Articles for tag: Repentance

February 13, 2012

Christian Standard

What We Learned

By Brad Neal I remember feeling the anguish surface again. The pain of dealing with a fractured ministry, and the resulting fallout, all came rushing back when it came time for public restoration. Was this the right course? Would members trust us? The easy path would have been just to leave it in the past.   Take sin seriously. The restoration process takes time. In our case, two years. It takes time for the seed of repentance to bear the fruit of a changed life. It also takes time for those who are hurt to be ready to trust again

July 25, 2011

Christian Standard

Lesson for July 31, 2011: Return to God”s Ways (Judges 10:10-18; 11:4-6, 32, 33)

This week”s treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson (for July 24) is written by Steve Carr, teaching minister at Echo Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. ____________ Return to God’s Ways (Judges 10:10-18: 11:4-6, 32, 33) By Thomas May “We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals” (Judges 10:10). Do you relate with the people of Israel during the time of the judges? One moment striving to follow God with heart and mind and soul and strength, and then””before you can blink””serving false gods. Do you ever feel that happening to you? You are not alone. In

May 31, 2011

Christian Standard

A Biblical Response to the Gospel

By Jim Tune Whenever someone is ready to begin a life of faith and discipleship, he or she rightly asks, “What must I do now?” While salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus, most believers in Christ would agree that something must be done. Many modern-day evangelists would encourage the new believer to “come forward” at an “altar call.” Others might encourage the spiritual seeker to say the “sinner”s prayer.” That prayer might go something like this: “Father, I am sorry for my sins and want to turn away from my sinful life. I believe your Son Jesus died

April 17, 2011

Christian Standard

Interview with Justin Miller

By Brad Dupray At an annual growth rate of 65 percent, Real Life Christian Church of Clermont, Florida, was the fastest-growing megachurch in Christian Standard”s survey a year ago. Justin Miller came to Christ at age 9 at First Christian Church, as Real Life was formerly known. As Justin describes it, he came into ministry “through the “˜doggie door” of church leadership.” Asked to serve the youth of the church as a volunteer, he eventually was called to serve as senior pastor in 2002. Since that time the church has grown from about 200 to its current attendance of about

February 26, 2011

Christian Standard

Identifying, Apologizing for 95 Church Mistakes

By Jennifer Taylor On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther launched the Protestant Reformation with his 95 Theses. Last October 31, Highland Christian Church shared its own radical message with the community of Asheville, North Carolina. “Much of the next generation walked away from church and has never returned,” says Sherri McCready, creative arts director. “Today less than half of 1 percent of people ages 18 to 25 in this country understand the Bible. We have failed to present the gospel in a way that connects with our culture.” Inspired by 2 Chronicles 7:14,  McCready and the HCC team began considering

August 11, 2010

Christian Standard

Prophetic Lessons for the 21st-Century Christian Leader (Part 1)

By Edward Sanders He walked a familiar dusty road. He had traveled this way numerous times throughout his life. But this trip was different, for it would end with turmoil and trouble. The prophet Jeremiah was trying to remain faithful as a prophet of God in the seventh century bc. He had the arduous task of proclaiming warning and judgment to God”s unfaithful people in Judah. I wonder if Jeremiah walked to the temple more slowly than normal that day in 608 bc.1 Or did he take the longer route? Like a nervous young boy walking home from school carrying

June 20, 2010

Christian Standard

Crimes and Misdemeanors (a Parable)

By John Castelein Some movies arrest our imagination the same way parables do. For instance, when I saw Groundhog Day in the theater, I immediately experienced it as a profound parable of repentance. Other movies that have similar parabolic dimensions for me are Amadeus, Forrest Gump, and The Truman Show. Almost as many parables are presented in cinemas today as in sanctuaries. If Christians can use these movies as parables of our shared humanity, hopes, and fears, powerful bridges of communication with nonbelievers can be built. Are you able to use such teachable moments? The movie Crimes and Misdemeanors can be seen as

May 16, 2010

Christian Standard

Leading People Toward Redemption and Restoration (Part 1)

By Ken Swatman As ministers and church leaders, we see sin every day in our communities, congregations, families, and in ourselves. We are called by God to recognize sin, confront it, and bring it into the light of Jesus. We are no more on the front line of sin”s personal battle than anyone else, but as servant-leaders in Christ”s body, we often must assume the roles of confrontational authority and navigator of the deep waters of redemption, repentance, and restoration. In this three-part series, I will look at some practical issues we face as we lead people down this path.

March 8, 2009

Christian Standard

Read More About Baptism . . .

By Jon Weatherely (This is a sidebar to Jon Weatherly’s article, “What Baptism Requests”)   G.R. Beasley-Murray, Baptism in the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1962). The most detailed work on the subject, from a British Baptist scholar. G.R. Beasley-Murray, “Baptism, Wash,” New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology Vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975″“85), 143-161. A briefer version of material found in the same author”s book. G.R. Beasley-Murray, “Baptism,” Dictionary of Paul and His Letters (Downers Grove: InterVarsity), 60″“66. As above, with particular focus on Paul”s letters. Jack Cottrell, Baptism: A Biblical Study (Joplin: College Press, 2006). A thorough,

November 30, 2008

Christian Standard

The Difference Advent Makes

By Robert Hull It is 7:00 a.m. on a Thursday in mid-December. A dozen people are sitting quietly, watching the morning come up outside the church windows. Dark clouds are scudding over Buffalo Mountain, backlit now by a rising, rosy glow. Two candles burn on the Advent wreath.  The leader intones, “Our King and Savior now draws near. Come, let us adore him.” Advent prayers have begun. During the 15 minutes before we all hustle off to work or school, we will confess our sins, hear a Psalm, a text from the prophets, and a Gospel reading; we will say

March 11, 2007

Christian Standard

How Much Does God Really Know? (Part 1)

By Knofel Staton How much does God really know about us? Does he know everything we”ve thought or will think, spoken or will speak, and done or will do? If so, there are many other questions to ponder. Questions to Ponder “¢ If God knows everything ahead of time, is everything predetermined without the possibility of changes? “¢ If not, why pray, change our plans, and repent? “¢ If God knows and loves us, why doesn”t he stop the bad things? “¢ If everything is known in advance, what is the value of having the freedom to choose? “¢ If

August 27, 2006

Christian Standard

The God Who Loves Rebels

By Dave Smith I trudged up the hill. I was mad at God, the world, anything, and everybody. Why? Because I was tired of how God was running things. He sure wasn”t listening to me. And I had had enough. I was angry. I was going to stay angry, maybe forever, or at least till the end of the day. In that reverent spirit, I walked into a Tuesday morning chapel here at Ozark Christian College. I sat down. I stood up. We sang a song. And then, as if things weren”t bad enough, the worship leader said, “Get together

June 4, 2006

Christian Standard

Gloriously Out of Control

By Rick Lowry I turned 50 this spring. For 28 of those years, I”ve been a Christian church minister. As I look forward to the “second half” of my life, I”ve been asking myself a lot of questions about what it really means for a church to be successful. An old word from my past keeps coming back: revival. When I was a high schooler in the 1970s, our youth group of about 20 teens started a Bible study on Wednesday evenings. In the course of those meetings, a spiritual awakening occurred. Within three months, more than 100 people were

November 30, 2005

Christian Standard

Humble Beginnings (Communion Meditation)

Latitude 23.3° north, longitude 75.5° west. It”s just a tiny little spot on the globe, holding no significance whatsoever until August 23, 2005. It was on that day, at that spot, that some storm clouds collided and formed the very beginnings of what would eventually become Hurricane Katrina. Experts say as she churned across the Gulf of Mexico in the following days, she produced energy equivalent to 100,000 atomic bombs.1 Is it any wonder we saw such devastation? Big things often have humble beginnings. Like the Oscar-winning actor whose first leading role was in a Sunday school play. Or the Grammy-winning

November 30, 2005

Christian Standard

Practice Regular Maintenance (Communion Meditation)

The Sydney Harbor Bridge in Sydney, Australia, is an engineering marvel. It reaches 440 feet above the harbor and is almost three-fourths of a mile long. It is the world”s largest steel-arch bridge and makes a breathtaking backdrop for the world famous Sydney Opera House. The bridge opened in 1932 and currently handles 150,000 cars a day. I”m sure you”ve seen it in countless photos. What most people don”t realize is that the weight of the traffic and the corrosive effects of the environment take a tremendous toll on the steel. Maintenance efforts never stop and are extremely expensive. It

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