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Sep 2019 30 Sep 30, 2019
5

We just concluded our second national Convergence conference here in OKC and witnessed a multitude of healings. As people send in reports of what happened, I’ll share them on this blog. In my first message at the conference I addressed the problem of the gap (indeed, the vast chasm!) that often exists between what we believe the Bible teaches to be true and what we have personally experienced. We are always quick to believe and embrace what reinforces and confirms...Read More

Sep 2019 25 Sep 25, 2019
3

Rock stars rarely age well. The Rolling Stones are a case in point. Often called The Strolling Bones, and not without cause (!), this once energetic and controversial sixties group was actually invited to perform during the Super Bowl halftime show a few years ago. Of all their many hits, the one that lingers most in my memory is the grammatically torturous, “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction”! As I type it, Microsoft Word faithfully reminds me of its error ...Read More

Sep 2019 23 Sep 23, 2019
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Our pluralistic, consumer driven society is all about choices, options, and diversity. If you don’t like what you see, be patient; another version, an updated edition, a new and improved alternative will soon appear. This is often the case in certain expressions of contemporary “Christianity” (so-called). Don’t like the Jesus of evangelical, orthodox biblical faith? No problem. There are plenty of other Jesus’s to choose from. There’s...Read More

Sep 2019 20 Sep 20, 2019
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No. There is no such thing as the spiritual gift of healing. There never has been and never will be. Obviously, this calls for some explanation. Many Christians, perhaps even most, think of healing in much the same way they do the spiritual gifts of teaching or mercy or evangelism or encouragement. That is to say, they envision a person with the gift of healing as being able to heal all diseases at any time, whenever they will. A person with the gift of teaching can teac...Read More

Sep 2019 16 Sep 16, 2019
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I am constantly amazed that this question is still being asked, and even more amazed that some Christians respond by saying, Yes. May I remind you of a few important things that Muslims believe, or conversely, don’t believe? Muslims deny the truth of the Trinity, that the one eternal God exists in three co-equal persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Muslims also deny the incarnation. We are told in John 1:14 that the eternal Word or Second Person of the Trinity ...Read More

Sep 2019 13 Sep 13, 2019

Whereas the NT is quite clear that the office of Elder is restricted to qualified men, there is considerable and on-going dispute among evangelicals on the question of whether women can serve in the office of Deacon. Here are my reasons for saying Yes to this question. (1) Although the word for “deacon” can describe a non-technical ministry of serving to which all Christians are called, I believe Romans 16:1 is speaking of the office of deacon to which one m...Read More

Sep 2019 11 Sep 11, 2019

Nowhere outside of the book of Acts are the duties and responsibilities of a deacon mentioned. Twice Paul describes them as “serving”, but never provides content or structure to what this means. Most believe this is because the early church looked to the portrayal of deacons in Acts 6 as providing the nature of this office and the sort of “service” or “ministry” they would provide. The most that we might say with confidence is that &ld...Read More

Sep 2019 9 Sep 9, 2019

Here at Bridgeway we are working on building out the role of what it means to be a Deacon in the local church. In this brief, three-part series, I want to address the primary questions that arise when dealing with this issue. The English word deacon is the translation of the Greek word diakonos which appears 29x in the NT. However, only four of those twenty-nine occurrences refer to a person who holds the office of deacon (Rom. 16:1; Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:8, 12). The othe...Read More

Sep 2019 6 Sep 6, 2019
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One of the more challenging texts in the NT is found in Matthew 27:51-54. It concerns a rather bizarre event in the wake of our Lord’s death on the cross. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to ...Read More

Sep 2019 2 Sep 2, 2019
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No, this isn’t an article on work per se. My focus here is the way in which the OT Sabbath ordinance has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Let me explain. Observe how Jesus responded to the accusation of the Pharisees that he and his disciples had profaned the Sabbath when they plucked heads of grain to satisfy their hunger (Mark 2:23-28). Matthew’s version of the story includes this remarkable declaration by our Lord: “Or have you not read in the Law...Read More