I believe the church today has failed to go to the Bible to discover its own prescribed purpose, structure and function. Oh, it has debated the church’s message (biblical or otherwise?), and who should do the preaching, teaching and leading (men, or both men and women?). But the purpose, structure and how it functions is never questioned. We have simply “had church” as those who came before us “had church,” in both the Catholic and Protestant traditions. We are like the carpenter, who measured…

We have been investigating how we fulfill the first phase of God’s three-fold purpose for creating man, as found in Genesis 1:26, 28: 1.) to bear God’s image (to look like Him); 2.) to rule over the earth; 3) to reproduce a heritage that knows why they are here. To bear God’s image, unfortunately, involves “being holy:” “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct” (1 Peter 1:15). We cannot rule successfully over the responsibilities God…

Realizing that I am at the top of the COVID-19 vulnerability scale as an octogenarian with life-threatening, previous conditions, several friends have asked me if I have been vaccinated yet. I have discovered the perfect response, courtesy of the Babylon Bee;  “Yes, I identify as vaccinated. I am experiencing all the freedom of a fully vaccinated male. But, tomorrow when I get up, I may identify as female and unvaccinated. If you wish, call me to check with me in the morning to see…

Last week we saw that God’s way of thinking, the way that Jesus demonstrated for us while he lived here on the earth and that He wants us to learn to emulate, is directly antithetical to our natural way of thinking. It’s a way of thinking that naturally makes no sense to us whatsoever. Here are some examples from the Bible: If you want to be first, then you must be last of all and servant of all. (Mark 9:35) The Lord kills us…

Generally, the effect of alcohol or drug addiction is so obvious and destructive that the addict is well aware of its presence in his life, even though he may be unwilling to admit he is addicted. However, the worst situation for the addict is when his life is completely deteriorating around him, and he is completely unaware that it is his addiction causing his difficulties. The descendants of Adam—Pharisees, wanna-be Pharisees, and rebels—are all just like this, and the vast majority of us don’t…

If the Gospel is not an appeal to “choose Jesus,” as I proposed last week, what is it? I am going to propose this week that, in the Bible, it is an announcement or a proclamation.  It is interesting that as one reads through the book of Acts there is no initial appeal to believe in the sermons that are recorded. Read Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, and later before the Sanhedrin in both Acts 4 and 5; Stephen’s…

During the past month or so we have been investigating the law of God in the area of the family. How does God say a family functions? The family is an institution of the kingdom of God here on the earth “beneath us,” a responsibility given to us as we rule for Jesus Christ over the earth. The kingdom runs based on this law of God that we find in the Bible. However, without the kingdom’s fraternal twin brother—the gospel—our relationship with God that…

One particularly gifted young athlete played for several years on my Youth Baseball team that I coached. He had a mother and father who were both lawyers. At least one of them came to most of the games. He was a very emotional boy, and it was necessary to establish with him at the beginning of the first year that I would be doing the decision-making for the team. After that, except for several crying episodes when he didn’t get his own way, the…

“Andrews, are you kidding me? How can child abuse ever be an acceptable activity in the kingdom of God?!” When I hear this reasoning, particularly from Christians, it always makes me chuckle. This reasoning is indicative of the postmodern idea, predominant in the culture today, that there are no universal absolutes, and what seems right and comfortable to you, is right for you.  Christians say they believe the Bible, but when something taught in the Bible, as we saw last week that spanking of…

How often have you seen an out of control, two-year-old, pitching a temper tantrum in the grocery store, screaming defiantly as he tries to grab anything in reach from the perch on his mother’s cart? Every time I see this, it’s as if the child has a flashing neon sign around his neck that says, “Please, please train me!” Whose job is child training in our culture today? Make no mistake; biblically, it is the father’s job—not the mother’s, the school’s, the church’s, the…