Hello all, this is the most recent sermon that I gave for Columbus First Church of the Nazarene. I believe that this prayer of Jesus is important for us to understand today.
The seventh Article of Faith of the Church of the Nazarene states the denomination's position on Prevenient Grace.At the time this is being written, there are changes in the language of the article that are in the process of being ratified. Therefore this post, as well as any other post that covers an article undergoing ratification, will look different than those for articles that are not undergoing changes. While the change in language often does not greatly affect the doctrine as it is understood by the denomination, it is difficult to provide a commentary on specific phrases during such a transition time. The following material that is in brackets indicate the language that is being deleted, and the words in italics are words that are being added. We believe that the grace of God through Jesus Christ is freely bestowed upon all people, enabling all who will to turn from sin to righteousness, believe on Jesus Christ for pardon and cleansing from sin, and follow good works
Over the past 20 days, I have read through the Bible, cover to cover. I read through the English Standard Version, and utilized both audio Bibles, electronic Bibles, and hard copies of the Bible in order to accomplish this feat. It took me 15 days to read through the Old Testament, and 5 days to read through the New Testament. The rules were simple. First, I was to read the Bible cover to cover as quickly as possible, without ignoring other things that were going on in life. Second, I could not skim the Bible. I had to read it. Every. Single. Word. I started by making a chart (found here ), according to which I could have read through the Bible in 40 days, with 7 grace days. My goal was to beat the time on this chart, but I figured that, even if I didn't, 40 days wouldn't have been bad timing. My method was simple: instead of picking up the phone to get on Facebook or some other website, pick up the Bible and read. I had a daily goal that I wanted to accomplish, and I d
I recently posted about the 5 Best Commentary Sets for Sunday School Teachers . In this post, I want to continue this series by introducing you to what I believe are 10 indispensable Bible Commentary Sets for Bible College and Seminary Students. Each of these commentaries are more academic-oriented than those listed in my previous posts. With that being said, let's look at these commentary sets. 1. New International Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Combining superior scholarship, an evangelical view of Scripture, and concern for the life of faith today, this comprehensive, accessible commentary series is one of the most highly regarded resources of current scholarship. Prepared by world-renowned authorities, the NICOT and NICNT series reflects exacting study of the original languages and offers careful exegesis with preachers' and teachers' spiritual concerns in mind. This series consists of 46 volumes, covering every book of the Bible except Exodus, 1 Kings, 2 Ki
One of my hobbies is connecting Christian leaders with resources that will help them better serve the Church. One tool that is indispensable to the Christian leader is a good commentary. Here, I want to talk specifically to Sunday School teachers and Church leaders in similar roles. This is not to exclude others (of course, if you don't have a similar role in the Church, feel free to read this and pick out any commentary that may help you. Just be sure to pass it on to those who are leading the Church in this capacity). Here are 5 commentary sets that I believe will help prepare Sunday School teachers to lead the Church in this capacity: 1. Warren Wiersbe's "Be" Series This is simply a well constructed commentary set. The commentary here is not technical, yet the commentaries go deep enough to give readers a better grasp of the text. In short, it is what would be considered an introductory commentary. Each commentary provides sufficient background informatio
Comments
Post a Comment