I began a new series this weekend at Eastbrook Church on the Holy Spirit with a general overview of who the Holy Spirit is from Jesus’ teaching to His disciples in John 14-16.
You can listen to my message at the Eastbrook web-site here. You can also follow the RSS feed for Eastbrook sermons or follow Eastbrook Church on Twitter or Facebook. A slightly revised message outline is included below:
Relevant Magazine published an online article that I wrote today entitled “Why I’m Not Giving Up on Church.” It’s a bit of my own reflections on why the church is still relevant and important for us today. You can read the entire article at their web-site, but here are the first few paragraphs:
In 2011 the largest denomination in the United States, the Southern Baptist Convention, announced the results of a survey showing a significant decline in baptisms and church membership. Ed Stetzer, a missioligist and researcher with Lifeway Research, commented at the time: “This is not a blip. This is a trend. And the trend is one of decline.”
In the very same year, across the Atlantic, a report on the Church of England highlighted the challenges it was facing: aging congregations, faltering clergy recruitment and waning attendance. While church leaders used words like “crisis” and “time bomb,” the report predicted the church would likely be extinct within 20 years.
More recently, the Pew Research Center released a study on the state of religion in the United States entitled “‘Nones’ on the Rise.” The study brings into focus the increasing growth rate of those who do not identify with any religion at all. Nearly one-fifth of the U.S. adult population—and one-third of those under the age of 30—identify in this way; an increase from 15 percent just 5 years earlier.
For many people, these are signs that the church is, if not already dead, steadily moving toward the grave. And many have been calling for followers of Jesus to return to the original vision for our faith…[read the entire article here]
Jim Putman of Real Life Church Ministries in Idaho kicked off the first main session of the Exponential 2013 conference this afternoon. I will be blogging throughout the conference. Here are my notes from Jim’s message:
This weekend at Eastbrook Church we began a new four-week series entitled “Family Portrait.”
My message this weekend focused on understanding God’s people as a family adopted as children of God through Jesus Christ. I built the message chiefly around Matthew 12:46-50, Galatians 3:26-29 and Revelation 7:9-10.
You can listen to my message at the Eastbrook web-site here. You can also follow the RSS feed for Eastbrook sermons or follow Eastbrook Church on Twitter or Facebook. The message outline is included below:
The Bible tells us that God created the world. If you believe the Bible contains the truth of God, such a statement is enough for you. However, if you do not believe the Bible contains the truth of God, then you may be more skeptical about such a statement.Consider with me a few things about the world in which we live and why there may be more rational and logical reasons for entertaining the idea that there is a Creator God.
Consider the various species of animals and plants that exist in our world. Now consider the wide range of environments to which those diverse species of animals and plants are fitted. The intricate diversity and simultaneous specificity shows us an expansive wonder within our world. While some may take this in itself as a rationale for a Creator God, this is not necessarily the case. Some would argue from a naturalistic perspective that the self-contained processes within creation have developed what we recognize as uniquely fitted environments and species within our world.
Now, let’s take it a step further. Consider the expanse of the universe that we have come to understand, Read the rest of this entry »
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