Acts: The Saga Continues

Some in my "circles" have often commented how we need to get back to basics and become like the "primitive Church". They think that means a simpler form of worship and a clearer connection to God. This sentiment, however pious, often results from misunderstanding the content of Acts. The book of Acts does not give us a detailed account of what the firs century Christians did routinely for corporate worship. Primarily, the focus of this work is to record the testimony of God's faithfulness and power among men in fulfilling his promise of blessing the nations through Abraham. This promise was fulfilled through a message that completely changed the world and the people he used to proclaim it.

Christianity and the Culture Wars

The Church today has inherited much knowledge about God and the doctrines that have become the essential core of truth which defines what Christianity is. This knowledge has been accompanied by the privileges paid for through human suffering and sacrifice. Privileges such as translations of the Bible in a language you can understand. We have heard of times when the church was persecuted. We have also heard of times where many believed the message of the gospel and were transformed by its power. Unfortunately, the cycle of peace and persecution revolves around the church and its faithfulness with which it accomplishes its mission. The cycles just before great persecution came seem to be times when the church appears to be weak in the eyes of the community it is in. The church today has been struggling with the question of culture and how to approach it. Apparent weakness exists on both sides of the argument. The Church in our country seems divided. One of the several factors splintering the churches is the question of how to approach our American culture. What in our culture is acceptable and what must be rejected?

The Gift of Guilt

All people know deep down inside that they have done things that are wrong. People fail morally whether through intentional acts against others or unintentional "mistakes" that result from our own human inadequacies. Sometimes it feels like we can do nothing right. Even worse, sometimes it feels like we have done nothing wrong! This moral failure whether incidental, accidental, or deliberate is what the Bible calls sin. Sin often results in guilty feelings. Some fight hard to hush the cry of a guilty conscience. Could these guilty feelings be a gift from God?