Talk of JESUS .com

Category: Doctrine

About Roger – TalkofJESUS.com Doctrine & teaching

What do Christians believe?

Doctrine = Teaching

What do you know about Biblical teaching and preaching?

WHAT DOCTRINES DO YOU BELIVE?

WHAT DOCTRINES DOES YOUR PASTOR PREACH (or avoid)?

‘You’re NOT MY Father!’ – the prodigal C.E. Evangelical
‘You’re not my father,’ the young woman yelled at the top of her voice as her mother tried to take control of the situation. (The prodigal teen might just as well been a son rejecting the authority of his father.)

Our Family Prodigal

Most Christians are no doubt familiar with the scenario of Jesus’ parable about the prodigal son with its two brothers questioning their relationships with their father.

We have perhaps neglected a theological relationship of the Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit of God.

Today in PART 2 of our examination of the role of the FATHER we continue in our study of doctrines of the Common Era by looking at contemporary family relationships AND parallels to the Son Jesus‘ parable of the prodigal son (which of course HE is not).

God our Father estranged from Trinity

Part 1 of God our Father and His role in the Trinity

Parable of the prodigal son
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You'll find an archaic former view of 'the prodigal' in the New King James version of the Bible from Before the Common Era referring to the son's prodigal living common to this era.
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Root word from the Greek translated as prodigal or riotous.

This parable of Jesus is part of three illustrations of those whose faith is LOST as answer to why the Lord receives and dines with SINNERS.

Gospel of Luke 15:

The Parable of the Lost Son

Luke 15:11 NKJV
Then He said:

“A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.

But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. ..when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him,

“Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’

HERE is the riotous Common Era christian as well! You, me and others BEFORE some realize that WE may return to GOD the FATHER in humility — BEFORE some become acceptable in the Father’s house through the saving grace of the SINLESS Son JESUS our only hope and Savior.
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(You likely know more of the parable and its additional lessons from this father.)
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“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.

Why do Common Era prodigals deny the Father’s love?

Our cover PHOTO, christian family photo album or church member directory could include THOUSANDS of FACES we know who were once near and dear to our hearts.
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As noted previously the truth of SCRIPTURE has not changed. 

WE cannot quite grasp the mystery of the Holy Spirit. 

AND in Common Era preaching Jesus can be promoted more like WE like on the stage of 'worship.'

YET the fruit of FALSE teaching may easily rot souls JESUS would save had WE prodigal evangelicals returned to the Father.
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Jesus welcomes ALL sinners with the love of a friend. This Common Era king embraces sinners of ALL cultures and beliefs without requiring any turn toward His righteousness and away from The Life of this world.

FALSE! According to Scripture.

Witness of a dad

I know a man in Christ.. —such a man was caught up to the third heaven.
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The Apostle Paul in witnessing a true event without disclosure of his source of witness writes to Christians in Corinth.

The 'man' in Christ may have been Paul, John during his Revelation from Jesus Christ, perhaps even Peter or another. The witness is authentic. Therefore the truth and impact of these scenes require no identification of its narrator.
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‘I knew a dad..’ I could say, ‘I know a man’ or ‘I know a woman’ or even ‘I knew a 21st century common era mom.’

Here is true witness of several sad stories of sin:

common fathers in the Common Era:
- Their father insisted, “not in my house you don’t,” but they did.
- Her older sister ran away with her boyfriend, then her father came into her at night!
- Their ‘christian‘ mother was caught in the arms of another man, then threw her father out of their house.
- The church had no idea who the father of a single mom leading worship might be.
- Their father cheated with a woman at work, then they all moved to another town where this prodigal pastor did it again.
- The PK (Pastor’s Kid) was known to be sleeping with a significant other.
- When their son got his girlfriend pregnant mom helped pay for her to get an abortion.
- She changed schools so no one would know what her mother dared not tell her father.
- A father suspected his son partied all night with guys and girls alike.
- “HE’S NOT MY FATHER! You have to choose between him and ME,” insisted the step-daughter to her mom.
These are all lost sheep, prodigal sons and daughters of FATHERS who are also sinners.

JESUS would invite ANY to the great feast of Heaven..

YET MANY will die in their sin

still refusing to turn back to our Father God

from so many pigsties of the Common Era.

Further resistance against fathers

SOMETHING CHANGED, but I’m not certain when.
Roger@TalkofJesus.com

What is certain in 2023 of the Common Era is that:
- Christians have again become a minority.
- Marriages between one man and one woman for life are rare (even among ‘christians.’)
- Children need not be born into a Common Era home with values of God our FATHER.
- Parents of the Common Era reject accountability to a father, a family and to God.
Fathers (present or absent) may NOT raise, teach or discipline ANY human progeny.

a few more facts:
- The 1960 Census showed a record proportion married, 67.4 percent, among persons 14 years old and over.
- The number of families in the United States in 1960 was 45.1 million. (A family is a group of two or more persons who are related to each other and living in the same household.)
- In 2011, the Pew Research Center found that 51 percent of Americans were married, compared to 72 percent in 1960. However, rates of cohabiting couples are rising
- according to private research company Demographic Intelligence, less than half a million couples were cohabiting in 1960, compared to 7.5 million in 2010 [C.E.]
  - Source: HuffPost 7/22/2023 C.E. TEN years ago
America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2022 – U.S. Census
- TOTAL children of any age living in household:
  - US Census Source of statistics below
    
    71.9% with living spouse present (at time of survey only)
- 4.2% Cohabiting with joint biological child (actual # may be higher than survey sample)
- 2.6% Cohabiting with NO joint biological child
- 21.3% or ONE IN FIVE – NO partner present (at time of survey)
  - A few are single fathers — MOST are culturally priased as SINGLE MOMS in the Common Era
WHY does Common Era culture reject JESUS?

GOD, the authority of any church and especially FATHERS are anathema to the majority of this COMMON ERA.
Roger@TalkofJESUS.com on Rejection of the Father of Trinity

It’s quite easy for some to worship MARY, the ‘single mom’ of the child Jesus we celebrate each ‘Christmas.’

Yet in the Common Era Mary could easily have made a CHOICE to ABORT this BABY before the Census in Bethlehem!

BUT since SHE chose to live with Joseph (who is NOT the FATHER of Jesus),

Mary was a ‘single MOM’ we can look up to — even worship as the mother of god.
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Of course A.D. first century culture was intolerant of such things.
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What does JESUS say about ‘the Father’ that is so offensive to so many in Common Era churches in these last days?

“For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that am He, and I do nothing from Myself, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again.

“I and the Father are [in essence] one.”
Gospel of John: 6:40, 8:28, 10:30 Legacy Standard Bible

apokalypsis iēsous christos which God gave Him to show to His slaves the things which must soon happen; and He indicated this by sending it through His angel to His slave John,
The Revelation of Jesus Christ 1:1 LSB from Morphological Greek New Testament
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Revelation 3:19-22
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‘Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline. Therefore be zealous and repent.

Reproof, discipline and certainly that ‘slave‘ thing WE dare not proclaim to Common Era christians.

‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

Revelation of Jesus Christ to John

Talk of JESUS .com

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20 LSB – Command of the Risen Christ Jesus

Comment on Scripture + Share the Gospel
November 30, 2023
God our Father estranged from Trinity
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places..
Letter of Paul to the Ephesians 1:3 ESV

christianity-lite Doctrines of the Christ-less Era

WE began our series by asking, Are christian pulpits erasing Christ’s Biblical line of DOCTRINE?

The Trinity and Doctrine of the C.E. Church

‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ..’
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+ FOCUS ON THE TRIUNE GOD the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? 
OR 
++ FOCUS on OUR EXPERIENCE as worshipers?
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I introduced this series on DOCTRINES of the Common Era by quoting scripture from the first letter of the Apostle Peter to the Church.

christianity-lite – ERASING Scripture, “It is written..”

Last time I strongly suggested that Scripture has NOT changed.

We looked at several Scriptures from Before Christ and in New Testaments from the years of our Lord written during the A.D. 1st century.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
Second Letter of the Apostle Paul to the Church a Corinth 1:3-4 ESV
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Our overriding question is this:
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What changed in C.E. church worshipers?

‘SOMETHING CHANGED, but I’m not certain when.
Roger@TalkofJesus.com

I listed some facts from the A.D. 1960’s and changes in OUR thinking as a church.
- The minimum wage was $1.00
- Farmers made up 8.3% of the U.S. labor force..
- about 65% of Americans were churchgoers.
- first commercially produced birth control pill was forbidden by many churches
  - EVEN for married couples (a man and a woman)
- Christian CHURCHES, pulpits and doctrines PREACHED, TAUGHT and encouraged:
NO SEX before marriage, Divorce is discouraged and THOU SHALT NOT ABORT a baby living in its mother’s womb under ANY circumstances!

COULD IT BE THE COMMON ERA CHURCH THAT HAS CHANGED?

Although GOD has NOT changed it seems that worship and OUR Common Era approach to worship may have.

THUS our lite approach to a cultural ME-focused church calling OURSELVES ‘christian.’

What changed (in Common Era preaching)?
- It wasn’t God.
- it was not Jesus Christ
- Neither did the Holy Spirit change in the six decades since the 1960’s.
Doctrine of God in a Common Era of christianity-lite

NO Doctrine of the COMMON ERA or any other millennia will stand the test of time without defining GOD truthfully.

Scripture of the New Testament since the A.D. 1st century Gospel always points to the Trinity of God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit).

GOD IS!

The LORD reveals Himself through His creation, the Holy Scriptures, the HOLY Spirit and IN THE PERSON of His Only Son JESUS CHRIST.

WE THE COMMON ERA CHURCH drift dangerously with the chaff of every worldly sin upon prevailing cultural winds of these last days.

“His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Gospel of Matthew 3:12 LSB

so what must WE do?

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Gospel of Matthew 28:19-20 ESV – Commission of the crucified, risen and returning Christ to His Disciples

The Common Era challenge of Trinity

Holy & unholy ghosts & spirits

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1452049838875053

Anyone can preach!

You can preach in the Holy Spirit and shout out in the Holy Ghost! (Preach it, pastor.)

– BUT – is the word of the Spirit truly that from Almighty God?

– OR – is the preacher moved by a different spirit, perhaps a ghost of the past or demon opposed to the angels of the Lord God and Jesus Christ?
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I have witnessed the Holy Spirit for a time with a woman preaching or by a man sharing the cup of communion with the beloved saints. Yet it's mysterious power wandering flocks will follow. Beware if false preachers who also claim power from the pulpit or aisles of cloaked darkness. 

Test the spirits and quantify their truth by the Word and by Scripture. - RH
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For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
1 John 5:7 King James Version

‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
Revelation of Jesus Christ to John 3:20-21 LSB

Will preaching any imagined Jesus do?

‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’” – Rev. 3:22

The Apostle John preaches Jesus Christ as ‘the Word in the flesh.’

YET even from the apocalypse of the risen Word many churches of the Common Era will preach and imagine ONLY those events which draw in the crowds.

.. I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne…

What a gracious and POWERFUL KING Jesus HE is! And just so WE Common Era christians can claim our part of this inheritance.

Jesus welcomes ALL sinners with the love of a friend. This Common Era king embraces sinners of ALL cultures and beliefs without requiring any turn toward His righteousness and away from The Life of this world.

JESUS did many miraculous things for real people when He came to earth.

And now that HE is in heaven after he died on a cross for ME and MY sins, all is well with MY faith.
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In the years of our Lord prior to this Common Era a remnant of pastors
have preached JESUS in the context of Scriptural exhortation to every believer. For the 'knock at the door' passage of Christ's Revelation is a call of repentance to a lukewarm church.
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‘Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline. Therefore be zealous and repent.
Revelation 3:19 LSB (the Word to those on the other side of the door)

Many worshipers lack the Spirit and christians of every era fail to have ears to hear the very breath of the Word.

Will your Common Era Pastor preach that some standing inside the door on which your ‘king Jesus’ knocks ‘do not know that you are wretched and pitiable and poor and blind and naked‘?

And there YOU stand without His white robes believing HE is ready to embrace YOU!

Through all the years and recent decades of our Lord, few 21st century christians have a problem with JESUS..

since by omitting the hard parts WE can preach his gospel with so many variations.

Our estranged Father in Heaven

Common Era christians ESTRANGED from fathers

What changed (in Common Era preaching)?

If not our worshipers lifting up with the chaff in the Holy Spirit

— if not our re-imagining a jesus to our liking —

THEN certainly our all-too-common era trouble with the Trinity must lie in a single broken relationship: that of Common Era christians with God the Father.

Revealed Honor to God the Father of Glory

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which Yahweh your God gives you.

‘You shall rise up before the gray-haired and honor the aged, and you shall fear your God; I am Yahweh.
From the Book of the Law – Exodus 20:12; Leviticus 19:32 LSB

“I kept looking
Until thrones were set up,

And the Ancient of Days was seated;

His clothing was like white snow
And the hair of His head like pure wool.

His throne was ablaze with fire,

Its wheels were a burning fire.
Daniel’s vision of the Ancient of Days 7:9 LSB

a few more facts of Common Era worshipers

‘SOMETHING CHANGED, but I’m not certain when.’
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Do YOU know? Can YOU contribute a comment with YOUR opinion?
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- The 1960 Census showed a record proportion married, 67.4 percent, among persons 14 years old and over.
  - In 2022, about 132.3 million or 49.3% of Americans age 15 and over were unmarried, according to the Current Population Survey. [compared to ~33% in 1960]
- JULY 2023 C.E.
  - Of the 63.2M parents living with their children
    
    <18, 76.1% lived with a spouse,
    
    15.1% had no spouse/partner present.
    
    The rest [~ ONE in TEN PARENTS] lived with a cohabiting partner.
    
    Note: Direct identification of both parents began in 2007, resulting in the ability to identify children living with two unmarried parents.
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Source: Census.gov library
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How do YOU react to God the Father?

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

“.. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son desires to reveal him.
Gospel of the Apostle Matthew 7:21,11:27b CSB

“I and the Father are one.”
Testimony of Jesus from the Gospel of John 10:30 Christian Standard Bible

Do YOU have a problem with THAT, dearly beloved Common Era christian estranged from GOD our FATHER?

NEXT: More on this doctrinal challenge of the Common Era… God willing.

Comment on Scripture + Share the Gospel
November 11, 2023
christianity-lite – ERASING Scripture, “It is written..”
And so it is written,
“The first man Adam became a living being.”
The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
1 Corinthians 15:45 NKJV

christianity-lite & the C.E. challenge of Scripture

“christianity-lite is weightless witness of Christ-less preaching to the Scripture–starved chaff of Common Era culture.
Roger@TalkofJESUS.com

As I noted last time, SOMETHING CHANGED (in the year of our Lord 1950 when God determined that I should be born or sometime during the early years of my mortal life).

What changed?
- It wasn’t God.
- it was not Jesus Christ
- Neither did the Holy Spirit breathing life through a new Adam into the condemned dust of sinners crossing the line of the DOCTRINES of God change in any way.
- It wasn’t God’s HOLY BIBLE that changed in which IT IS WRITTEN:
All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Second Letter of the Apostle Paul to Timothy 3 :16-17 Christian Standard Bible

christianity-lite Doctrines of the Christ-less Era

“christianity-lite is weightless witness of Christ-less preaching to the Scripture-starved chaff of Common Era culture.

In fact, the BIBLE warns us of times and churches and christians like these in the very context of the Apostle’s epistle to the pastor Timothy.
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STRUGGLES IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
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In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Evil people and impostors will become worse, deceiving and being deceived.
Second Letter of Paul to Timothy 3:12-13 ‘Hard Times in the Last Days’ the Christian Standard Bible labels it

In OUR church?

WHO IN OUR CHURCH WANTS TO HEAR

“IT IS WRITTEN..”

FROM THE PULPIT (stage)?
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Few souls, I suspect, with a BIBLE in hand and ears to hear Scripture.
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SO WHAT GOSPEL CAN WE PREACH TO A COMMON ERA CROWD?
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It's a dilemma for any preacher and church leader isn't it? 
HOW can we multiply our members IF we are always saying, 'it is written?'
Any ideas?
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JESUS IS JUST GOOD NEWS!
- GOOD NEWS for EVERYONE (Right?)
- Never let it be written or said that OUR Jesus is ever bad news for any.
- OLD testament is definitely OUT (except maybe a Psalm or so).
- Let’s imagine there’s no hell. (It isn’t hard to do.)
- NO Judgment or REVELATION! (Too scary even for youth and children.)
a CHURCH FOR THE Common Era

“It is written” will mean MUSIC!
Our CHURCH for the COMMON ERA will be all about OUR MUSIC.
We’ll start with a great band on stage to set the mood of worship.
WE’LL fill stadiums with NEW christians for JESUS!

IMAGINE what jesus has done for ME

(It isn’t hard to do.)

AND ALL THE PEOPLE APPLAUDED … AMEN.
Worship Leader: Let’s lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven

The Worship Divide

Between the christian stage & the Common Era audience.
WE may as well preach litely toward gathering unbelievers into the indistinct undefined masses of our cultural mixing pot.

SO without saying, ‘it is written..,’ WE can preach a more palatable gospel in OUR own words as an exposition of OUR all-inclusive church VISION.

If we really believe in jesus, it isn’t hard to do.
Let's just remove all the BIBLES where 'it is written' from our McChurch worship hour and add holders for our lattes of the latest christian music trends.
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If you will forgive my light-hearted humor of what can be done to worship and the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, let's take a more serious glance at WORSHIP as it seems to have changed by now in 2023 of this Common Era.

Referring to the A.D. 1960's and the three subsequent decades and 'churches moving into a marketing mode,' David Wells writes:
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“Adapting to culture became a key ingredient in outreach strategy. The result of this was that worship was more likely to be led by a worship team made up of musicians than by the pastor(s) as was the case in more traditional churches.
David F Wells – GOD IN THE WHIRLWIND – P.189

CONTENT and FORM

Pointing to two differences, Wells goes on to describe the ‘WORSHIP DIVIDE’ we have encountered in the contemporary church now most common in this Common Era of the 21st century.

What the worshiper brings to worship is an indispensable part of the mix. Without the knowledge of God in those who worship, without faith, without reverence, without gratitude in the worshiper, even the best forms of worship simply fall flat.
David F Wells – GOD IN THE WHIRLWIND – ibid.
1. FOCUS ON THE TRIUNE GOD? or
2. FOCUS on OUR EXPERIENCE of OURSELVES as worshipers?
Is the chaff from your ERASER changing anyone’s faith?

PREACHING ASIDE, Wells suspects that ‘worship wars, which are almost wholly music wars, are really obscuring the larger issues that are in play.’
“NEEDS-SHAPED WORSHIP is invariably self-focused.”

“SERMONS.. aimed simply at providing a lift, some inspiration, from whatever source can be had.”

GOD IN THE WHIRLWIND - p.190
It is written:

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it. “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
Gospel of Matthew 7:13-14,21 Legacy Standard Bible

Chaff

“His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Gospel of Matthew 3:12 LSB
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How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger.

They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away.
God layeth up his iniquity for his children: he rewardeth him, and he shall know it.
His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
- from a speech of Job 21:17-20 King James Version
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It is written in the Revelation of JESUS Christ to John:

“HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME.”

And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

The Revelation of Jesus Christ to John 4: 8b-11 Legacy Standard Bible

is YOUR christianity-lite WORSHIP worthy of the HOLY, HOLY, HOLY Lord Jesus Christ?

proskyneō – a probable derivative of G2965 (meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master’s hand); to fawn or crouch to, i.e. (literally or figuratively) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore):—worship.

“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.”
Revelation 5:12b LSB
October 21, 2023