Christian Reformed Church in North America voted to put congregational leaders on ‘limited suspension’ if their churches publicly welcome LGBTQ+ members, violating the CRCNA’s official stance on same-sex relationships.” - RNS