Weekly Links of Faith

The Government on His Shoulders by John MacArthur - For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6. Isaiah 9:6 may be the most familiar Old Testament prophecy about the birth of Christ. Handel included those words in one of the great choruses of his Messiah oratorio. Chances are you either sing it or hear it several times every Christmas season.

Should Christians Argue Politics? By Frank Pastore - For the past several months I’ve heard two recurring themes from critics of my show: “You’re too political and unloving, Christians shouldn’t argue about politics,” and “You’re not fair and balanced, you’re close-minded and too biased against liberals.”

Why is America Becoming More Politically Divided? By Greg Boyd - I watched a 20/20 special the other night on politics in America. The show explored the “growing political divide” in our country. Here’s some of the information found in this program. Since the early 70’s Americans have become increasing polarized in their political views. Communities that once were pretty evenly split politically are now much more homogenous in their political views, whether they be liberal or conservative.

The Founders And Public Religious Expressions By David Barton - Recently, there have been objections to public religious expressions by legislative chaplains supported through State budgets. These objections to legislative chaplains are very similar to one lodged with the U. S. Congress in 1852. In that challenge, the Committees on the Judiciary in both the House and the Senate each delivered a report pertinent to this discussion.

In Their Own Words: An Interactive Voters' Guide - Behind the campaign rhetoric - looking past the endless stories about who charged which candidate with what outrageous behavior or intemperate remark - a presidential election is still about what it's always been about: the leadership of the United States of America for the next four years, and the character and worldview of the leader who occupies the Oval Office.

Classic John Osteen

I remember the days when Tricia and I were first married. We attended Christian Tabernacle in South Bend, Indiana. Every sunday night following service, we would rush home to watch John Osteen. His teaching was quite simple, full of faith and encouraging. Enjoy this clip.

Weekly Links of Faith

On Leadership and Calling: An Interview with Ravi Zacharias - on April 2005 by Major John Carter of The Salvation Army for a leadership class at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (Charlotte, NC branch). Major John Carter: In our leadership class, Dr. Zacharias, we discussed metaphors or images which guide leaders. Do you have a metaphor or image which has guided you in your life? Ravi Zacharias: I think the best description I would give is that of a “privileged servant.” That would be the best description. There are different types, of course, but the Son of Man came to seek and to serve.

Pentecostal Preaching and Persuasion, part 1 By Bradley T. Trask - Persuasion is a vital element in an intense battle for the hearts and minds of people today. It is estimated that in the United States an individual receives on average 2,000 persuasive messages each day, via media such as television, radio, print, the Internet, and outdoor advertising.

The Need of Personal Revival - Richard Baxter - I know not what others think, but for my own part I am ashamed of my stupidity, and wonder at myself that I deal not with my own and others souls as one that looks for the great day of the Lord; and that I can have room for almost any other thoughts and words; and that such astonishing matters do not wholly absorb my mind. I marvel how I can preach of them slightly and coldly; and how I can let men alone in their sins; and that I do not go to them, and beseech them, for the Lord's sake, to repent, however they may take it, and whatever pain and trouble it should cost me.

Post pentecostalism? God Forbid By Joseph L. Castleberry - Pentecostal and charismatic churches across America are facing a new and puzzling trend: postpentecostalization. Reports are frequently heard that some Assemblies of God pastors are pastoring churches that do not accept our pneumatology or allow for the manifestation of spiritual gifts in worship services. At the same time, some churches lament that their pastor neither practices nor encourages others to practice spiritual manifestations.

The Authority of Scripture - Martyn Lloyd-Jones -An extract from a sermon on: "Stand therefore having your loins girt about with truth" Ephesians 6.14. There can be no doubt whatsoever that all the troubles in the Church to-day, and most of the troubles in the world, are due to a departure from the authority of the Bible.

Prayer Goes Before Signs and Wonders

Throughout the Scriptures we see that God performed signs and wonders to get the attention of the people. God called to Moses from a burning bush that didn’t burn up. It is written in Acts 7:36, “He brought them out, after he had shown wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years.”

Signs and wonders accompanied the ministry of Jesus. “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know.” (Acts 2:22).

Signs and wonders are evident in the book of Acts. The primary emphasis in this book is the activity of the Holy Spirit—or the acts of the apostles. Before Jesus ascended into heaven He instructed His disciples that they were to wait in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high. In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit swept in on them like a rushing wind, and they were enabled to speak the wonderful gospel of Jesus Christ in all the languages of the Mediterranean world. The Holy Spirit fell upon the Gentiles while Peter was preaching. The Spirit caught up Philip and took him into the desert region to witness to the Ethiopian eunuch. The Spirit directed the church in Antioch to set apart Saul and Barnabas as missionaries. In Acts 2:43 we read, “Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles” (NIV).

Are we willing to pay the price to experience these signs and wonders? What is the price? Acts 2:41–42 gives us the secret, the price that we have to pay.

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer

—Germaine Copeland

Weekly Links of Faith

Why Speak in Tongues? by Pastor Jim Feeney, Ph.D. “Speaking in tongues”! Just utter that phrase among Christians, and you elicit a wide variety of reactions, sometimes very strong reactions. Bible studies by the thousands have been written for it ... and against it. Many ask a legitimate question: “Is speaking in tongues for today?”

How to Get Answers to Your Prayers By Kenneth Copeland - The Bible tells us that God is Love. And in page after page, we see the countless demonstrations of His great love. We read of His compassion and promises, and we see His willingness to use awesome power on behalf of His people. God is faithful—to His people, and to His Word. There are times, however, when we as the very chosen of God tend to rely on our five physical senses to decide whether He is really “out there” and whether He is hearing—and answering—our prayers. Once we pray our prayers, all too often it’s easy to look around for physical evidence and then believe for what we prayed.

Teaching a Calvinist to Dance - In Pentecostal worship, my Reformed theology finds its groove. By James K. A. Smith
It can be a little intimidating in a Reformed context to admit that one is Pentecostal. It's a bit like being at the ballet and letting it slip that you're partial to NASCAR and country music. Both claims tend to clear a room. And yet I happily define myself as a Reformed charismatic, a Pentecostal Calvinist.

Thinking in Tongues by James K.A. Smith - Over the past decade, Pentecostalism has become something of an academic darling for historians, sociologists, anthropologists, and scholars of religious studies. Researchers ensconced in the secularized environs of the university have produced a flood of books and studies about the fantastic worlds of global Pentecostalism. And yet, while sometimes sympathetic and irenic, the academic interest in Pentecostalism has had the curious backhanded effect of disenchantment. The sociological fascination proves a cover for condescending incredulity, with Pentecostalism reduced to a sort of global snake-handling.

What to do When Faith Seems Weak and Victory Lost