RonParrs.com: Notes from My Desk...

Emerging vs. Emergent Church

Undefined or ill-defined words and terms get us into a ton of trouble.

From these un- and ill-defined words and terms, we fall into erroneous perceptions and beliefs of Biblical and, I would go far as to say, ecclesiastical truth. We think that when we hear or read something coming from people whom we trust is true, but then a friend or other person that we trust comes along side and tells us something different we get muddled. I don't know about you, but I get confused and then don't know who to trust.

And when it comes to the Bible and God's undeniable and eternal Truths, I, as not only a born again believer in Christ, but also as a lay teacher of this precious Word, am solely responsible to dig for and expose the truth. It is incumbent upon me to understand and be able to effectively communicate, and then properly present my findings.

God has given each one of us this responsibility. He has given us good minds to ask proper questions. He has given us reason. We are to use our minds, guided by the Holy Spirit, to discern His Truth. Period. Sometimes we need to take a step back and properly examine the evidence and come to a rational and reasonable conclusion. We cannot go off half-cocked. We have to be truthful. We can't go in with our own agenda. We need to be as the Bereans and examine the Scriptures daily to prove what is being preached from our respective pulpits (Acts 17:11 - 12).

Mark Twain: All Things Are Mortal But The Jew

The Jew, be it nation, culture or people, are an amazing phenomena. By all "earthly" measuring, they shouldn't be, yet they are.

Too many times throughout the millenia various men and women have tried to eradicate the Jew whether as individuals or as a people group or nation. But for some reason, it can never happen. They seem to have a supernatural hedge around them. They may be paired down, but they are always gloriously and amazingly restored.

As a Christian, I love the Jew. My Jewish friends are special to me. When their holidays arrive, I do my best to remember and wish them a "Happy Hannukah" or Purim or Rosh Hashanah, or whatever the day. They are special people. Out of all the people groups known throughout the ages, God specifically chose this line.

They were chosen to bring restoration and blessing to the world. We gentiles should honor them and love them. We also need to direct them to their Messiah who died for them as well. They are temporarily blinded.

10 Reasons to Believe in a Historical Adam

By Kevin DeYoung , Christian Post Guest Contributor

In recent years, several self-proclaimed evangelicals, or those associated with evangelical institutions, have called into question the historicity of Adam and Eve. It is said that because of genomic research we can no longer believe in a first man called Adam from whom the entire human race has descended.

I'll point to some books at the end which deal with the science end of the question, but the most important question is what does the Bible teach. Without detailing a complete answer to that question, let me suggest ten reasons why we should believe that Adam was a true historical person and the first human being.

1. The Bible does not put an artificial wedge between history and theology. Of course, Genesis is not a history textbook or a science textbook, but that is far from saying we ought to separate the theological wheat from the historical chaff. Such a division owes to the Enlightenment more than the Bible.

Continue reading this article here at the Christian Post.

 

via www.christianpost.com

Church History Lessons

Below you'll find notes used in a 10 week study of Christian Church History.

Along with my good friend and co-teacher (as well as co-collaborator) Bob Brooks, we assembled an easy to follow curriculum of Church History. We wished we could have had 12 to 15 weeks, but there was a schedule to keep! Feel free to expand it to as many weeks as you need. Use it in your church or small group. Each lesson should take 35 to 45 minutes, depending on the amount of discussion.

Our primary "study guide" is the book "Perspectives from Church History" by James P. Eckman, published by the Evangelical Training Association. It's a great book. Only 96 pages but chock full of information and insights. We call it a "dense" book because the content is so rich, it might as well be 3 to 4 times its length. You can spend many more hours in further study. This is a perfect a jumping off point for further study into the subjects of Christian Church history and orthodox Christian Doctrine.

Here is a synopsis of each week and a link to download each lesson's notes.

History Begins...

"Let's start at the very beginning, it's a very good place to start..."

Those may be words from a "Sound of Music" song, but the idea is correct! In order to understand Christian Church History, you must go back to the beginning. But what's the beginning? When did the Church start?

Before we go there, let's define a couple of terms. First, the word "church." If you're talking about "church" (little "c") I'm referring to the church building or where folks meet to worship or study (corporately) God and His Word. Big "C" Church refers to the "real" church (or is it Church). There are no walls or ceilings or floors or doors. The Church is a living, breathing entity otherwise known as the "Body of Christ." The parts of the "body" are its members; people (sinners) like you and me who have acknowledged our sinfulness in the face of a Holy God, and accepted the atoning birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ as recompense for those sins. Which leads us to the next word: Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ.

Wrapping up History

Today marked the end of the line of Church History…well at least in our class!

God will continue to create History, with or without our participation. He has a Plan and He will accomplish that Plan to its fruition.  God, simply because He loves us and desires a relationship with us, wants each one of His children to be an active participant (the abundant life) in this plan.   

As we have traveled the centuries, we have seen how mere mortal minds have struggled to correctly understand not only God’s Word, but also His plan for all of His creation. From the writings of the Gospels and Epistles (written by eye-witnesses of Jesus) to today’s theologians, they were taught by the Holy Spirit. These men were blessed by God to more thoroughly understand what God desired us to know about Him: His love, His mercy, His wrath, His creative power, His overwhelming redemption for humankind. And these same men (and even women) struggled to make sure that every idea “jived” with each aspect of Scripture.   Click here for more about Church History.

It is incredibly important to our Christian walk, our "praxis" (praxis is NOT a Klingon moon) if you will, that we walk, talk, and live with right Doctrine in our minds.  Pastor Dave’s sermon today (Sunday, 7 Feb 2010) highlighting Ephesians 4:29 – 32, demonstrated the absolute necessity of understanding the Mind of God. We can’t be the “people of NO;” showing unloving legalism. By the same token, we can’t be the people of absolute “YES.”  Although we may have “freedom in Christ,” we are all called to live holy lives. As Christians we must put on the qualities as well as speak the words that both Glorify God as well as attract others to Christ. This is a high calling.