The Passion of the Christ goes against everything I believe in. Or more accurately, it goes against everything I was raised to believe in. In the tradition I was raised (Canadian Reformed Church) movies were generally regarded as a sinful form of entertainment. Going to a theatre was to bring oneself into the “playground of…
The following article is taken from E Online. Mel Gibson wants moviegoers to get their fill of The Passion of the Christ. The Hollywood star’s Icon Productions has announced plans, along with indie distributor Newmarket Films, to release his controversial movie about the last 12 hours in the life of Jesus Christ on 2,000 screens…
Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion of the Christ is due to hit theatres on February 25, 2004. This movie has received universal acclaim from Christians who have seen it with reviews ranging from positive to ecstatic. Many are saying that this movie represents the greatest opportunity for evangelism and outreach that they have seen in…
I have been seeking to understand how God works in the conversion of souls. The more research I do, the more I realize that many standard evangelistic practices must be flawed, for it seems we often try to do the work that God tells us He needs to do. Here is a list of some…
Thousands of churches are still in the midst of Rick Warren’s 40 Days of Purpose and little do they know that if they do not hurry it up, they are going to miss out on the best outreach opportunity of the past 2000 years! Yes indeed, Mel Gibson’s movie “The Passion of The Christ” is…
The church has traditionally positioned itself as a place for those who believe to find a place where they can belong. As the church changes and evolves with the times there is a trend to make the church a place where anyone can belong regardless of whether or not they believe. Having people who wish…
A Web site I visited recently which seeks to explain Catholic doctrine and beliefs to Protestants contained the statement “Protestants do not believe in confession.” The statement is incorrect insofar as Protestants do not practice auricular confession (confessing ones’ sins to a priest in order to receive forgiveness). That statement along with others I have…
In previous articles we have examined reasons to study Christianity, we have defined who God is and how He has revealed Himself, paying special attention to the Bible. Today we turn our attention to the creation of the world. A question that comes immediately to mind when examining creation is “why?” We can’t help but…
This week’s featured blog is The Irvins. This site is run by Tim Irvin (aka Jabbok), is dedicated to Reformed Christianity and is updated on a near-daily basis. It also contains a wealth of information about Reformed creeds and beliefs (scroll down a bit and look for the menu on the left side of the…
This is the fortieth and final chapter of The Purpose Driven Life. As I expected, it wraps up with a review of the five sections and encouragement to develop a personal purpose statement. Rick Warren begins the chapter with a discussion about the importance of a personal “Life Purpose Statement.” Such a statement will keep…
Blessed are the balanced; they shall outlast everyone. In chapter thirty nine of The Purpose Driven Life Rick Warren describes a life of balance – a life that is equally devoted to each of our five purposes. He provides five pointers for keeping on track with a balanced life. The reason I need to pass…
Day thirty eight of The Purpose Driven Life discusses the difference between a worldly Christian and a world-class Christian. Whereas worldly Christians are most concerned about themselves and their own happiness and blessing, world-class Christians are far more concerned with their mission of reaching the lost. As the world shrinks through increased transportation and communication…
What Is The Bible? The Bible is, at the most obvious level, a book. Admittedly that does not sound like anything remarkable. The word Bible is simply the Greek word for “book,” and is the same root from which we derive the words “bibliography” or “bibliophile.” Yet the Bible is exceptional among books as it…
God has given me a life message to share. From the moment I became a Christian I became a messenger of God. I have a life message that I am to share with unbelievers and this message contains four parts. Of the five purposes Rick Warren has outlined in this book, this last purpose, being…
Day thirty six of The Purpose Driven Life begins the discussion of my fifth and final purpose, “made for a mission.” God is at work in the world and He wants me to join Him in doing this work. I am to have a ministry within the body of believers and a mission to the…
In this article we turn our attention to what Christians believe about the ways God has revealed Himself to humans. We have already looked at this briefly, so today we will review the two ways God has revealed Himself to us and provide some details about each. In a previous article we answered the question…
God loves to use weak people. In reality if He wishes to use people to do His work on earth He does not have much choice, for we all have imperfections: physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual. The important thing is not whether or not we have weaknesses, but what we do with them. If we…
Day thirty four of The Purpose Driven Life continues to explore servanthood. The book seems to be getting quite repetitive at this point, as this chapter finds Rick Warren simply restating things he has already said several times. He provides five attitudes that will be found in the mindset of a servant. Bible Passages Warren…
I serve God by serving others. Whereas the world defines greatness by how many others serve me, God defines greatness by how many people I serve. Rick Warren provides several ways I can discern if I have a servant’s heart: Some of God’s greatest servants are people we have never heard of. They are people…
Because today is Sunday, this is an abbreviated look at day thirty two of The Purpose Driven Life. Warren continues his discussion about finding my SHAPE. He gives several pointers to help in discovering this. First, I need to begin by assessing my gifts and abilities. One of the best ways of doing this is…