And we have been welcomed by the church family at Lawndale Baptist Church! We come to the area and a new ministry in unusual times. We are still dealing with a resurging pandemic in this region, we are nearing a critical election that has exposed deep divisions in our country, and there have been protests and disruptions, and in some cases rioting and looting, in many areas of our country, including Philadelphia. I certainly don't have any easy answers to the challenges we are facing, but I think it is pretty clear that all of these things remind us that we are living in a fallen world. The consequences of the Fall are evident all around us. If the problem is sin, the answer is Jesus. And so, we are here to hold forth hope, by holding forth the Word of Life. We are here to urge men and women, on behalf of Christ, to be reconciled with God. I plan to post on this blog weekly the study that will be the basis of my preaching at the Lawndale Baptist Church in Philadelphia each week. The title of my blog, "What's the Big Idea?" is based on the teaching of the great preacher, homiletics professor, and author, the late Haddon Robinson, who urged his students (and readers) to preach expositionally through books of the Bible, and to focus on the "big idea" in the passage on which they were preaching. I am no Haddon Robinson, but as a simple Bible teacher I hope I can expose the truth of God's Word to His church, and trust Him to bring the growth. Sola Deo Gloria, to God be the glory!
“Getting the Gospel Right: The Gospel and the Grace of Christ ” Galatians 1:6-10 Introduction : It seems that today one of the most valued attitudes by our society is that we be tolerant and inclusive, even in matters of faith. One former evangelical wrote a book entitled, “Love Wins,” which essentially arrived at a position of universalism: eventually our loving God will let everyone into heaven. So basically, it doesn’t really matter what you believe, as long as you believe in yourself, you’ll be ok. To say that there is a narrow road that leads to life, to say that there is only one way , one truth , one life , to say that there is only one name under heaven by which we must be saved , that would be so intolerant as to be offensive. We don’t get to make up in our own mind what is truth! The God who is Truth has spoken. One young pastor had begun to doubt the authenticity of God’s Word... A couple of years after [ he ] was called to pastor a church, he was visiting one
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ReplyDeleteI look forward to reading your posts, Steve! Good to have you closer, and I hope we can get together soon. Blessings as you and Mary Ann start this new chapter!
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