NextGenKent

What would you say is one thing you wish was better about your life?   Things on the other side of the fence hold an attraction to us--are temptations for us. It is part of our human nature.  Some of that nature helps us to search for God.  Most of it betrays us. The temptation is for us to become covetous, greedy, self-absorbed, selfishly ambitious, and hold on to the belief that the good we have is the best--for anyone and everyone.  One way we respond when we think something good we have is losing its street cred is by pretending that it is better than it really is. Mark records the prophet Isaiah's description of hypocrites in his gospel as: (1) honoring God with their lips while their heart is far from Him = How does this happen? (2) worshipping God in vain = What does this mean? (3) teaching doctrines that really are just commandments of men. ( Mark 7:6-7) Have you ever been surrounded by hypocrites? Ever been found among them? There is...

I teach Evangelism & Discipleship I & II online for a Christian University in Ohio. I was looking over an assignment that really threw me for a curve because the exercise goes against what the course is teaching. The course uses as one of its textbooks, Becoming a Contagious Christian: Communicating Your Faith in a Style that Fits You, which teaches that there are several ways of evangelizing referred to as "styles" and that there isn't only one acceptable way. Those styles are: Direct style, Intellectual style, Invitational style, and Serving style. Then the course has students read an article that emphasizes one style (Direct, or perhaps Intellectual) and asks them to attempt to do so. The article gives the following statement for its rationale: "We are dedicated to equipping people for evangelism, not because large numbers follow us, but because it is the command Jesus gave to His followers. We don’t take others with us for OJT because it’s c...

2COR 4:1  Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. 2  But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. 3  And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4  In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5  For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake . 6  For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Gospel (open statement of the truth) + veiled conscience (by Satan) + those who are perishing  = opp...