Matthew 6:1-18 – What Constitutes Godly Righteousness?

Posted on March 27, 2017 by ccpastormike

Most of you know this but it bears remembering that chapter and verse designations are man-made. They were placed throughout the text of the Bible as a means to navigate through the Bible. In many cases they do make a clean break in the thoughts of the authors. In the Sermon on the Mount however, this is not the case.

Chapter 6 continues the explanation of Jesus on what constitutes true righteousness. He has contrasted true righteousness from false righteousness by using the religious leaders of His day.

Jesus makes the point in this chapter that what people do is a direct result of the righteousness they possess – whether their own, or the righteousness God gives us through faith in Jesus Christ.

That was certainly the intent behind what He said in 5:17-20. Up till that point Jesus had taught the people how godly righteousness was first of all apprehended and secondly how it was manifested. In that passage verse 20 is a pivotal verse in helping us understand exactly what Jesus was saying.

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Parenting in the Land of Moloch – Doug Overmyer

Posted on March 4, 2017 by ccpastormike

I sat there, on my couch, late at night, watching a giant cockroach gorge on some “red shirt,” splattering the camera with poorly-rendered CGI blood, while the heroes of this B-movie ran for cover down some cavern. I loved those kind of movies. The cheesier and bloodier the science fiction, the better. In this case, the horror and blood was nothing but gratuitous, and I relished in it on that particular night.

My wife and I were going through a marital challenge, and I was unjustly angry at her. I knew putting something like this on television would make her leave the room. It did, and she went to bed.

In the midst of the movie, I recognized I was “numbing out” the anger and pain I felt by watching these monsters feast bloodily on humans, or at least the image of humans, since it was just a movie.

“Why am I enjoying watching the image of humans getting ripped apart?” I suddenly asked myself. “Isn’t this devaluing and degrading to the image of God?” The thoughts came unbidden to my mind.

And then suddenly, almost as clear as you reading this to yourself, came the question, “Why do you enjoy watching the destruction of people, when I love and died for them?”

I suddenly felt sick to my stomach.

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Does God exist? How does one know? – Culture and Apologetics – MBrunet

Posted on January 7, 2017 by ccpastormike

Recently, while at work, I overheard my colleague say “I don’t know if God exist or not. I haven’t quite figured that out.” Being, that the gentleman was in his sixties, his time to work through that proposition is drawing to a close and changing his worldview at his age becomes more and more difficult the older he gets. Some people are skeptics and use that as a foil to never really deal with that issue while others question God’s existence hoping one day to know for sure. I believe that if we fail to answer that question correctly, it will have eternal consequences. It’s certainly a question worthy of ones time and one that our culture continues to deny. More and more we see people leaving the church and embracing an atheistic philosophy. So, the question arises… is it possible to know if God is real or is God merely a projection of man’s imagination?

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World Evangelism or World Change? A Call to Revive the Biblical Understanding of Missions – Dr. Peter Beyerhaus

Posted on December 18, 2016 by ccpastormike

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

On 1 and 2 March 2013 a symposium was held in Gomaringen near Tübingen. It was dedicated to the memory of Prelate Rolf Scheffbuch, a promoter of the Missions Movement, who had been called home on 10 November 2012. The following mission-theological declaration was issued. Now, at Pentecost, we address ourselves to all Christians who are committed to Mission and Evangelism.

Ever since the beginning of Church History, Pentecost has meant world Evangelism. The ascended Lord, having received the Holy Spirit from the Father, sent Him as promised to His disciples (Luke 24:47-48; Acts 1:8) to equip them for the Great Commission – to take the Gospel to all nations (Matthew 28:18-20), so that the pagans, too, should receive salvation from sin, death and the devil which Christ accomplished at the Cross and by His resurrection.

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“We are one with the one” – chapter excerpt from “game of gods: The Temple of Man in the Age of Re-enchantment” – Carl Teichrib

Posted on December 18, 2016 by ccpastormike

Excerpt from chapter six of my forthcoming book, Game of Gods: The Temple of Man in the Age of Re-Enchantment. This chapter documents my time at the 2015 Parliament of the World’s Religions.

Thousands of exuberant voices filled the cavernous space of the main plenary hall. It was a time of worship, a place for introspection, a space for emotional release. Multitudes lifted their voices in melodic affirmation and the assembly room, with its 30-foot high ceiling and massive cement walls, pulsed with female energy.

“Remember who you are,” sang out Vandana Shiva. “Goddess, Mother, Shakti of this Earth.” The crowd intoned back: “Goddess, Mother, Shakti of this Earth.”

It was going to be an interesting morning.

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