Humanity has lost the story that connects us all. There is a lot of noise, but no context to give life meaning. So, we drift through life without a true meaningful purpose — a story that connects us to something bigger than we are. Aristotle observed, “When the storytelling in a culture goes bad, the result is decadence.” We see all around us the result of the collapse of mankind’s story. We have tried to replace it with small, narcissistic stories that have no lasting impact. It has turned us … [Read more...] about The Purpose of the Church
Doctrine
Life After Death
The concepts of heaven and hell require that a person lives in some form after death. You don’t really die. Both heaven and hell are places where people live for eternity. If you wanted an expert in the field of going to heaven, I doubt you could do better than Billy Graham. He says: “Heaven for the Christian will be a place of glorious life that will never end. Joy inexpressible, limitless peace, pure love, beauty beyond description – that’s what heaven is. Greatest of all … [Read more...] about Life After Death
A Message of Hope
Our world could use some good news. It seems for most people that their hope is that we will “get through this” and things will get better. But that doesn’t seem to be happening. Unfortunately, man is unaware that his path is being directed by an evil being who does not plan for things to get better. There is simply a growing sense of hopelessness because positive expectations are not being met. God did not create man to live in a hopeless world. He created man to have a relationship with … [Read more...] about A Message of Hope
The Good News of Salvation
The message of the Bible could be considered the message of salvation. The Bible introduces us to a perfect creation. We are told that in God’s estimation it was “very good.” God rebuilt this perfect earthly environment out of the destruction caused by Satan’s rebellion. The pinnacle of His work was man – made in God’s own image and created to have a relationship with the Creator. God was intent on transforming humankind into His image and nature spiritually to add children to His eternal … [Read more...] about The Good News of Salvation
The Kingdom of God
The world has been successively ruled by kingdoms. From a biblical perspective we see this clearly outlined by Daniel as he explains to the Babylonian king the contents of the king’s dream. Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar, “For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory” (Daniel 2:37). There were to be three similar kingdoms to follow the Babylonian kingdom. The progress of the dream’s revelation ends with a future fifth kingdom – the Kingdom of God. “And in the days of … [Read more...] about The Kingdom of God
Fulfillment of the Law
Most Christians believe that Jesus Christ kept the laws of the Old Testament fully and that the law, therefore, was completed or accomplished — and done away. But is this really what the Bible teaches? You can find plenty of theological explanations that point out that Jesus Himself said that He came to fulfill the law and the prophets and that many of His actions were done purposely in order to do so. Often cited examples from the book of Zechariah includes Christ riding up to Jerusalem on a … [Read more...] about Fulfillment of the Law
What is a Church?
What is a church? This seems like a simple enough question. A dictionary definition says it is a building used for public Christian worship. This is the traditional church on the corner concept. For most people, the concept of what a church is would be drawn from the culture they experienced growing up. For all of us our childhood experience as well as the media and pop culture play into the formation of our impressions. A little more obscure, but a powerful influence would be what people want … [Read more...] about What is a Church?