Is spiritual warfare real? – Ephesians 6:10-13, Part 2

Is spiritual warfare real?  Perhaps the most famous biblical passage about spiritual warfare is Ephesians 6, verses 10-20, about the Armor of God. For the next couple months, we will be studying the Armor of God.  This week we are looking at verses 10-13, the introduction to the passage. The writer of this passage isContinue reading “Is spiritual warfare real? – Ephesians 6:10-13, Part 2”

Are ghosts real? – Ephesians 6:10-13, Part 1

Are ghosts real?  If ghosts are real, aren’t they just manifestations of demons?  Are demons real?  And what about spiritual warfare?  In our scientifically-minded culture we can lean heavily toward believing that ghosts, the spirit world and therefore spiritual warfare is not real.  Some people go so far as to say that  the descriptions ofContinue reading “Are ghosts real? – Ephesians 6:10-13, Part 1”

How should Christians respond to spiritual darkness – Ephesians 6:10-13, Preview

Tomorrow is October 1st, and the pumpkins and Halloween decorations are popping up all over my local community here in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Kids are talking about costumes and trick-or-treating.  Among the princesses and super heroes we’ll see little ghouls, goblins, ghosts and gremlins walking around our neighborhoods. My personal opinion is that Halloween is oneContinue reading “How should Christians respond to spiritual darkness – Ephesians 6:10-13, Preview”

How to have strong opinions and be humble too – How to interact with people who view the world differently than you, Part 5

In the first post in this series, I talked about unity as Christians agreeing on top tier issues.  What are top tier issues? That God is father, son and Holy Spirit, and that it is only through God the Son, Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection that sin, death and the devil are defeated, andContinue reading “How to have strong opinions and be humble too – How to interact with people who view the world differently than you, Part 5”

Why it is so good to be wrong – How to interact with people who view the world differently from you, Part 4

So what does it look like to do all to the glory of God when we are interacting with people with whom we disagree?  It is clearly putting God first.  But how?  In 1st Corinthians chapter 8, verse 9, Paul writes, “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumblingContinue reading “Why it is so good to be wrong – How to interact with people who view the world differently from you, Part 4”

The tragedy of American Christian sorting – How to interact with people who think differently than you, Part 3

What has happened in recent years in American Christianity has been called a sorting.  We American Christians, rather than do what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 10, be unified, we have sorted ourselves into different camps.  Has this happened in your church? In your community? It’s very evident in the wider American church. Continue reading “The tragedy of American Christian sorting – How to interact with people who think differently than you, Part 3”

A clash of cultures in the church – How to interact with people who view the world differently than you, Part 2

As I mentioned in the previous post, 1st Corinthians Paul brings up an issue that was dividing the Corinthian church.  Some were okay with the issue, some were not okay, and people were offended.  What was this offensive issue?  Here’s what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 8:1-8, “Now about food sacrificed to idols: We knowContinue reading “A clash of cultures in the church – How to interact with people who view the world differently than you, Part 2”

The important difference between unity and uniformity – How to interact with people who view the world differently than you, Part 1

A couple years ago, I think it was in 2020 or 2021, I proposed the idea that some members of my extended family listen to the podcast, Seeing White.  The goal was to listen to one episode per week, and then discuss it together on a group text message chat.  I suggested this idea becauseContinue reading “The important difference between unity and uniformity – How to interact with people who view the world differently than you, Part 1”

Why we have silent Sundays at Faith Church

Yesterday (September 10, 2023) was another Silent Sunday…partially.  We still sang worship to God, had prayer and announcements out loud, but the sermon was silent, guided on screen. Why do we do Silent Sunday?  Over the last ten years we’ve emphasized silence almost one Sunday worship service each year.  Our inspiration comes from multiple sources,Continue reading “Why we have silent Sundays at Faith Church”

God’s not done with us – Reflecting God, Part 5

Note: In this post we welcome guest blogger, David Hundert. David is studying in Kairos University – Evangelical Seminary’s Master of Divinity program. I started out this series of blog posts here with two simple questions. When you look in a mirror, what do you see? When you look in a mirror, what should youContinue reading “God’s not done with us – Reflecting God, Part 5”