A ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Luke 18:18 Asking the wrong questions get the wrong answers. “What shall I do?” is the wrong question. Eternal life is a gift (Romans 6:23). Jesus responds to this question with a partial list of... Read more

Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. James 1:27 The word “visit” means to look out for and to relieve. In other words, you visit them to... Read more

Beliefs matter. Our view of God matters. Doctrine matters. This may seem somewhat contradictory to my earlier posts, but there is an important clarification I need to make: While subscribing to one systematic theology, eschatology, soteriology, etc. may not remove you from the body of Christ, having correct doctrine does... Read more

I’m not going to tell you the reasons that preterism is true. I want to tell you the factors that contributed to my acceptance of Preterism. The purpose of this is to show why some may disagree and why that’s okay. Before I heard the word preterism I believed… That... Read more

“…and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” Revelation 22:1 While preterism is about the past, it also concerns the present and the future. Preterism is more than an academic exercise. It is a transformation of how we view the world. The tree of life,... Read more

There is safety in Legalism. Having specific rules, guidelines, patterns, and structure makes people feel comfortable: Five acts of worship, five steps of salvation, Ten Commandments, five quick steps to fix your money problem, etc. As humans, we love systems, rules, and order because there are clear lines between right... Read more

There are many figures in History who we look up to for their discoveries, inventions, or successes. Coupled with many of these stories, however, are the less-spoken-of accounts of their savagery. They owned slaves, they killed or maimed countless people, and did many other evils all in the name of... Read more

Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492. The indigenous people whom he would meet, he, in God’s name, would subdue. Christianity has a nasty history of endorsing violence, slavery, genocide, and many other atrocities using God’s name and the Bible. Just last night, our congregation had a discussion on 1... Read more

2 Peter 1:5–10 (NAS): Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge,6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly... Read more

Mark 1:9–11 (NAS): 9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.10 Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him;11 and a voice came out of the heavens:... Read more