Culture

GENDER ROLES: WHAT IS COMPLEMENTARIANISM?

This summer at Alliance Bible Church, we are doing a sermon series entitled “You Asked for It!” People in our congregation have submitted dozens of questions and we’re taking the most frequently asked and/or those questions with broadest appeal and preaching on them. We won’t be able to preach on them all, so I’m going…

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THE TRAGEDY OF A GOOD LIFE

“Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matt. 7:22-23). We often make the grave mistake of evaluating…

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GENEROSITY – PART 4

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.” – Luke 12:32-33 Notice…

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GENEROSITY – PART 3

In the first century people didn’t have savings accounts or retirement accounts. There were no banks or investment groups. Today, this is where our accumulated wealth exists. But people in the first century had money in the form of currency; they had coins. But their accumulated wealth was in their possessions; their homes; their furnishings; their stuff. In Luke…

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GENEROSITY – PART 2

Picture being a farmer who grows a number of crops during the course of a year. This is your livelihood. Now, as a farmer, read this verse: Honor the Lord with your wealth,   with the firstfruits of all your crops. – Proverbs 3:9 Why would this verse be very difficult for a farmer to handle?…

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GENEROSITY – PART 1

One of the reasons you may lack contentment is that you’re not giving enough away. Enough money. Enough time. Enough skill and energy. Let me explain… If I use a glass jar to pound in a nail, I’ll quickly find out two things. First, the nail won’t go into the wood. Second, the jar will…

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LESSONS IN CONTENTMENT – PART 6

Here’s the final installment in this series. Much more could be said, but we’ll leave it here. Unholy discontent arises when we perceive that we lack something. I’ll list a few examples to get you thinking about where the source of your discontent lies. This last reflection is meant to get you thinking about how…

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LESSONS IN CONTENTMENT – PART 5

Humility goes a long way in nurturing us to a state of contentment. It is pride that stirs the waters until the foam of discontentment is unmistakably present. Today we’ll think about one sign of each.  Sign of Discontentment: complaining The malcontent is ever complaining of one’s condition. Rather than deploying the calming power of…

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LESSONS IN CONTENTMENT – PART 4

Discontentment occurs when what I want and how it is are different. When there is gap between how things really are in my life and how I want them to be, discontentment often thrives. Let’s get to part of the solution to discontentment. Let’s talk about THE key ingredient that makes contentment come alive: faith….

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LESSONS IN CONTENTMENT – PART 3

So far we’ve discovered contentment doesn’t come naturally, but is something that is learned. We have to work at it. We’ve also thought about the relationship between discontentment and pride. Whenever there is discontentment, there is an underlying belief that my station in life should be different than what God has ordained for me. In…

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