Interpreting OT history is often a confusing task for the church. How do you apply Israelite history to the modern church? There have been two dominant attempts to resolve this tension: allegory and historical-grammatical method. Allegory arose mainly with people who deeply believed the OT was of value to the church and about Christ, so they struggled to read it as …
Jihadist Suicide Bomber? The Gospel and Samson
I remember having a conversation with my brothers and a friend of theirs in which the subject of Samson’s salvation came up. Their friend exclaimed, “I don’t even know if that guy was regenerate!” Of course Samson broke his Nazarite vow on several occasions, made multiple rendezvous with pagan women, cohabited with one, and committed suicide in some vain attempt …
Teaching Teens About Temptation
A few days ago I got to speak to the teens in our church about temptation. Temptation comes to ALL of us. There are many temptations that teens face: “fooling around,” internet pornography, peer pressure, tearing down others to make yourself look cool, drugs and alcohol, smarting off to parents, self-righteousness among the holier-than-thou churchy teens, etc. I confessed …
THE MEANING OF COLDPLAY’S “VIVA LA VIDA” AND THE GOSPEL OF KING JESUS
This post is a little different from some of our normal posts, but it does fit with the vision and purpose of Baptist21. The church needs to be able to interact with the culture in which it lives and ministers. We need to have winsome answers for the questions they are asking. This will help us engage culture with the …
The Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Reversal of Babel
One of the biggest regrets of my life was not taking Spanish in High School because knowing Spanish would be such a help in ministry. Our church is focused on ministry to Spanish speaking people both locally and nationally. We send dozens to Guatemala on mission each year, and my wife and I had the privilege to go a …
The Gospel of Jesus Christ in the Story of Noah
The story of Noah has been popularized again and again and again. From Bill Cosby’s comic routine to the newly released “Evan Almighty,” the Noah story is everywhere, including YouTube. This atheist who calls herself “Hellbound Alleee,” posted this video about Noah’s Ark. She explains how ridiculous it is that Christian parents are so concerned with TV content and ratings …
Teaching Children the Gospel and Good Works
A few weeks ago our church took over a 100 rising third through sixth graders away for “Kids Camp.” Kids Camp has become legendary at our church. Sure, the legend has something to do with the blob on the lake that sends kids above the tree line. Sure, it has something to do with the zip line, horseback riding, staying …
Preaching the Gospel Every Week
One of my favorite movies is the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and some of my favorite parts are the songs of the Oompa Loompas: Oompa Loompa doompety doo; I’ve got a perfect puzzle for you Oompa Loompa doompety dee; If you are wise you’ll listen to me What do you get when you guzzle down sweets; Eating …
Baptist 21’s Purpose
Baptist21 exists to contend for “the faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).We embrace our past, believing this faith has been proclaimed in our Southern Baptist heritage. We work in the present, believing the Kingdom effectiveness of Southern Baptists will be in proportion to our fidelity to the Gospel. We cooperate for the future, believing the only …