Articles for tag: Kingdom of God

October 25, 2012

Christian Standard

Say It Again, Ben!

By Mark A. Taylor Ben Cachiaras”s “Let Me Tell You How You Should Vote” continues to challenge readers to place their hope in God, not in the promises of politicians. It has garnered much positive response at our site and in personal correspondence to him and to our office. One preacher wrote to say he was making 800 copies of it to distribute as widely as he could. But one reader wrote Ben to debate a couple of his arguments. Ben”s response was so helpful I felt compelled to share at least one of his points here. He has given

July 25, 2012

Christian Standard

Too Much Is at Stake to Forget

By Fred Liggin We are shaken by mourning as we hurt for those suffering due to the horrific events in Aurora, Colorado, on July 20. Yet even in our mourning, the political and social debates have already begun to light up the airwaves. And I am reminded of a most sobering reality. No government, regardless of how strong or well-meaning, can thoroughly legislate morality. To be sure, it can create laws that limit behaviors destructive to society (“You shall not steal”). But as a Christ follower, I am led to believe that only Jesus will bring lasting and systemic change (“You

June 22, 2012

Christian Standard

Endless Summer

By Rick Chromey Few seasons, other than Christmas, have more songs dedicated to them than summer. The soundtrack of our youth is loaded with countless odes to those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer in the city. Even when the summertime blues proved cruel, most boys of summer still favored hot fun in the summertime. After all, who doesn”t enjoy a summer breeze to make you feel fine? Perhaps the reason summer captures our imagination and inspires our soul is we”d love for it to be, as the Beach Boys” album suggested, “endless.” Summer reminds us of childhood and a

October 14, 2011

Christian Standard

Savoring the Conversations

By Jan Johnson People talk about having a “personal relationship” with Jesus. In fact, if you use the word religion, some will correct you and say that they have a “relationship, not religion.” And relationship is the right word because God is not an impersonal hovering mist or cosmic cloud, but a relational being who created us and desperately wants to be with us and interact with us. How does relationship work? The nature of a relationship””if it”s a good one””is typically conversational. Beings in relationship talk together, work alongside each other, and develop the “same mind” about things. That”s

July 18, 2011

Christian Standard

The Holy Spirit Today

By Chris Seidman Let me begin with some good news. Our imperfect understanding of the work of the Spirit does not serve to limit his actions in our churches. For thousands of years, humans enjoyed the benefits of oxygen without the slightest idea of its chemical properties or how it works in our bodies. When scientists began to better understand oxygen, however, their ability to work in partnership with it also grew. That increased knowledge has improved everything from fighting fires, to saving lives, to optimizing the performance of athletes. Jesus likened the Spirit to wind in John 3, and

January 31, 2011

Christian Standard

Lesson for Feb. 6, 2011 Jesus Is the Messiah (Mark 8:27″“9:1)

This week”s treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson (for February 6) is written by Rick Walston, senior minister with Marion Church of Christ, Rochester, Minnesota. Jesus Is the Messiah (Mark 8:27″“9:1) By Rick Walston What are life”s most important questions? “Where will I go when I die?” “What will I do with my life?” “Whom will I marry?” Some might say the answers don”t matter as long as we are asking the right questions. But answers are important, and the most important question of life must be answered correctly because its implications are eternal. Jesus asked his disciples this

August 8, 2010

Christian Standard

Safe, to Lost, to Saved?

Read Jeff Faull’s response to this article _______________ By John Mark Hicks What is the relationship of our children to the kingdom of God? Within the Restoration Movement we have historically held that children are safe (without sin) until they reach the “age of accountability,” at which time they own their sin and become sinners (guilty). At that point, as I generally understand the theology, children are not only unsafe but also outside the grace of God. They do not belong to the kingdom. Consequently, children (ranging from ages 9-13 generally) are instructed about baptism, their sin, and their need

December 20, 2009

Christian Standard

FROM MY BOOKSHELF: Taking the Lead

By LeRoy Lawson Bill Hybels, Axiom: Powerful Leadership Proverbs (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008). As a rule, I don”t promote leadership books. Most of them seem like the same old same old, prettied up in new packaging. Sometimes, though, rules are made to be broken. So I”m breaking one. If you are looking for an easy-to-read, common-sense set of principles that can lift your effectiveness to a new level, try Bill Hybels”s Axiom. PROVERBS, NOT TRUISMS My appreciation rose when I learned from these pages that Hybels holds in high regard another of my favorite books on the subject, Steven Sample”s

September 27, 2009

Christian Standard

“˜Whatsoever” Prayer

  by Greg Pruett I could hear my neighbor wailing, I just didn”t know why. My wife and I had just started our missionary career in a West African village, moving into a dusty tin-roofed shack that could have doubled as a solar oven. We found someone who could explain to us in French that our neighbor”s son was dying. When we saw the child, he was lying on the beaten earth floor of a grass-roofed hut, his breathing labored, pupils fixed and dilated. Despair crept into us as we realized he might not live long. I remember standing over

August 10, 2008

Christian Standard

Mega Ministry in Miniature Actions

By Mike Cahill The kingdom rarely comes as we expect. Jesus” humble beginning was a stumbling block for some because power does not normally come from weakness. Yet, Christ”s kingdom advances through surprisingly simple means. Smallness is big in Scripture. Jesus uses the smallness of a mustard seed as the pattern for potential in the kingdom””from a tiny seed to a great tree, from a handful of disciples to a kingdom spread over all the earth. When disciples act within God”s will, the power of his kingdom is shown through their lives. The results look like mountains moving or””a picture

July 20, 2008

Christian Standard

More Than the ABC”s

By Darrel Rowland The emphasis on making disciples is not subtle at Mountain Christian Church. It”s displayed in three-foot-high letters inside the church building. It”s in the bulletin every Sunday. It”s emphasized everywhere from new members classes to gatherings of the church”s top leadership. “The purpose of this church is to make disciples””more and better disciples.” “One thing that has helped us perhaps as much as any other thing is a crystal clear focus with a mission that everyone understands and knows,” senior minister Ben Cachiaras says. “Every line item in our budget we hold accountable to that mission, every

June 27, 2007

Christian Standard

Our Greatest Hope

By Mark A. Taylor “This world is not my home; I”m just a-passin” through.” We sang the words with gusto in my youth group in Waukegan, Illinois, about 40 years ago. I”m not sure we understood what we were singing, or even believed it. Like typical teenagers everywhere, we were more about this world than the next. “We live in the greatest nation on earth.” British Prime Minister Tony Blair spoke the words in a speech announcing his retirement this spring. I was taken aback by his claim. Oh no, Tony, you”ve got it wrong. I live in the greatest

June 11, 2006

Christian Standard

Seeing the Big Picture

By Larry Chouinard Does life ever feel like a series of disconnected scenes with no discernible plot, a mere random collection of episodes fragmented by one crisis after another? Is it only the tyranny of the particulars that scripts our lives? We seem driven by a series of episodes, like a weekly TV sitcom whose events are only loosely connected. Success in life seems determined by how well we are able to juggle the particulars and achieve some kind of rhythmic balance. But for some of us, as the particulars multiply (e.g., family, job, children, health issues, financial security), maintaining

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