The Holy Spirit Gives Jesus’s Followers Special Abilities In the Bible, Paul talks about spiritual gifts, special abilities given to us by the Holy Spirit. These aren’t for our personal use but for the common good of Jesus’s followers, that is, his church. Some of these supernatural abilities enhance our existing capabilities, while others are […]
Today’s destination is a tiny country church. Their pastor resigned a couple months ago and some families left as well. Another church from their denomination (some forty miles away) has come alongside them, providing assistance in their revitalization. Three couples from this other church now rotate in leading their Sunday services. “We’re in a rebuilding […]
Though God Never Changes, the Bible Shows Us How Our Interaction with Him Has As we read the Bible, it’s easy to stumble onto confusing and even conflicting perspectives of who God is and how we should interact with him. This is because God has revealed himself in different ways throughout the various historic arcs […]
Once Reserved for Prophets, Now All People Can Have Visions from God A friend asked me about hearing from God and of visions from God. I often think about hearing from the Holy Spirit, but I infrequently consider visions, even though visions are one way that God communicates with us. Visions in the Bible Mentions […]
We know nothing about this minority church besides their name, location, and service time. When the service begins, words are displayed overhead while we sing along with recorded music. Many people raise their arms in praise to God. The worship occurs organically, so naturally that I don’t realize there isn’t a song leader. As we […]
In Baptism, We Turn from Sin, Follow Jesus, and Receive the Holy Spirit Another concept that only appears in the New Testament is baptize and baptism. Baptize occurs fifty times, and its counterpart baptism appears twenty-one times. These two words often show up in the Bible’s four biographies of Jesus and especially in the book […]
I recently visited a church that upheld Acts 2:42-47 as their model for church. Shocked, I checked the passage to make sure I remembered it correctly. Here is what the Acts 2 church looks like: Their Four Keys The church in Acts 2 has four priorities: studying good teaching, hanging out, sharing meals, and praying […]
This Pentecostal church receives us warmly. The greeter is an amazing ambassador and will interact with us several more times throughout the morning. He introduces us to the pastor’s wife and it’s not long before her husband seeks us out. The pastor pointedly asks if we’ve ever been to a Pentecostal Church. When I say […]
We Can Impact Others by Being Intentional with Our Words Are we someone who others want to talk to about spiritual matters? Are we open to pursue a meaningful spiritual conversation? A Timely Phone Call As I made lunch, my phone rang. Few people have my number—only family and close friends—so I expected another scam […]
Under Holy Spirit Inspiration Simeon and Anna Affirm Jesus When He Is a Baby Shortly after Jesus is born his parents take him to the temple in Jerusalem to present him to God and go through the purification rites as prescribed by Moses. As they do so, they receive two startling surprises from what others […]