Page 488 – Grace Evangelical Society

Stepping Down

July 5, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - counselors, decision-making, pastor, pastoring

This past Sunday, I announced I was stepping down from pastoring the contemporary service at Gateway United Baptist Church. I started serving as an experiment. It was an experiment for the church to see if there was a demand for a contemporary service. The average age of the church was about seventy. They needed to

The Meaning of All in the New Testament

July 4, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Hermeneutics, Matthew 2:3, Meaning of all in the New Testament, Romans 3:23

A friend asked this insightful question: You mentioned recently on a podcast that the word all does not always mean all in the New Testament. That seems to fit your texts ok, but does that not dilute the value of some of the assurance statements where it says He forgives “all sin,” etc.? How would

Suffering Opened Job’s Eyes

July 3, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Job, Suffering

Job’s three friends had a very legalistic view of the world and of God. They thought everything worked according to a clear and simple law of moral cause and effect—of reward and punishment—in which good people are blessed, and bad people suffer. So when they saw Job suffering, the only explanation for it, given their

Demons, Prayer, and Fasting (Mark 9:29)

July 2, 2019 by Ken Yates in Blog - demons, fasting, Prayer

I have always found Mark 9:29 to be a strange and hard to understand verse. A man has brought his son who has a demon that caused the young boy to be deaf and dumb and tried to destroy him. Jesus cast the demon out. The disciples had tried to cast the demon out before

He Breathed on Them and Said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22)

July 1, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Acts 2:1-21, baptism of the Holy Spirit, John 20:22, permanent indwelling

A friend just sent in this super question: I just finished listening to your podcast about repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of sins and had a question about when the disciples received the Holy Spirit. I always thought the Holy Spirit was given to the disciples in John 20 when Jesus breathed on them in

Celebrity Pastors and Their Staff May Not Know

July 1, 2019 by GES Webmaster in Grace in Focus Articles

By Lucas Kitchen From Eternal Life! Believe to Be Alive (forthcoming) Celebrity Pastors May Not Know A few years ago, I attended a massive four-day conference at one of the largest churches in the nation. Its focus was to encourage and train church staff. Pastors and ministers from thousands of churches throughout the country come

Three Ways to Comfort a Suffering Friend (Job 2:11-13)

July 1, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Grace in Focus Articles

By Shawn Lazar I was reading an article by a woman who lost her brother, sister, and her sister’s children in a car crash. Horrific. She was in shock. For days, she walked around as if in a fog, unable to think clearly. Of course, friends offered to help. Several said, “Let me know if

I’m Amazed at Modern Evangelical Terminology

July 1, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Grace in Focus Articles

By Bob Wilkin I read a few articles in the July-September 2018 issue of Bibliotheca Sacra, the journal of Dallas Theological Seminary. It is celebrating its 175th anniversary (since DTS took over an already existing journal). Bibliotheca Sacra is one of the leading theological journals today. And it has been for a very long time.

Spiritual Sight

July 1, 2019 by GES Webmaster in Grace in Focus Articles

By Nate Stevens Beware of Shortcuts The History channel played a documentary on the Donner Party, and it made quite an impression on me. I’ve sworn off all shortcuts. The underlying cause of the tragedy that befell the Donner Party was a man named Lansford W. Hastings. For reasons that are somewhat unknown, but included

God’s Grace to Israel (Acts 13:13-41)

July 1, 2019 by Zane Hodges in Grace in Focus Articles

By Zane Hodges Just as Paul became prominent in works in vv 4-12, so now he becomes prominent in word in vv 13-41. The risen Christ continues to do and teach through Paul. Paul’s Sermon Paul’s sermon in Antioch of Pisidia falls naturally into a threefold division: Andres Israēlitai kai hoi phoboumenoi ton Theon (vv