The Bible teaches human helplessness in sin, and the glory and sovereignty of God in grace. Biblical Christianity leads us to have complete and utter confidence in God for salvation from beginning to end, and a wide-eyed skepticism about self-justification and moralistic Christianity. Men and women, apart from grace, are capable of doing nothing but to continue in sin, either by doing wrong things or doing right things for the wrong reasons.
Read more2. Exposure to church. Simply showing up to church on a regular basis can have a profound impact on your life and faith. If a church can create a warm, welcoming environment where people are accepted and embraced, lives can be changed! As one wrote, "Listening to the sermons helped me understand more about faith in Christ and what it means to be a Christian."
Read more"As always with writing a song you need to find the way in, the key which opens up everything else and I thought I'd better do some research.
"In the bishop's message at the start of the year he was keen that the celebration should be one full of joy and thanksgiving and that the diocese should remember how blessed it had been during those 100 years.
Read moreThis survey came at a time when the newly elected Archbishop of Southern Queensland (Brisbane) Jeremy Greaves, came under scrutiny. He is not only an outspoken supporter of 'same sex marriage', but he also rejects key understandings of Christian truth as expressed in our creeds, saying he would be happy to 'abandon the creeds'[iii].
Read moreMany Chinese adults practice religion or hold religious beliefs, but only 1 in 10 formally identify with a religion
Read moreFeaturing a variety of case studies from the past 30 years of church planting in North America, attendees will hear stories of struggle, survival and thriving success. Throughout the conference, attendees will have the option to attend four of 12 typical case studies. If a team of three come from any jurisdiction or parish, they will be able to hear all of the case studies.
Read moreThe tide was going out on religion back in 1867, when Matthew Arnold wrote: "The sea of faith was once, too, at the full ... But now I only hear Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar." But tides ebb and flow. As that wise old atheistic cynic Philip Larkin put it, people will always surprise themselves with their yearning for something "more serious", seeking it in "a serious house on serious earth" -- which is how he describes the church.
Read moreMy village had two churches, the Anglican parish church and the Baptist chapel. In the nineteenth century, both were central to village life. The current primary (elementary) school was founded by the Baptists in the nineteenth century when their children were effectively excluded from the Anglican school because of their theological beliefs. Religion may have created a fault line, but it was also a deep source of identity and community.
Read moreLifeway found that 63% of surveyed Protestant pastors said their churches also have "a similar increasing dread specifically about the future of Christianity in the U.S. and around the world."
However, the report noted that the numbers represented a decline from past years, as 76% of Protestant pastors reported "a growing sense of fear" in 2010, and 74% reported the same in 2014.
Read moreFirst, we live in a childish age, where immaturity is lionized, whether it be the spoilt-brat behavior of some celebrity or the cheap tantrums of Joe Public on Twitter. True, Jesus commands His disciples to have the faith of children, but there is a big difference between serious childlikeness and silly childishness. Leading worship as a pair of giggling cartoon characters can only be described--and that with charity--as the latter.
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