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When the Christian church first received its power – Acts 1&2 – audio
The Book of the Acts of the apostles recounts how the church of Jesus Christ grew from a handful of unsure disciples to the faith “that turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). Written by the physician Luke, the account is invaluable. Here we get through the first couple of chapters with commentary and rabbit tangents as needed. Lord bless you!
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The standard of an authentic Christian life – 1 John 3&4 – audio
Here we follow up on last week’s opener of First John with chapters three and four (and a brief overview of the end of chapter two). Lord bless you!
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Becoming ‘spiritual’ and knowing God’s inner ‘witness’ as your true north
One of the tragic outcomes of the otherwise commendable practice of studying the Bible is those who fail to become “spiritual” and come to experientially “know” God in their daily lives. These are those who read, think about, and possess the knowledge of God’s Word and truth and suppose to follow God based solely on their perception of what is “biblically correct.” Wait! Some of you may be saying. Isn’t that what we are supposed to do? Well, yes, and no – sort of, but not really.
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A litmus test of true Christianity – The Epistle of 1 John 1&2 – audio
Actually the entire epistle of First John is a litmus test of the Christian faith, and that was fully intentional. John the apostle was combatting Gnostic and Docetic false teachings and with a shepherd’s heart, he was spurred to pen the epistle for which innumerable others since his day can be eternally thankful. The epistle brings into sharp contrast truths about the Lord Jesus Christ and what He and the apostles expected of authentic disciples. In this study we go on the usual rabbit trails, as we otherwise go line by line through the first two chapters. Lord bless you!
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The fruit of Protestant doctrine vs. the original ‘Apostles’ doctrine’
While Christians are taught to base their beliefs on the Bible – and by extension Christ Himself – is this what is really happening? What foundation are you really building upon? Is it truly the foundation that Christ and His first apostles smiled upon, or something based on a host of subtle changes that makes for a completely different form of Christianity? Rather than the usual tact of making a strictly scriptural argument, let’s discuss the results of what we say we have today versus what they had in Century One.
