Thursday, June 4, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
It's My Birthday!!!
It is my birthday and my wonderful wife decided to to write me a Happy Birthday blog post. I will post some of it here, but follow the link to read the rest!
Happy Birthday!!!
"So what do I love about this man?--Well here goes it:
1. He has a love for the Lord that I cannot explain--and a passion to continually learn and grow by studying, reading, praying, and listening/visiting with pastors and elders in the church.
2. He challenges me in my walk with Christ...every single day!
3. As much as he does not like to be wrong...and I mean he really does NOT like to be wrong--he always admits it when he is!
4. He's a total hottie!
5. He cuddles with me, even though he hates it:)
6. He's an amazing father to Caleb. I just love watching him play, talk, and laugh with our son! If you could have seen him in the ultrasound room when he found out we were having a little boy, you would have died laughing! It gave me a good picture of how excited he is to teach our son to be a man of God!
7. His desire to teach me is beyond words! Just when I think I couldn't possibly learn any more about a biblical, historic, sports, or political subject--sure enough, there he is, teaching me!
8. He's always there to finish my meal:)
9. I could be soooo mad at him--and somehow, he manages to make me laugh!
10. His bedtime is very opposite of mine, meaning he enjoys going to bed a lot later--but low-and-behold--he always goes to bed with me because he knows how much it means to me! I'm not saying he actually goes to sleep at the same time...he's usually listening to a sermon, watching a show or reading! I'm just saying, he's there!"
Happy Birthday!!!
"So what do I love about this man?--Well here goes it:
1. He has a love for the Lord that I cannot explain--and a passion to continually learn and grow by studying, reading, praying, and listening/visiting with pastors and elders in the church.
2. He challenges me in my walk with Christ...every single day!
3. As much as he does not like to be wrong...and I mean he really does NOT like to be wrong--he always admits it when he is!
4. He's a total hottie!
5. He cuddles with me, even though he hates it:)
6. He's an amazing father to Caleb. I just love watching him play, talk, and laugh with our son! If you could have seen him in the ultrasound room when he found out we were having a little boy, you would have died laughing! It gave me a good picture of how excited he is to teach our son to be a man of God!
7. His desire to teach me is beyond words! Just when I think I couldn't possibly learn any more about a biblical, historic, sports, or political subject--sure enough, there he is, teaching me!
8. He's always there to finish my meal:)
9. I could be soooo mad at him--and somehow, he manages to make me laugh!
10. His bedtime is very opposite of mine, meaning he enjoys going to bed a lot later--but low-and-behold--he always goes to bed with me because he knows how much it means to me! I'm not saying he actually goes to sleep at the same time...he's usually listening to a sermon, watching a show or reading! I'm just saying, he's there!"
Saturday, April 4, 2009
The Destiny of the Unevangelized and the Nature of Hell
*my short 2-3 page paper I had to write for class
The Destiny of the Unevangelized and the Nature of Hell
These are two of the most controversial topics within evangelicalism. There is good reason for this. No one that I know, including me, wants to believe that there are millions of people in the world who will never hear the gospel. As evangelicals, we believe that it is only by the name of Jesus that men can be saved. John 14: 6 states, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one goes to the Father except by me." With this being true, we must answer the question of what happens to all those who never hear the gospel preached? In answering that question we must also discuss the nature of hell. Do those who never hear the gospel suffer conscious torment and torture for eternity or are they simply done away with?
The position I take on the destiny of the unevangelized is one of a "Restrictive Opportunity View." That might sound a bit odd, but I will explain. It is Scripturally undeniable that a person must hear the gospel and make a conscious decision to receive the gospel in order to be saved. There is no Scriptural evidence in saying that people can be saved, but not know they are saved. Acts 4:12 says, "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved." People must have a conscious knowledge that they believe in the Lord Jesus or they cannot be saved. Any view that opposes is heretical. If a person can be saved without Jesus than his work on the cross was in vain.
The reason why I consider myself a restrictive opportunist on this issue is because I think it would be wrong to biblically say that God cannot work in the same way he did with Apostle Paul. For Paul, there was no mistaking that he knew Jesus and was saved on the Damascus road. Did Paul come in contact with other believers soon after? Yes, and the same thing could happen today. There is no reason that people could not get saved through a vision. Scripture does not close the door and neither should we. Yet, in confidence we can know that there is no justification without sanctification. If there were to be a vision of some sorts then we can trust that there would be some type of growth or discipleship. If God can use a vision to save a man he can certainly pull of using missionaries to get them Bibles and discipleship. One thing is for certain, God does not save people to just leave them where they are. In all salvation experiences growth is followed. It is the very nature of salvation, becoming like Jesus.
Now that we know that people must personally know Jesus as Lord and Savior to be saved what about all those who never hear the name of Jesus? What about all of those indigenous people groups that we are just discovering? Are all of their ancestors really in hell and what is hell exactly? It is an answer that I often do not want to believe. All people who do not hear the name of Jesus and be saved spend eternity in eternal conscious punishment. Hell is often described in Scripture as conscious torment and torture, the gnashing of teeth. When the Bible talks of eternal punishment it only makes sense that it means eternal in the sense of duration, not consequence. Why would the reward of heaven be eternal in a duration sense, but not hell? It wouldn't make sense. In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man dies and goes to hell. It seems that if one were to be annihilated then it wouldn't make sense for Jesus to use a parable of a man in hell that has not been annihilated!
Hell is not the opposite of heaven exactly, but in nature they are opposite. Heaven will be the saints in everlasting and unfading joy in celebration with God himself. Hell will be all the unsaved in everlasting torture, torment, and punishment. If nothing else, both of these topics should show the utter urgency of our need for evangelism. God desires all men to be saved, as should we. We know, by Scripture, that people must hear the gospel in order to be saved. How are they to hear unless someone preaches to them? By no other name, but the name of Jesus are people saved. Those we do not reach do spend eternity in eternal conscious punishment. Blessed be the name of our Great God.
The Destiny of the Unevangelized and the Nature of Hell
These are two of the most controversial topics within evangelicalism. There is good reason for this. No one that I know, including me, wants to believe that there are millions of people in the world who will never hear the gospel. As evangelicals, we believe that it is only by the name of Jesus that men can be saved. John 14: 6 states, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one goes to the Father except by me." With this being true, we must answer the question of what happens to all those who never hear the gospel preached? In answering that question we must also discuss the nature of hell. Do those who never hear the gospel suffer conscious torment and torture for eternity or are they simply done away with?
The position I take on the destiny of the unevangelized is one of a "Restrictive Opportunity View." That might sound a bit odd, but I will explain. It is Scripturally undeniable that a person must hear the gospel and make a conscious decision to receive the gospel in order to be saved. There is no Scriptural evidence in saying that people can be saved, but not know they are saved. Acts 4:12 says, "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved." People must have a conscious knowledge that they believe in the Lord Jesus or they cannot be saved. Any view that opposes is heretical. If a person can be saved without Jesus than his work on the cross was in vain.
The reason why I consider myself a restrictive opportunist on this issue is because I think it would be wrong to biblically say that God cannot work in the same way he did with Apostle Paul. For Paul, there was no mistaking that he knew Jesus and was saved on the Damascus road. Did Paul come in contact with other believers soon after? Yes, and the same thing could happen today. There is no reason that people could not get saved through a vision. Scripture does not close the door and neither should we. Yet, in confidence we can know that there is no justification without sanctification. If there were to be a vision of some sorts then we can trust that there would be some type of growth or discipleship. If God can use a vision to save a man he can certainly pull of using missionaries to get them Bibles and discipleship. One thing is for certain, God does not save people to just leave them where they are. In all salvation experiences growth is followed. It is the very nature of salvation, becoming like Jesus.
Now that we know that people must personally know Jesus as Lord and Savior to be saved what about all those who never hear the name of Jesus? What about all of those indigenous people groups that we are just discovering? Are all of their ancestors really in hell and what is hell exactly? It is an answer that I often do not want to believe. All people who do not hear the name of Jesus and be saved spend eternity in eternal conscious punishment. Hell is often described in Scripture as conscious torment and torture, the gnashing of teeth. When the Bible talks of eternal punishment it only makes sense that it means eternal in the sense of duration, not consequence. Why would the reward of heaven be eternal in a duration sense, but not hell? It wouldn't make sense. In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man dies and goes to hell. It seems that if one were to be annihilated then it wouldn't make sense for Jesus to use a parable of a man in hell that has not been annihilated!
Hell is not the opposite of heaven exactly, but in nature they are opposite. Heaven will be the saints in everlasting and unfading joy in celebration with God himself. Hell will be all the unsaved in everlasting torture, torment, and punishment. If nothing else, both of these topics should show the utter urgency of our need for evangelism. God desires all men to be saved, as should we. We know, by Scripture, that people must hear the gospel in order to be saved. How are they to hear unless someone preaches to them? By no other name, but the name of Jesus are people saved. Those we do not reach do spend eternity in eternal conscious punishment. Blessed be the name of our Great God.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
New Ministry Intern at Kearney Evangelical Free Church
Well, it is official. I am the new Ministry Intern at Efree in Kearney, Ne. I met with pastor Mike Shields and associate pastor Ken Olenik to finalize the position. My wife and I are very excited about serving at Efree. I have never seen a better staff from top to bottom. They are all humble, godly men.
To start off with, I am going to be helping Tim Stratton, Minister to Youth. Also, my wife and I are leading a young married couples small groups on Sunday Nights. Those two ministries will be my every week responsibilities. I will also be going with Ken Olenik on some visitations and other ministry opportunities. There is also plan for me to do some research for Mike Shields, the senior pastor.
All in all, my wife and I are very excited. God has certainly opened doors for us at Efree. I ask for prayer as we start off in this new position.
To start off with, I am going to be helping Tim Stratton, Minister to Youth. Also, my wife and I are leading a young married couples small groups on Sunday Nights. Those two ministries will be my every week responsibilities. I will also be going with Ken Olenik on some visitations and other ministry opportunities. There is also plan for me to do some research for Mike Shields, the senior pastor.
All in all, my wife and I are very excited. God has certainly opened doors for us at Efree. I ask for prayer as we start off in this new position.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
The Destiny of the Unevangelized and the Nature of Hell: Recommendations?
I have to write a paper on "The Destiny of the Unevangelized and the Nature of Hell."
Anyone have recommendations for good resources? I wouldn't mind hearing views that oppose my own conservative, orthodox views on the subject...
Anyone have recommendations for good resources? I wouldn't mind hearing views that oppose my own conservative, orthodox views on the subject...
What To Look Forward Too...
As most of you know, this site has had minimal use lately. I do most of my theological discussion at Evangelical Village. Thankfully, a new door has opened and I will get to utilize this site for good! Thursday I am meeting with a couple pastors of the church I just started going to and we are nailing down what my roles and responsibilities will be as the new Ministry Intern.
Starting next Sunday my wife, Meredith, and I are starting off a new 'Young Married Couples' small group. With a church over 1200 people we are hoping for a nice sized group! I am going to be the primary teacher in of the group. Depending on how Thursday goes, I might also start teaching a 'Theology-Driven Sunday School Class.' Which means I will probably either teach through Grudem's Systematic Theology, Bible Doctrine, or Packer's Concise Theology. (Or some other book that they would prefer me to teach through)
Why do I tell you all of this? I hope to post some of my lessons or at least outlines on here. Sometimes afterward, but on real difficult chapters I would love post outlines on here before I teach in order to get feedback, advice, etc...
If interested in any of this I encourage you all to please interact and not be scared to help me out! In a couple of weeks I am also preaching for the youth group. That rough draft/outline of that lesson will soon be posted.
All in all, my wife and I are very excited about these new opportunities that God has given us. Pray for the meeting Thursday!!
Starting next Sunday my wife, Meredith, and I are starting off a new 'Young Married Couples' small group. With a church over 1200 people we are hoping for a nice sized group! I am going to be the primary teacher in of the group. Depending on how Thursday goes, I might also start teaching a 'Theology-Driven Sunday School Class.' Which means I will probably either teach through Grudem's Systematic Theology, Bible Doctrine, or Packer's Concise Theology. (Or some other book that they would prefer me to teach through)
Why do I tell you all of this? I hope to post some of my lessons or at least outlines on here. Sometimes afterward, but on real difficult chapters I would love post outlines on here before I teach in order to get feedback, advice, etc...
If interested in any of this I encourage you all to please interact and not be scared to help me out! In a couple of weeks I am also preaching for the youth group. That rough draft/outline of that lesson will soon be posted.
All in all, my wife and I are very excited about these new opportunities that God has given us. Pray for the meeting Thursday!!
Friday, March 13, 2009
Vote for Evangelical Village!
Go Vote for Evangelical Village!!!!
GO to the link below to vote. I am an 11 seed so I am at a disadvantage! I NEED YOUR VOTES!!!!
SBC VOICES
The Winner gets over 300 dollars from Westminster books!
GO to the link below to vote. I am an 11 seed so I am at a disadvantage! I NEED YOUR VOTES!!!!
SBC VOICES
The Winner gets over 300 dollars from Westminster books!
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