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Show Me The Money - Brian Taylor

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  ​ Having spent many years in the Pentecostal world, one of my chief consternations was that damnable heresy known as the prosperity gospel. According to the precepts of that false teaching, in proportion to one’s faith, a believer could and should expect to enjoy wealth and health in this present age. Of course, the primary beneficiaries of this blasphemous teaching  were  the preachers who promoted it, as they indicated one means to demonstrate the necessary faith was by financially supporting their “ministries.” Plant that  seed  and reap that harvest, words for one to choke on. For those more orthodox and centered in Scripture, this was their constant battle.  ​ Yet,  one d anger when confronting a heresy is to develop an equally extreme and unbiblical  heresy .  So, for instance, o ne could easily fall into a vow of poverty  mindset  in confronting the prosperity gospel. The proportion of one’s faith, in this case, is indicated by one’s suffering and impoverishment. Not suffering
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A People's Honest Confession - Brad Anderson

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  Lamentations is a book that explains the experience of a suffering people trying to understand their present circumstances both historically and religiously.  Lamentations not only seeks to validly and faithfully express the grief and despondency of the exile, but attempts to understand and make sense of what happened.   ​ Israel's exilic future is seen in Moses's prophetic song (Deut. 32). This text was a reminder to the people of Israel: the pain they were experiencing was due to their violation of the terms and conditions of the Sinai covenant ( Deut  31: 19-21). What Moses foreshadows, Judah experiences. ​ If Judah were to remain faithful to God, she would experience blessing.  The beginning of Deuteronomy 28 explains that God's people would be a great nation set high above all others (Gen 12:2; Deut. 28:1) and were to be made into great nations (Gen 17:6).  By  Israel , all the earth was to be blessed (Gen 28:14; Deut. 28:2-4, 11).   Israel  was to be served by other
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When God leads you to bitter waters - Mark Witte

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  “23  When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah.  24  And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”  25  And he cried to the  Lord , and the  Lord  showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.” Ex. 15:23-25   Recently, I had a bad cough. To help cure it, my doctor gave me a prescription for a special pill which would immediately alleviate the cough. The problem, however, was that the second the pill touched the tongue, a horrible bitter taste filled the whole mouth. I tolerated it because I knew that it was for my good. In the Exodus, God led Israel out of Egypt by his strong hand. He saved Israel by holding back the waters and leading them through the Red Sea. But, at the same time, He judged Pharoah and Egypt by causing the waters to fall upon them.  Once on the other side, Moises and all of Israel sang songs of praise to God.    Very quickly, however,
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Finishing Well - Tim Phillips

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I recently finished preaching a short series of sermons from 2 Chronicles 14-16 to begin the new year. These chapters focus on the life of King Asa of Judah, who helped bring about a reformation of true religion in the nation. King Asa did what was good and right in the sight of the Lord (2 Chr 14:2). He continually called the people to seek the Lord (seeking after the Lord is a theme of these three chapters). When a crisis (a foreign invasion) threatened Judah, he sought the Lord in prayer (2 Chr 14:9ff). When he was confronted with the word of God from  a prophet  named  Azariah, he listened and obeyed (2 Chronicles 15:1ff). The people removed idols and renewed covenant vows. Asa even confronted a member of his own family for her idolatry (2 Chr 15:16). The people sought the Lord during Asa’s reign, and the result was that they enjoyed peace on all sides and rest from their enemies. But Asa is  also  an example of someone who  did not finish well. Near the end of his reign, when he f
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Be anxious for... nothing? - Emily Woodard

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  The Letter to the Philippians is one of the more well-known and well-loved of the Pauline epistles. And it is so for good reason . I ts focus on joy/rejoicing, its number of familiar verses (e.g., 1:6, 1:21, 3:7, 3:12, 4:13) and the beautifully  poetic and instructive  passage at the beginning of chapter 2 all contribute to the appeal of  the  short book.  Yet , there is one phrase contained in it that has always slightly troubled me  as I tried to understand the Apostle.  I  have  worr ied   about  how  to appropriately interpret and apply his words, given the weight of the topic he was addressing.  Ironically (given my worry), the phrase, found in 4:6, is “ do not be anxious about anything.”  Anxiety is a sensitive and weighty topic, and the task of handling a verse dealing with the subject is not one that can be treated lightly.  People can experience anxiety for  a number of  reasons (1) so pointing  towards Scripture’s exhortations in Philippians 4 regarding anxiety, thanksgivin
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Peace, Purity, and Prosperity with Euodia and Synteche - Nick Napier

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​ In loving obedience, do you submit yourself to the government and discipline of this church, promising to seek the peace, purity, and prosperity of this congregation as long as you are a member of it?  So asks the final vow of our membership vows in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP).  Submitting and pursuing  —  those are the two things (both with  “ subheadings ” : submit a) to government, b) to discipline; pursue a) peace, b) purity, c) prosperity) required in this vow. It seems a simple task and yet is often broken. The purpose of this article is to think on the pursuit of peace in the church. I was recently reminded of this vow when preaching through Philippians 4:1-3. There, we read Paul ’ s exhortation,  “ Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.   I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord. Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared m
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