Luther had a desire to preserve the integrity of the gospel in its relationship to the state. He had no conception of a modern Western understanding of the potential separation of church and state. He could not imagine where these two could naturally exisit together. He believed the church and state were created by God, designed for…

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Caring for sheep means treating the sheep as you would treat yourself not as if they are a part of a business. The sheep are like family members and should be treated as such.

Complete transparency in finances is really important. We have one person who is a spender and one person who is saver. It can be tempting to hide money from the spender, but the way we have handled it is to have 3 checking accounts. One is for daily expenses and bills. Another account is for large purchases. The third account is…

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<font dir=”auto” style=”vertical-align: inherit;”><font dir=”auto” style=”vertical-align: inherit;”>mil islam es somete a la voluntad de su dios, el cristianismo ejerce la fe , la gracia y el servicio. el islam peregrina y da limosna pero no acepta el hecho de recibir un perdon si no hay obras o sacrifico personal , Mas Dios nos muestra su amor… Read more

<font dir=”auto” style=”vertical-align: inherit;”><font dir=”auto” style=”vertical-align: inherit;”>jesus es Dios nos acerca a el, no nos obliga a servirle es amor volunatrio que reconoce el sacrifico en la cruz .todos pecaron todos tienen portunidad de ser perdonados por que la salvacion es por gracia es para compartir el… Read more

Yes, when we preach the bible we convey the words of the living God. Not a personal feeling according to the current culture. The bible does not change. There for our message should be as clear from the pulpit today as it was during the time of John Wesley or Saint Peter.

<font dir=”auto” style=”vertical-align: inherit;”><font dir=”auto” style=”vertical-align: inherit;”>Asi como el orden de la creacion en la iamgen de Dios veo el amor la compasion y la redenecion </font></font>

In Egypt the Israelites had a constant source of water. In Israel they had to develop a different relationship with water, and most importantly have faith that God would provide what they needed.

What God has placed in each believer is more than just a spark of divinity. A void that only He fills comes from this holy passion deep within our souls. Once a mystery, now the glorious riches revealed, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27) And God has given us one another “… pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for…

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The poetry of the bible gives the reader the opportunity to converse with God. While the majority of the Bible is God speaking to us, the poetry books allow for us to speak to God. The Psalms give many different conversations of the believe to God. Thankfulness, praise, frustration turned to praise and even anger over ways of the wicked,…

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1. The danger of ignoring the assumption that one needs more than skills and theories, but discernment of passions ruling within could lead to me relying on my own experience to try and relate and reason with one so they may come over to my way of thinking, seeing things differently from their own perspective. For example, there’s the adult…

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I would prioritize knowing and loving God first and foremost because that is what matters, then growing in God as scripture and the Spirit form us in His likeness, and then serving with God in His mission of redeeming and reconciling.

I love the miracle of Jesus helping the lame man to walk! I also love the man’s response to the legalistic people who kept asking him questions about his miracle!

Though we cannot see the heart of another who has just poured out their soul with a heart cry for help, we can bear with them and try to feel their pain, try and meet them where they are. If we can but recall a time when if we just had someone listen to us, in a place we felt safe, perhaps we would depend on the Lord in the moment -…

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‘C’, defending the view that an inside look isn’t necessary: When you’re in a small group, or a discipleship group, or any gathering for that matter, you want not to waste people’s time going below the surface, especially if someone has spilled their guts, so to speak, giving you all the details. It’s best to simply consider the ‘facts’…

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When I look at the bible I often seem to see the scriptures as a story of the ups and downs of a christians life. I was raised in poverty, but as often is said we did not know that we were poor. So My experience tends to lead me to desire compassion to those that suffer. But never pity. God is so good another thing that has shaped me is that for…

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I was at a Awana meeting where we invited the parents and grand parents to watch the children race the little wooden cars that the children had made. The speaker that happened to attend the meeting decided to speak on 2 kings 2:23-24. The speaker thinking this was a funny biblical reference did not understand that most of the audience was…

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Persecution helped the church to grow. We as Believers are so used to ease, which may stifle our growth in the Lord.

My approach to SoulCare changes as I realize this is a work of the Holy Spirit, drawing out of me what He desires to encourage in another: to seek Him more, and desire Him more, than a fix to our problems.

We would not get the full picture of God’s character and how everything points to Jesus.

We choose not to turn our chairs to one another for fear of being known. We’re afraid of what others may think of us. We want to appear strong, hiding our weaknesses. We’re ashamed of what we’ve done, or even who we are, or what we’ve become. We’re ashamed of our past, and even of the persons who shaped our past. As a black sheep in…

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Knowing where members are on the quadrant is helpful in being able to identify better ways to appreciate connect our differences.

I listened to Richard Owen Roberts as a very young bible student, he was the first person that opened up to me the importance of the old testsament, I remember him saying ” People as me why I preach 75% out of the Old Testament and I say Old Testament is 75% of the bible.” before that I had been taught that the New Testament was the books of…

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I have been blessed with wonderful and meaningful friendships over the years. Sisters and Brothers who have walked faithfully through all the ups and downs of this life. I have come to experience this as a gift from a generous God who loves me. They relationships have high priority over things.

Honestly, any of them I am in a position to share. All of our life experiences have value to God and the people we survey as long and the a share adequately, at the right time and for the right reason.

We give to things and people that we love and enjoy. It makes giving sincere when you are not giving out of obligation, but genuine enjoyment. Find things that align with Biblical truths and values that excite you, and you will love to give to those things.

Universally applicable passages emphasize timeless truths that can be applied across all cultures and time periods.

Culturally specific passages address situations or practices that were relevant to a particular culture, so we must identify the underlying principle before applying them today.

Difficult passages are those that make sense in…

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Before studying this lesson, I had often heard Mary Magdalene described as a former prostitute or as a woman known for sexual sin. This portrayal is common in sermons, artwork, movies, and popular Christian tradition. However, Dr. Cohick shows that the Bible never identifies Mary Magdalene in this way. Instead, the confusion arose when… Read more

Among Mary’s three roles, I think her role as a disciple is often the most overlooked. Many people focus on her as the mother of Jesus, while some traditions also emphasize her prophetic role through the Magnificat. However, the Gospels also portray Mary as a follower of Christ who, like the other disciples, grew in her understanding of… Read more

Luke 1:46–55 (Mary’s Magnificat) stands out because it reveals Mary’s heart of worship, humility, and complete trust in God. She gives all the glory to God rather than herself, praising Him for His mercy, faithfulness, and mighty works. Mary celebrates that God lifts up the humble, cares for the poor and needy, and brings down the proud and… Read more

Because while living on earth, Jesus was both God and man.

Because they have different eye views and perspectives of the same situations.

Like-We choose the quickest, safest, and most efficient way to get to our destination.

Unlike-We are using a mode of transportation (not walking) that gets us to our destination in relative comfort, safety, and speed.

I read the Bible as one book.

I have many times thought as Judas. I do not interpret Judas’s words as he wanted to give the money to the poor, but as he wanted the money or it was a waste. This is an example from my life – A family in our church was getting help from other church members to finish their basement. The family that was receiving help had the financial…

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John’s gospel gives different details due to who his audience is. He puts in more details (for example, the length of Jesus’s ministry based on the feasts). Without some of these details, we would not have known how long Jeus’s ministry was. According to this lecturer, it would have almost seemed like it was months long.

In my opinion,…

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The result of being allowed to retain their worship and traditions gave the Jews the ability to remember the God’s blessing and promises that were given from the beginning. They were able to rebuild and renew a relationship with their God and allow the continuation of His plan for all of mankind.

Christianity grew out of the Jewish faith. So, to understand Christianity, one must grasp the Jewish historical and cultural influences to further understand the New Testament.

Mystic Paul’s persona really intersts me. Before this class, I did not see those sections of his letters as mystic. Now I totally see it. I can use this persona to witness to others who accept mysticism as a religion. That yes, there is mysticism but it comes from God. Previously I would not have had that approach as a witness opportunity.

Learning about Paul as a missionary and a pastor at first to me almost seemed opposite. Missionaries plant churches, but rarely stay at that one church. A pastor stays at the local church, hopefully for many years. However, both parts are needed for the church. We need the people involved at the local church so that the universal lever…

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My husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He had surgery and all seemed to go well. Three days later he developed a fever. We went to the ER where we discovered that the doctor had cut his colon while doing the surgery. My husband had surgery immediately to repair this cut and to put in an ostomy bag so that his colon could heal. He…

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Learning about the 2 personas helps me understand the wording Paul used when he wrote his letters. I think of Paul primarly a missionary/teacher to the Gentiles. But hearing the speaker reference how he always tried to speak to the Jews first was a new idea to me. Paul still wanted to help them first. The philosopher side makes sense…

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I think learning about Paul’s life will help understand the audience to whom he was writing. I also think it will help with knowing more about the culture and life of the audience. It will also explain his words and relationship with these people. Having that background knowledge will help me better understand what Paul is truly trying…

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These decisions were eventually overturned because they violated fundamental human rights and equal protection.

Give them help in practical, compassionate, and sustained ways, especially through our churches and local communities. That help should include respite childcare for exhausted parents, affordable daycare for working families, financial support in times of crisis, education and mentoring for mothers and fathers, and other creative forms of…

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A different set of risks but by far more comfortable.

Praying to God is so much more than a request answering machine. Because God has already given us all we need. God understands us better than we ourselves do. He knows what is best.

If we do not share how to discern then they will learn how to discern the way the world wants them to discern.

I am going to get a book by Ravi and learn more about him and what he taught about.

When we are finding equations of parabolas, I teach the design of God had for equations and show them how the equations follow a predictable God designed pattern.