In an effort to get our Things Above Us Shop up and running (ThingsAbove.Us/shop) we are offering Christmas giveaways each Friday between 11/15/19 and 12/20/19! You will receive an entry for EACH item purchased. All you have to do to enter is to order through the store by Friday, December 20 at 12 pm CST. … Read more
Thus, David begins the end of this octet with the proclamation that God’s precepts are right. All of them! And thus it follows that every other way is false and therefore worthy of disposal. It is not enough for the Christian to say “I believe what I believe but I won’t judge someone else for their beliefs.” This is as hateful as letting a child play with a fork near an outlet or walk through a parking lot with his or her hand unheld. When you love someone, you do what you can to protect them while they are weak, teach them how to protect themselves so they’ll grow, and warn them of the very real dangers they are ignorant of.
I played Donkey Basketball one time. After that experience, I can say I have firsthand understanding of what the phrase “stubborn as a mule” means (Yes, I know. A donkey and a mule are two different animals, but you get the illustration). The whole reason “donkey basketball” is funny is because you can’t really make … Read more
Michael interviews a few more interesting people from the Cruciform Conference. Micah Hasty of Micah Hasty Music https://twitter.com/themicahandrew Josh Hamon of https://theministryofwar.com/ Bryan Lamb of https://www.garageministries.com/ [content type=page name=subscribe-to-roundtable]
I can’t really document the dates so well, but I think most will generally agree that at the turn of the century the “Seeker Sensitive” movement was in full gear. This movement’s mantra is, essentially, that churches should be designed for seekers. In my own state of Arkansas, I hear a lot of talk about … Read more
Michael interviews Kofi regarding his sermon, Hebrews 12: Cross Purchased Discipline. This discussion will edify saints as you get the benefit of the hours of study which was put in before the Cruciform Conference in Indianapolis. Also, we hear about Kofi’s church’s upcoming ministry events. Please visit https://gccroguevalley.org/ to learn more about Grace Community Church … Read more
How does sacrificing bulls on God’s altar teach us about right sacrifices to God?
After establishing the right relationship with God through His cleansing power, we see that God WILL delight in right sacrifices and that bulls will be offered on God’s altar. It isn’t that God is completely displeased with sacrifices and offerings (religion). It is that sacrifices and offerings (religion) are only acceptable to God through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. Once we know Jesus we are made holy so that we may offer sacrifices to God in Spirit and in Truth (Romans 12:1; 1 Peter 2:5; Matthew 5:23-24).
October 31st, 2019 marks the 502nd anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. As confessional protestants, many of us recognize the Reformation as a recovery of the gospel. Here is a brief look at who and what sparked the Reformation and why it matters. Who was Martin Luther? Martin Luther was born in 1483 to a German … Read more
On this episode of Things Above us Round Table, George Alvarado and Chuck Ivey continue our series on Getting the New Covenant Right by diving into the New Perspectives on Paul and the damage it does to the doctrine justification by faith. Scriptures: Genesis 15; Romans 3-5; Galatians 3; Ephesians 2. Resources: 1. The Whole … Read more
The Doctrine on Which the Church Stands or Falls takes its title from the Reformation era conviction that justification by faith is the dividing line between the biblical gospel and man-centered efforts to earn favor with God. Matthew Barrett serves as editor and co-author with several significant theologians. In the forward, D.A. Carson writes that nothing is more important than the subject of this massive volume (15). The book is organized into four parts, grouping the chapters by looking at justification according to what the Bible itself teaches, theological perspectives on the doctrine, church history, and pastoral practice.
A typical atheist mantra seems to be something along the lines, “God doesn’t exist and I hate Him.” One of the reasons cited for this hatred is because we live in a world with pain, suffering, and evil. A few years ago British comedian Stephen Fry was asked what he would say if he was … Read more
David is guilty of the death of Uriah (2 Samuel 11:15). Although he hadn’t physically touched Uriah’s dead body, there is a sense of uncleanness because of his involvement in Uriah’s death. So when David cries out to the Lord to be purged with hyssop, he is calling on God to cleanse him from his sin. David could have offered more sacrifices than nearly anyone who has ever lived. He was a rich man! But he knew that God delights in “a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart,” rather than animal sacrifices (Psalm 51:16-17), and certainly hyssop is similarly a prefigurement of something…or Someone.