NowTHINK!AboutIt

Avoiding Hackneyed...Making Sense

5 Observations About Jesus And Religion

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When disciples grow, evangelism happens.

How Would Jesus
Respond Today

John chapter two actually records two events which, on the surface, don’t seem to connect. It starts with a wedding in Cana of Galilee and ends with Jesus causing a fracas in Jerusalem. Weddings do take place in churches today but in Bible times that wasn’t the case and the way Jesus responded in these two settings makes us wonder.

One place, Cana, was insignificant, the other was the centre of religious and political life for all Jews. If Jesus had not attended a wedding in Cana we probably would never have heard of it but Jerusalem was the spiritual hot spot of the world, then and now.

But the question is, “why a wedding”?  We can easily understand Jesus being involved in major religious festivals (the Passover) but why a wedding in Cana? And, why was He so agreeable at the wedding and so reactive in Jerusalem? [Read more…] about 5 Observations About Jesus And Religion

Anger And Murder In Modern Society – Matt. 5

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Anger was one topic Jesus mentioned in the Sermon on the Mount and the interesting thing is, He associated it with murder.

Before He made His famous remarks, a long history of anger-fueled violence had riddled the pages of holy writ going all the way back to the first family. It occurred often even in those early years and frequently resulted in the death of another person. It wasn’t peculiar to the so-called bad guys either. Some of the people who committed murder surprise us.

  • Cain, the first-born child to the first family murdered his first sibling, Abel, and it was motivated by anger.
  • Esau was so angry he wanted to kill his brother, Jacob. Fortunately the parents intervened and sent Jacob away. The resentment, however, never left. There was constant tension between the descendants of these two brothers which occasionally escalated to war.
  • Jacob’s sons, motivated by resentment, planned to kill their brother, Joseph but instead sold him as a slave.
  • Two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, in a state of rage, murdered all the men in an entire town because the son of the chief had raped their sister and they did this even though the perpetrator wanted to make things right.
  • Moses angrily defended his people by killing an Egyptian guard. The guard was abusing Israelite slaves and killing him was Moses’ idea of deliverance.
  • Later, Moses again became so enraged that he disobeyed a direct order from God, suffering the consequences personally this time. [Read more…] about Anger And Murder In Modern Society – Matt. 5

What Is The Purpose of Bible Study?

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Bible study is one of the cardinal practices of today’s churches.  It happens at least once and often multiple times weekly in most Bible believing churches.  It is so heavily featured that most pastors aspire to be great teachers of the Bible and work hard at honing their teaching skills as if there are no other significant activities to ministry.  To be recognized as “knowledgeable” or “clever” is considered a great honor.  Unfortunately, style and originality don’t vary that much between churches.  If you’ve heard one you’ve heard most of the others as well.

And for the church member, attending these studies in addition to regular Sunday services is the gauge of their spiritual vibrancy.  When they miss too many they are treated condescendingly at arms length as if they have contracted a communicable disease.  Having this rule in place, of course, keeps people coming back even when the teaching is less than compelling.  In many cases it is far less. [Read more…] about What Is The Purpose of Bible Study?

Most Everything About Prayer

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"Pray" is what we do when surrounded by well meaning but misguided people.

Praying For Unqualified Goals
Is A Waste Of Energy

Prayer is nothing more and nothing less than conversation. We call it prayer because it is a conversation with God.

Like all conversation it is a means of communicating and it has many styles, settings and purposes. [Read more…] about Most Everything About Prayer

What Is Worship?

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Matthew 8:1-4 NIV
When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and (worshipped Him or) knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said, “Be clean!” Immediately he was cured of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

The first seven chapters of Matthew cover a lot of history. It begins with the birth of Jesus and includes only the high points for the next thirty years:

  • The visit of the wise men
  • The escape of Joseph, Mary and Jesus into Egypt and their return to Galilee
  • The ministry of John the Baptist
  • The temptation of Jesus
  • The beginning of Jesus ministry
  • The calling of the first disciples
  • And the Sermon on the Mount

Beginning in chapter 8, however, Matthew presents a series of events in which Jesus ministers to different people individually. He moves from the long view of history to recording snippets in which Jesus’ ministry begins to be very personal. They are occasions on which Jesus interacted with certain people one at a time.

Matthew presents these situations as if they were successive. Whether that is true or not has no bearing on the teaching he presents. Even the order of events is not critical to the intended meaning. [Read more…] about What Is Worship?