STOP SAYING “GOD TOLD ME”

Other March 7, 2017 Comments: 8

listening-for-godPMT 2017-019 by Josh Buice (Delivered by Grace)

It happened again recently. I was listening to a sermon online and the preacher said, “God told me.” Apparently everyone in the congregation enjoyed it from the response I heard, but I immediately turned it off. This type of communication is becoming more prevalent in Christian circles. It’s showing up in conversations because people are hearing it from the pulpit and reading it in books they purchased from the local Christian bookstore. Perhaps it sounds spiritual or is emotionally stirring to the congregation.

Although the “God told me” method of communicating makes for interesting, suspenseful, and entertaining stories, what people need most is to hear from God. I would like to make a simple request. Please stop saying “God told me” unless the phrase is immediately followed up with a text of Scripture. Continue reading →

SCIENTIFIC MYTHS ABOUT THE BIBLE

Creation, Science March 3, 2017 Leave a comment

flat-earthPMT 2017-018 by Justin Taylor (The Gospel Coaltion)

Ronald Numbers grew up as the son of a fundamentalist Seventh-day Adventist minister, attending Adventist schools and being taught young-earth creationism until adulthood, where he lost his faith and became an agnostic. Today he is perhaps the world’s leading scholar on the history of the relationship between science and religion.

If you were to ask Professor Numbers for the “greatest myth” about the historical relationship between science and religion, he would respond that it’s the idea the the two “have been in a state of constant conflict.” Continue reading →

ALCOHOLIC WINE IN THE BIBLE

Culture February 28, 2017 Comments: 5

winePMT 2017-017 by Mischelle Sandowich (Reformed Health)

Gentry introduction

Wine is often used in Scripture to symbolize the joy and abundance of the eschatological hope of God’s people.

Isaiah 25:6-7: “The LORD of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, And refined, aged wine. And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, Even the veil which is stretched over all nations.”

Isaiah 27:1-2: “In that day the LORD will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, With His fierce and great and mighty sword, Even Leviathan the twisted serpent; And He will kill the dragon who lives in the sea. 2 In that day, A vineyard of wine, sing of it!” Continue reading →

THE COLLAPSE OF MEANING

apologetics, Ethics February 21, 2017 Leave a comment

collapse-of-meaningPMT 2017-015 by Rev. Charles H Roberts D.Min.

Authority and sovereignty are unavoidable realities in life. And by definition when something or someone is sovereign, or has absolute authority, no one or nothing else is (or has).

It is the Reformed-Protestant Christian understanding that Holy Scripture, the written Word of God, speaks with authority concerning everything about which it speaks….and that it speaks about everything.

An individual, a family, a church, or a social and political order that is based on the principles and worldview of Scripture will be unique therefore regarding important issues that concern people, families, and societies. Continue reading →

IS GENESIS HISTORY?

Creation February 17, 2017 Comments: 2

is-genesis-historyPMT 2017-014 by Garrett Haley (Christian News)

A soon-to-be-released documentary-style film, featuring footage from around the U.S. and interviews with over a dozen scholars and scientists, will provide visual evidence and scientific arguments for the Bible’s accounts of Creation and the Flood.

On February 23, hundreds of movie theaters across the U.S. will participate in a one-night showing of the film “Is Genesis History?” The film, produced by Compass Cinema and structured as a documentary, features interviews with respected Christian scientists, including microbiologist Kevin Anderson, astronomer Danny Faulkner, geologist Andrew Snelling, and several others. Continue reading →

MISSIONARY V. RUSSIAN ANTI-EVANGELISM

News February 10, 2017 Leave a comment

russian-persecutionPMT 2017-012 by Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra (Christianity Today)

After 32 cases, lawmakers review Yarovaya restrictions on religion. Top courts could follow.

One Sunday morning in August, three policemen came to Don Ossewaarde’s home in Russia, where the Baptist missionary from Illinois was holding his weekly Bible study.

“Afterwards, they took me to the police station and charged me with conducting missionary activities in violation of a new law that took effect on July 20, 2016,” Ossewaarde wrote. “At a court hearing, I was found guilty and sentenced to pay a fine of 40,000 rubles, which is over $600.” Continue reading →

REFORMED CHRISTIANITY IN INDONESIA

News February 7, 2017 Leave a comment

indonesiaPMT 2017-011 by Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra
(From the Auila Report)

With more than 16,000 students, Universitas Pelita Harapan is one of the largest Reformed Christian universities in the world. Started just 22 years ago, the university offers a law school, medical school, engineering school, and teachers college—all from a distinctly Reformed worldview.

“We don’t even have that in the United States or Europe,” said Ric Cannada, chancellor emeritus for Reformed Theological Seminary. “Here it is in Indonesia. Isn’t it just like the Lord to do something like this in the least likely place—the country with the largest Muslim population in the world?”

Though Christians compose only 10 percent of Indonesia’s population, the nation is so populous that roughly 25 million Christians live there. About one-third are Catholic, while the Protestants are typically either Pentecostal or Reformed—as in, really Reformed. Continue reading →