Category Archives: Church

THE REFORMATION OF WORSHIP

Church March 21, 2017 Leave a comment

PMT 2017-023 by Glen J. Clary (New Horizons)

Doctrine and worship are mutually formative aspects of church life. What we believe determines how we worship, and over time the way we worship shapes what we believe. Accordingly, the Protestant Reformation was an attempt to reform both doctrine and worship according to Scripture and with respect for the customs of the ancient church. Unlike the Lutheran wing of the Reformation—which was reluctant to introduce extensive changes in worship—the Calvinistic Reformers sought to purge the church of all man-made rites, ceremonies, and ordinances that had corrupted pure worship with superstition and idolatry. For Luther, the Reformation was chiefly a war against works righteousness. For the Calvinists, the Reformation was primarily a war against the idols of Rome. Continue reading →

STRENGTHENED WITH ALL MIGHT

Church September 9, 2016 Leave a comment

StrengthenedPMT 2016-067 a devotional by Don Strickland

Colossians 1:11

“Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness.”

As we see in verse 11, this verse springs in anticipation of doubt arising from the previous verse. Verse 10 refers to believers “walking worthy of the Lord”. The doubt that Paul anticipates is whether anyone can live in a worthy manner before the Lord. Verse 11 continues to answer the question, “How shall we fulfill that duty?” Paul begins to answer that question at the end of verse 10 by telling the readers they are to be fruitful. Paul adds at the beginning of verse 11 that we will also be “strengthened with all might”, and it was that clause that we studied in our last visit in Colossians. Continue reading →

TWO KINGDOMS?

Church, Culture September 6, 2016 Leave a comment

PTwo KingdomsMT 2016-066 a devotional by Don Strickland

Isaiah 1:17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless; Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.

I saw her wandering up the sidewalk in front of the Christian bookstore where I worked in Dallas, TX. I saw her almost every day along that busy road. She couldn’t have been more than 15 or 16 years-old – an otherwise pretty blonde, dressed in the manner of a prostitute, with that vacant, expressionless slack-jawed look of a drug addict. On this day, I was ironically standing near the front at the Bible counter. I watched her approach, and wondered, as I had on several occasions, how I might help her. As she passed the entrance to the store, a pimped-up Cadillac, complete with curb-feelers, parked in front of me at the glass storefront, less than five feet from where I stood. The driver rolled down the passenger side electric window. The girl walked over and leaned into the opening. They spoke for a few seconds. She casually got into the car. And they left. I not only witnessed the entire transaction, they could fully see me standing there as well – surrounded by Bibles. Continue reading →

IRAN’S CHURCH IN TWO SENTENCES

Church, missions August 23, 2016 Comments: 4

Iranian ChristiansPMT 2016-062 by Mark Howard
(The Gospel Coalition)

Ken Gentry note: The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Even among Muslims. Despite persecution Christianity is growing in Islamic lands, as postmillennialism would expect. In a time of decline of the church in America, it is encouraging to see its strengthening under the most grueling circumstances in Muslim countries. Pray for the church in the Middle East.

Everyone loves a good story. As Christians, we especially love stories that tell us how, when all seems lost, God makes a way.

One such story is about the church in Iran—and it’s one of the greatest stories in the world today.

It’s a simple story that can be summarized in just two sentences: Persecution threatened to wipe out Iran’s tiny church. Instead, the church in Iran has become the fastest growing in the world, and it is influencing the region for Christ. Continue reading →

THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION AND THE WITNESS OF THE CHURCH

Church, Culture, Ethics August 9, 2016 Leave a comment

Abortion on demandPMT 2016-058 by Albert Mohler, Jr.

Gentry note:

The following article from Tabletalk magazine presents the challenge that is before the Church of Jesus Christ. We must pray for revival in the Church that she might arise and re-ignite the progress she promoted in years past. Postmillennialists are not naive: we recognize the downward trend we are currently experiencing. But we remain optimistic for the historical long-run: our God is in heaven and:

“He who sits in the heavens laughs, / The Lord scoffs at them. / Then He will speak to them in His anger / And terrify them in His fury, saying, /‘But as for Me, I have installed My King /Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” (Psa. 2:4–6)

However, Christians today need to be reminded: he uses his people in history to effect his will. This is why he has given us this prayer to pray publically, corporately, and believingly: “’Your kingdom come. Your will be done, / On earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10).

Continue reading →

THE CHURCH IS GROWING

Church, Culture, Optimism July 12, 2016 1 Comment

PMT 2016-050 by Krish KandiahChurch growing

Without my glasses, younger children in my household look at me as though I am a stranger they have never met before. To me, the world around feels very different. Last week my glasses were stolen and I became very aware how my myopia caused me to feel disoriented, claustrophic, nervous, and unconfident.

Something similar happens to Christians when we lose our global glasses. We fail to see what God is doing on the world stage and instead we become parochial and introverted, limited in our vision and witness. Continue reading →

ISLAM IS DYING

Church, News, Non-eschatology Studies July 8, 2016 Comments: 5

PMT 2016-049 by Christian Muslim AnswersIslam killing

During the last centuries, the number of Muslims in the world has been increasing steadily. Statistics for the year 2010 are telling us that the Muslim population is 1.6 billion. 1 In 1973 the Muslim population was only 0.5 billion. 2 Many Muslims believe that Islam will be the world’s religion in future, because Islam is growing. However new statistics show that Islam is dying a slow death. The following reasons: Continue reading →