Results 21 - 40 of 494
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Results from: Notes Author: stjones Ordered by Verse |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
21 | Are new worship songs scripturally OK? | Bible general Archive 1 | stjones | 23165 | ||
Hi, Hank; I think the "push" comes from contemporary songwriters who, like the old-timers you revere, are moved to express their faith, their love of Jesus, their joy, and their gratitude in music. And I think you will find that much of the sacred music you admire was published and/or performed at a profit. Would you say that Charles Spurgeon and D. L. Moody provided all the sermons the church needs? Should we muzzle Billy Graham because Moody already said it? The church was well blessed with hymns before Fanny Crosby wrote her 150 or so, before Horatio Spafford wrote "It Is Well with My Soul", and before Bill and Gloria Gaither wrote (among many others) "Because He Lives". Although the style may differ, I don't think Keith Greene (several wonderful praise songs) or Graham Kendrick (most of the music for the March for Jesus), or Jack Hayford ("Majesty") have anything to apologize for and neither do the congregations who sing their music. Contemporary songwriters still turn to the Sciprtures and often to the Psalms for their inspiration. I'm a 56-year-old Presbyterian; we are sometimes referred to as "the frozen chosen". I think some folks in this thread who may not be Presbyterians could do with a little thawing too. ;-) Peace and grace, Steve |
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22 | Are new worship songs scripturally OK? | Bible general Archive 1 | stjones | 23286 | ||
Hi, Hank; Thanks for the reply; I was afraid I'd been a little prickly in my post. As a mediocre bass, I've sung Handel's "Messiah" in a local symphony chorus (no solos for me!) and I've sung "O Sifune Mungu", a setting of "All Creatures of Our God and King" written in Swahili, in our church choir. I've been blessed by both of those pieces and by many songs in many styles in between. And I've sung a few I just didn't like very much that I nonetheless think Jesus must have enjoyed hearing. The key is this: Our choir director (he also directed "Messiah") never lets us forget to whom we are singing - an audience of one. Peace and grace, Steve |
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23 | Are new worship songs scripturally OK? | Bible general Archive 1 | stjones | 23324 | ||
Amen | ||||||
24 | is no one going to answer me? | Bible general Archive 1 | stjones | 28046 | ||
Hi, Grace; Why do you play? If it is only to please God (as some suggest should be the case), you should console yourself with the knowledge that your "audience of one" truly does appreciate your hard work. But don't feel guilty if your motives aren't as pure as that. Maybe you play to enrich the congregation's worship experience. Maybe you play because someone asked you to. Christians are supposed to encourage one another (1 Thess 5:11). Encouraging is a gift (Romans 12:6-8). I don't think it's unreasonable to hope for encouragement from the congregation. For some reason, church musicians often seem to be the least appreciated servants, maybe because they "play" while others work. I agree with kalos. A word with the pastor or trusted elder might get your expectations (and needs) and the congregation's better aligned. I hope the collective wisdom of the forum has been of use to you. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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25 | Is John 3:16 for real? | Bible general Archive 1 | stjones | 28488 | ||
Hi, Dan; Thanks so much. Our choir has sung an anthem based on that passage (29:11-13): '"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."' The piece had been commissioned by a family whose daughter was murdered a few days before her wedding. This was a passage that her family turned to often in their grief. The anthem was beautiful; knowing its origin made it all the more precious and planted that passage firmly in my mind. Anyway, I'm glad I was able to help. God bless you too. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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26 | When was the Bible written origionally? | Bible general Archive 1 | stjones | 28582 | ||
Greetings, Nolan; This answer is one of the reasons that the Bible on its own merits is different from all other "holy books" and entirely believable. The Book of Mormon and the Qu'ran, for example, are pure prophecy (messages alleged to be from God). The Hindu and Buddhist writings are collected sayings or books by human authors claiming no inspiration. Only the Bible reveals God as an agent in recorded human history. Only the Bible contains prophecies that can be independently verified. And only the Bible ties the work of so many authors, separated by geography and time, into a single, consistent message. As a believer, I find the Bible believable because it is an inspired testimony to Jesus. To a non-believer, these facts might be persuasive. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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27 | Is John 3:16 for real? | Bible general Archive 1 | stjones | 28583 | ||
Thanks again, Dan; You're right; it's not Christianity 101. It's where the rubber meets the road. Author Dallas Willard once said that "God lives at the end of your rope". I have always found that when I get there, God was there waiting. Sometimes I'm so busy trying to climb back up on my own that I forget to notice him there. Dumb me. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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28 | When was the Bible written origionally? | Bible general Archive 1 | stjones | 28634 | ||
Thanks, Nolan; Age-wise, I'm somewhere between Indy and Henry. But with the same good looks, of course. ;-) I once preached a sermon that dealt with reasons for believing the Bible is God's inspired word quite apart from any claims it makes for itself. I didn't write any of it down (God gave it to me whole) but if I ever do, I'll post it on the web. Happy New Year. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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29 | Help! | Bible general Archive 1 | stjones | 32131 | ||
Hi, LF; There is a "method" to love; Paul spelled it out in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. There is no mention of emotions or "warm fuzzies" in that passage, just positive, prescriptive actions. I once heard someone suggest an even simpler method. He (she?) defined love as "always ascribing the best possible motive to the other's behavior" - always believing that your loved-one (spouse, friend, child, parent, or God himself) acted out of the best possible motive. How many times have you heard someone say "you did that just to hurt me", or "he said that just to make her jealous", or "you must hate me; if you didn't, you wouldn't have ________"? It's not the action or words (often trivial) that these complaints condemn; it's the presumed motive behind them. That in turn is not an attack on behavior but on the person him/herself. Love would not say or think these things. Instead, love would seek another reason or another viewpoint that would reveal the best, not the worst, in the other person. Love, it has been said, isn't an emotion, it's a decision. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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30 | Any biblical corrolation Atlantis? | Bible general Archive 1 | stjones | 32951 | ||
Greetings, Hank; You wisely said "If we knew in minute detail all the facts of creation, what does it profit us if we don't know what we must do to be saved?" I know that statement reveals wisdom because it's a point I've often tried to make. ;-) The proper understanding of Genesis 1 is a great topic for (sometimes heated) debate among saved Christians. But it's a discussion that should be conducted carefully outside the Body. I shudder to think how many unbelievers remain lost because some faithful witness was more interested in preaching literal creationism than salvation in Christ. I don't intend to get that whole debate started again. I just wanted to commend you for giving us a reminder that "What must I do to be saved?" is a much more important question than "How old is the Universe?". Peace and grace Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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31 | TRINITY | Bible general Archive 1 | stjones | 34021 | ||
Elijah(?!); You started out ok but stumbled when you interchanged "firstborn" and "created". People bear/beget children, they don't "create" them. So, seemingly, it is with God. Jesus was the begotten Son of God, not a creation of God. Since Jesus was present at the Creation, he was obviously born/begotten before the universe was created. How else explain "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made"? John, of course, had it right. The rest of your note kind of goes downhill from there. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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32 | How is the end really going to happen? | Bible general Archive 1 | stjones | 34032 | ||
Hi, Heisthe1; Thanks for the note. The trumpet will be enough notice for me. And I'm sure I'll be surprised if I'm still alive when it happens. In the meantime, I'll have to try to strike a balance between looking up and looking elsewhere - kinda hard to drive to church when you're looking up. ;-) Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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33 | Who can refute reasoning? | Bible general Archive 1 | stjones | 37082 | ||
Hi, CDBJ; I wouldn't think that such sarcasm would be appropriate in this forum. Jesus taught us to love one another. Paul taught in 1 Corinthians 13 that love is patient and kind. I must admit that armygrunt's posts seem to contribute little to the purposes of this forum, but perhaps there is a good reason for that. I have no idea what motivates him (or her). IMHO, your contemptuous reference to the "futile thinking" of others who do make more substantive contributions says more about you than it does about us. (I include myself because I have disagreed with you in another post.) Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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34 | Do ALL demons have names? | Bible general Archive 1 | stjones | 43603 | ||
Hi, Jdth; Why "must [we] understand" this one thing? It's not Biblical. Angels are heavenly beings, not dead or converted humans. Anyone who does God's work is a person doing God's work. Likewise, demons are spirits, not dead or converted humans. So anyone who does Satan's work is someone who needs to hear and believe the gospel. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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35 | Do ALL demons have names? | Bible general Archive 1 | stjones | 43677 | ||
With all due respect, the world is full of people who remake God in the image of their own common sense. But that just puts him in a box of our own dimensions. God is a lot bigger than our common sense and often stand in stark contrast to common sense. As Paul noted, "... the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1 Corinthians 1:18) I hope you will come to trust his word and abandon common sense when it contradicts what God has revealed. I have learned over the years that when I conform my thinking to what the Bible teaches, things that seemed to make no sense at all eventually do. And as others have pointed out, this is a Bible study forum; truth and our struggles to grasp it count for much more than common sense opinions here. I commend Proverbs 3:5 to you: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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36 | Can you lose your salvation? | Bible general Archive 1 | stjones | 47049 | ||
Greetings tomn, You said "our assurance of salvation is to be in our knowing the reality of the 2k yr old man we call Jesus being alive today as our Lord and Savior" Knowing who Jesus is and that he is alive today is not sufficient; the demons know who he is. Confusing him with a character invented by Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner raises some questions too. :-) Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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37 | TRINITY | Bible general Archive 1 | stjones | 49437 | ||
Are you ever going to abandon this childish vendetta against Joe? Everybody on this forum knows what you think of him; there's nothing more to be said. Please find a new topic. | ||||||
38 | Why is killing enimies in the OT okay? | Bible general Archive 1 | stjones | 49917 | ||
Greetings, Mandy; First of all, I certainly wouldn't agree that the conquest of Canaan described in Joshua is "wanton killing". I agree that it is an appalling account. Perhaps anticipating that, God explained to Moses: 'After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, "The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness." No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you. It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.' (Deuteronomy 9:4-6) Would you care to cite a specific passage for your favorite story? Who was "the leader"? What were the circumstances? More importantly, who defines "wanton"? You? What is your standard? Is it just killing that you personally disapprove of? Most of us around here consider the Bible to be authoritative, the standard by which we measure our opinions and our ideas. By what do you measure yours? As for "borderline insanity", let me provide two passages that guide me when I think I have a better idea than God: (1) "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6) and (2) "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1 Corinthians 1:18) Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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39 | Why is killing enimies in the OT okay? | Bible general Archive 1 | stjones | 49933 | ||
Hi, Mandy; Notice that God did not demand the vow from Jephthah. It was his own idea. His motives (pride, payback) are clear from the preceeding verses. Did God give Israel the victory because of Jephthah's vow? Of course not. He gave Israel the victory because he had promised to defend Israel, as Jephthah surely knew. Jephthah's actions were all his own and don't reflect on God at all. Casual reading of the OT often leads to the erroneous assumption everything the Israelites do - good or bad - is somehow commanded or at least condoned by God. But God continually reveals his patience by putting up with the shortcomings of his people. I am grateful for his forebearance. There is no place in the Bible that God demands child sacrifice - a detestable practice of the followers of Moloch. The idea could not have come from God nor can responsibility for it be placed at his feet. That the Bible faithfully records Jephthah's stupidity in easily misunderstood circumstances is testament to its truthfulness. You have expressed your opinion forcefully. While you are certainly entitled to it, it remains your opinion, without authority or standard. Your comments are loaded with value judgments ("wanton", "heinous", etc.) with no trace of values. What are your values? Where do they come from? How do you know they're right? If you haven't a clear answer, don't worry about it. 5000 years of human philosophy have failed to come up with a satisfactory answer. As for the implication that I may have jumped over the line to pure insanity, I don't mind at all. Your suggestion is just testimony to the truth of the passages I cited earlier. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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40 | Why is killing enimies in the OT okay? | Bible general Archive 1 | stjones | 49949 | ||
Hi, Mandy; "But one might ask why or how he came up with that idea? It seemed natural." - People come up with all kinds of bad ideas, all on their own; God is not responsible for them. The Crusaders had some really bad ideas of their own and people who don't know any better have been blaming God for them ever since. "And then one might ask, why did God allow the event to happen?" - The same question could be asked about every bad thing that has ever happened. A good question, but too much to answer here. With respect to Jephthah, he suffered a terrible loss as the result of his prideful vow. Did others (his daughter) suffer more? In earthly terms, yes; but no more than the victims of countless drunk drivers who walk away from the carnage they cause. People die as the result of other people's sins every day. It's sad part of living in a fallen world. "Abraham's poised knife was stayed in a previous sacrifice episode. It is an interesting scenario." - The knife was poised by God's command and stayed by God's command, both to serve God's purposes. I don't think this episode is related to Jephthah's self-serving behavior. With regard to opinions, I try very hard to base my opinions on an external, divine standard - the Bible. My comments are based on that standard. Might I get it wrong and go off in the wrong direction sometimes? Of course I do, but study and meditation based on the Bible bring me a few compass points closer to the right direction - much closer than if I just made it up as I went. Do I approve of God's command in Numbers 15:32-36? Not really; but then I often think I have a better idea. Ultimately, however, I trust the loving and just God portrayed in the Bible. Job: "Though he slay me, yet I will trust in him". Peter: "Where would we go? You alone have the words of life". Where else should I turn? To a god of my own or someone else's making? Where does knowledge of the loving and just God in whom you have faith come from? Does it come from your own reason? your emotions? other people? Is he a god of your own making? I assure you that I have read and studied the OT and struggled with the violence. At the end of the day, I had to ask myself if I trusted God, if I was willing to give up my tendency to judge God and just let God judge the world. I have since come to understand that these stories are there because God is honest and wants them there. It's easy to love a cuddly baby lying in a manger. The challenge is to see a loving God in the midst of the carnage. Finally, it becomes a choice - do I let my opinions about these events alter my understanding of the God portrayed in the whole Bible? or do I allow my knowledge of God to alter my opinions about these events? I have chosen the latter. It'll be a sad day when I approach either God or his creation without wonder. And wondering. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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