Read 1 Timothy 3:10-13 This passage is part of Paul’s instructions for selecting servant-leaders for the church (“deacon” is Greek for “servant”).  TCC uses the term “ministry team” for these functions (chair set-up; facilities; cafe; worship team; office help; Awana, etc.)What sorts of tests (v. 10) do you imagine the early church used to see if people were “above reproach”?What sorts of tests might TCC use today in order for potential servant-leaders to prove their character?Have you ever experienced such testing?  Would you like to? What qualities does v. 11 say are particularly important for potential female servant-leaders to evidence? What benefits does v. 13 say those who’ve served well receive? How delightful would it be to you if you could achieve “excellent standing” and “great assurance in your faith”? Where are you on the … Read entire article »

250 million Americans call themselves Christians, but did you know that the word “Christian” only appears three times in the Bible?!   Much more often—almost seventy times—followers of Jesus Christ are called something else: they’re called “saints”.   If you are born again, you a “saint”!  Every true Christian is a saint, but we don’t live that way?   So, how do saints become “saintly”? God often uses difficulty (“heat”) in the lives of his children to sanctify them. What do the following passages teach us about the role of  this “heat” in our lives? Jeremiah 17:5-10   James 1:2-4   Romans 8:28-29   What is a situation (“heat”) that has upset or bothered you? Could God have kept it from impacting you? Did he? Then why not? … Read entire article »

  FREE audio book of J.I. Packer’s classic,  Knowing God! http://tinyurl.com/6v7ew82 … Read entire article »

  Wow!  One of my favorite practical theologians, Joni Eareckson Tada, has done it again with her book, A Place of Healing: Wrestling with the Mysteries of Suffering, Pain, and God’s Sovereignty.   A “must-read” for every serious follower of Christ. … Read entire article »

Exodus 20:4 says, “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.” Does this mean that pictures of Jesus and movies such as The Passion of the Christ should not be made? . First of all, let’s clarify how not to think this through.  In answering this question, observing that God is using it for good purposes is not a safe line of argument because God routinely uses evil things to accomplish his purposes (he used evil Babylon to chasten Israel—and then he held Babylon accountable for their own sin).  This view is called “utilitarianism”, which argues that something is morally good if it produces a good/useful outcome, and leads to the … Read entire article »

. Bart Ehrman is a Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Although Ehrman had a strong background in Evangelical Christianity, having attended both Moody Bible Institute and Wheaton College, his personal beliefs have shifted over time. Ehrman now considers himself an agnostic, saying that the New Testament is significantly corrupted—beyond reliability. . Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come. These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us.  (1 John 2:18-19) . Romans 3:3-4 adds: Some people are unfaithful—but just because … Read entire article »