Mo had her first swim meet today. It was a bronze level meet in Trussville. She won the butterfly and the breaststroke. She took second in the freestyle and the backstroke.
A common question concerning the resurrection and the eternal state has to do with marriage. In eternity will we be married to our current spouse? This question becomes even more cumbersome if a person has experienced multiple marriages (Matthew 22:23-28). Romans 7:3 and 1 Corinthians 7:39 teach that a person is bound in marriage as long as they are alive. Once a spouse dies the marriage bond is broken. Given the fact that death is the vehicle of choice by which most of us will enter eternity, this means our marriages will effectively be over. When the Sadducees tried to trap Jesus with the cumbersome multiple marriage/resurrection question Jesus answered that in the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage (Matthew 22:29,30). There will be two responses to this idea. Some will be saddened by this news (like my wife Shannon, right my love!). Others will be secretly relieved (careful)! Wherever you fall on this it is hard for us to conceive of life with relati
When interpreting and applying Scripture, it is important to distinguish between promises, principles, proverbs, and prophecies. The common error is to count most all the Biblical statements regarding what God says He will do, provide, or how He will respond as promises. For instance, Psalm 37:25 says, “I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.” By considering this statement as a promise one may draw the conclusion that God has promised that the righteous will never go hungry or be left to beg for provision of any kind. Yet when we survey the historical and present experience of many devoted followers of Christ, we quickly realize that many of them have indeed been hungry. Paul expressed in Phil. 4:12 that he has experienced need and hunger. In this case Paul does not mention God’s provision, rather he mentions that he responded by learning the principle of contentment. Most glaring for us is that on th
I have had many inquiries this week from people who are pondering whether they should be baptized again. The most common formula is someone who was baptized after a conversion type experience as a child, who did not fully comprehend the ramifications of the decision at the time, now as an adult and growing in Christ, has a desire to be baptized now that they are fully understanding of its significance. I would be someone, in some sense, to be included in this formula. I have been baptized twice, once as a child following a conversion experience and then again at the age of 19 after experiencing many doubts about the sincerity of my earlier decision. I will share that story this weekend in the sermon and will post it in writing Monday, Lord willing. For now I would say that baptism is a matter of conversion and conscience. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrectio
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