Tag Archives: God

Book Review: “Erasing Hell” by Francis Chan & Preston Sprinkle

erasing_hell_coverThere has been a lot of discussion over who said what and what the Bible says about Hell. If you have taken note of the discussion, or are just curious, this book will interest you.

But there is far more at stake than the “Hell” debate, and Chan & Sprinkle make it clear right from the beginning. This is about more than doctrine; it is about the destinies of human beings.

Erasing Hell is not a direct response to Rob Bell’s Love Wins book that started the recent rounds of debate. While Chan & Preston refer to Bell in a couple of chapters, it is not a Bell-bashing book. It is an investigation into the biblical description of Hell.

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One Reason God Is Not Answering Your Prayers

Are you waiting for God to do something in your life? Is God providing in your time of need? Is He intervening in your relational problems? Has He brought healing to your life?

desperation

You have probably heard of various reasons why your prayers are not being answered. Some typical answers from Christians are, “It just isn’t God’s time,” or, “God is waiting to see if you continue to trust Him, praying until you receive.” Some harsher reasons might be, “You don’t have enough faith; you have to really believe,” or “There is sin in your life and you have to get rid of it first.” We also hear more biblical reasons such, “You aren’t asking for the right things.”

Jesus told His disciples about one key to answered prayer. If we are crying out to God and aren’t seeing results, we take a moment to see if this key is part of our lives.

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Christmas and Communion

At our church, the first Sunday of the month is Communion Sunday. Today it just felt like a great way to kick off the Christmas Season.

I also had the opportunity to lead worship this morning. We sang a couple of carols, and then built off of “O Come, All Ye Faithful” all the way to “Here I Am To Worship.” It was sort of going from Jesus’ birth to death all in 20 minutes.

Of course, Jesus’ death and resurrection are the point behind Jesus’ birth. If Jesus had just been a prophet or important man, but was unable to satisfy the requirements of the perfect sacrifice, we wouldn’t have much to celebrate. We don’t celebrate the birth of Abraham, Moses or David. We don’t all get together on Barack Obama’s or Stephen Harper’s or Queen Elizabeth’s birthday. We don’t put out lights and decorations for President’s Day in February (at least, not yet).

If weren’t for Christ’s body broken for you, and Christ’s blood shed for you, this time of year might not be much of a celebration at all.