While it is true that a simple trusting of God will provide for us hope for a new day, it is no magic potion. The reality is that many of us will have a very difficult journey… and it should be. After all, it was for the people in the Bible.

The problem of despair is not one you can neatly solve then file away. It roars to life every time someone in your family hears the ugly diagnosis of cancer, every time we feel rejected by a friend, every time we face a situation we know will expose our inability to act in such a way as to receive the approval we crave from those around …

 

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The Leadership Team answers your questions.

Q1 (1:14). What is the role of psychology in the church today?

Q2 (6:47). What is the “third heaven” mentioned in 2 Cor. 12:2. I have a friend who is a Mormon and he said that this is the highest point in heaven and hopes to one day attain to it. I never heard this before so I wanted to find a good way to engage in my response.

Q3 (18:39). The other day my 3 1/2 year old daughter asked me if demons could hurt her. Being completely unprepared for the question, I responded “Well, if you’re best friends with Jesus (something we’ve talked about many times), …

 

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Kevin DeYoung:

Until we are content with being one of the million nameless, faceless church members and not the next globe-trotting rock star, we aren’t ready to be a part of the church. In the grand scheme of things, most of us are going to be more of an Ampliatus (Rom. 16:8) or Phlegon (v. 14) than an apostle Paul. And maybe that’s why so many Christians are getting tired of the church. We haven’t learned how to be part of the crowd. We haven’t learned to be ordinary. Our jobs are often mundane. Our devotional times often seem like a waste. Church services are often forgettable. That’s life. We drive to the same places, go through the same routines

…

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The role of psychology in the church is a challenging subject since there are things within the discipline of psychology that have proven very helpful to some people. With this being said, I lean on people who have made counseling their life’s work in order to gain my footing on the subject. Some of these people would be counselors such as David Powlison and Ed Welch from CCEF. I particularly love the vision they have for restoring Christ-centered counseling to the church. However, that is another subject for another time…

Psychology has no ability or inclination to deal with the spiritual motivations of the heart. Even many contemporary Christian psychology models (hence the …

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The Power – The Power is the next book from Rhonda Byrne whose book The Secret was massively popular.

Multiple-Choice Question
This video teaches that:
A. All of us can change the world by tapping into the power that is within us.
B. Disbelief of the power you have inside you will hold you back from fulfilling your purpose.
C. Everything you need can be found inside of you and this is true for all living things in the world.

Answer given after video.

Answer: All of the above.

This is one slick ad and we must be prepared to help people process the truth-claims that this …

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A caller to the Stand To Reason radio program Sunday, who ran out of time before he got on the air, asked a very good question. Since Prop. 8 sought to clarify the definition of marriage and the judge struck it down, did he replace it with a new definition? What is the definition of marriage now in California? Is there one?

While the ruling declared that the definition California has used since the beginning of statehood was unconstitutional, did it put a new definition in place? A definition is merely a description or limitation of what a marriage is. Is there any limitation, albeit a newly expanded?

Certainly, the judge’s ruling made definition …

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Today we will consider some common questions that people have regarding heaven in an effort to distinguish tradition & truth. The questions are:

1. Will we have bodies in heaven?
2. Can we fall away once we are in heaven?
3. Will we have homes in heaven?

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We have been considering the connection between how we view the future and our ability to live a focused, Kingdom-centered life. Jesus applied this dynamic to how we view the coming end of days and how our outlook should be filled with a reverent expectation and vigilance (see Luke 17:20-27). Jesus makes the powerful connection that what we anticipate in the future will mold the way we live now. From the earliest prophetic teachings to end-of-time prophecies we can be sure that both were given to change the way we live our lives today.

Today we will consider some common questions that people have regarding heaven in an effort to distinguish tradition & truth. …

 

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Christopher Hitchens, noted atheist and writer par excellence, has cancer.

“In whatever kind of a ‘race’ life may be, I have very abruptly become a finalist,” the ever-articulate Hitchens writes in the September issue of Vanity Fair. He concludes:

Against me is the blind, emotionless alien, cheered on by some who have long wished me ill. But on the side of my continued life is a group of brilliant and selfless physicians plus an astonishing number of prayer groups. On both of these I hope to write next time if—as my father invariably said—I am spared.

His essay is a mix of stoicism and dry British wit, but with an understated gravity

…

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A church committee has asked the General Synod of Australia’s Anglican Church to adopt a statement calling for citizens to have fewer children, recommending that the government cut childbirth incentives to new parents and instead offer incentives for parents to have fewer children. The country is on track for overpopulation, the church warned, which could break the eighth commandment by stealing resources from future generations. Do Christians have a special responsibility to have children?

Read the entire article from Christianity Today.

How might you answer these types of social issues in light of the command for the followers of God to “multiple and fill the earth.”

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