Tag Archives: God

Study Shows Protestant Decline Below 50% in the U.S. – My Thoughts on Why.

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For the first time in U.S. history Protestantism (aka: anyone in the Christian tradition who is not Catholic) has fallen below 50%. The primary reason for this shift is the increase in those who claim no religion.

The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life released an analytic study today titled, Nones on the Rise. It shows findings now that almost one in five Americans (19.3%) claim no religious identity. This is an increase from 15 percent in the last five years.

“Part of what’s going on here is that the stigma associated with not being part of any religious community has declined,” said John Green, a specialist in religion and politics at the University of Akron, who advised Pew on the survey. “In some parts of the country, there is still a stigma. But overall, it’s not the way it used to be.”

Here is an info graphic that uses a picture to show the breakdown of religious identity in America.

 

So why is this happening?

That is the big question. If I had a definitive answer I could write a best-selliing book and change the world. But until that happens, let me just postulate some brief observations from my ministry experience.

  1. Insincere faith will not pass down through the generations.  –  Teenagers and children know when something is really important to their parents. They can read between the lines and see the real motive of the heart. If church is just another activity in the week, or just a social outing, the children in that family will begin to take on that value system for themselves. God understood this and placed the responsibility firmly on the parents for a sincere faith. Deut. 6:4-7 says: 4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
  2. The next Generation does not understand the tenets of biblical faith.  –  If people think Christianity boils down to a list of rules (that didn’t really matter to their parents) they will discard it  as another social construct meant for control.  If they never grasp the reality of our spiritual condition and the hope of the Gospel and the life of purpose that flows from giving control to God, of course they will try to find a way on their own. If the bible was taken seriously this generation would see that it truly is a guide for life that works in today’s culture!
  3. Churches may become more concerned with entertaining it’s members rather than teaching the Gospel.  –  While I already submit that parents have the ultimate responsibility for passing on a sincere faith to their children, churches are there to support this process. In student ministry, the wrong assumption is that we are all about pizza and games. If that becomes the focus, you raise up a uninformed, spiritually weak generation. As that generation of church goers has become the leaders in churches, the emphasis is taken away from the Gospel and placed on being “cool”. When a rocking band and a preacher with tattoos (while these things in themselves are not wrong) are more important than solid doctrine, you can expect people to see through this shallow version of faith and either (1.) give up, claiming no religion, or (2.) church hop from one place to the next looking for the best entertainment.

May all of us; children, parents, and church members, reconnect with the truths of scripture and make it the authority in our lives. May our faith be sincere and evident to everyone who sees us. Only then would we begin to see a change in the negative spiritual trend now on us. God bring revival! Wake us up! But whatever happens, God be glorified. Remember the words of Habakkuk.

Habakkuk 3:17-19

17 Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength;

    He makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
He enables me to tread on the heights.

God has a plan and we must trust in Him. Stay focused my friends. Your fellow worker in the field,  Adam.

 

10 Answers Every Creationist Should Know

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Here are 10 key areas of creation every Christian must know to be well informed and able to speak clearly about hot issues related to the beginnings of life. These links provide support for a biblical understanding of the most current scientific research to the more popular questions in society. So take a look and be informed!

  1. Six Literal Days
    1. For more in-depth:
      Could God Really Have Created Everything in Six Days?
  2. Radiometric Dating
    1. For more in-depth:
      What Is Radiometric Dating?
  3. Variety Within Created Kinds
    1. For more in-depth:
      Creation’s Hidden Potential
      Do Species Change?
      Bara-What?
  4. Uniqueness of Man
    1. For more in-depth:
      Chapter 8: Did Humans Really Evolve from Apelike Creatures?
  5. Distant Starlight
    1. For more in-depth:
      Does Distant Starlight Prove the Universe Is Old?
  6. Global Flood
    1. For more in-depth:
      Was There Really a Noah’s Ark and Flood?
  7. Dinosaurs on the Ark
    1. For more in-depth:
      Dinosaurs Q & A
  8. One Race
    1. For more in-depth:
      Racism Q & A
  9. Suffering & Death
    1. For more in-depth:
      Death and Suffering Q & A
  10. The Gospel: For more in-depth: What Is the Gospel

Thank you AiG for great stuff all the time! You are helping christians around the world understand that believing the bible not not mean you have to check your brain out at the door!

-Adam

Losing The Hype: Jesus Didn’t Have a Wife

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Which seems more likely – Jesus really did have a wife…and we just now are finding out about it even after 2000+ of microscope focus on His life, or the media is being sensational about this papyrus scrap?

Or look at it this way, will you trust six words that are part of an unidentifiable sentence (the other words in the sentence can’t be read) written 300 years after Jesus’ life with no predecessors or successors on a piece of papyrus smaller than a business card more than you trust four harmonious accounts of his life written by eyewitnesses with thousands of early copies? Now I may just be bias, but one side sounds much more credible.

For a more accurate perspective of this newest intrigue with Jesus’ personal life, read this balanced article.

The Far Less Sensational Truth about Jesus’ Wife – by the Gospel Coalition.

If you have no clue what this blog is about and you have been social media deprived this week, here are a few quick links from major sources to catch you up to speed in the recent historical discovery.

ABC News, Fox News, NY Times, The Washington Post

It is my prayer that we will get to know the true Jesus through the pages of scripture more everyday.

Remembering 9/11

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Today we remember 9/11. Every generation has an event that changes everything. One of those events that you can remember where you were the moment it happened. For some it is where they were and what they were doing when they heard that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. For others it was the moment when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded on liftoff.

I can read about those events, but I did not experience them. 9/11 I experienced.

I remember the morning. I’m sure these details will stay with me for the remainder of my life. I was a junior in college. I was getting ready for class. One of my roommates, Nathan, had on his TV and all of a sudden gets the room’s attention saying we all needed to see this. Me and 3 guys huddled around his small TV set and watched the televised terrorist attack on the Twin Towers. We saw the second plane come flying in. We skipped class not knowing what was happening elsewhere in the nation. There was a sense of gravity in every moment. The world was changed forever.

That day will never be forgotten. Today we will remember the bravery and the tragedy that took place eleven years ago. My prayers will continue to go out for those people for whom this day is one of the hardest days of the year.

Check out National Geographic’s photo tribute as a memorial of this infamous day.

Living day by day in His grace,  -Adam

Manly Pride is so Lame

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So yesterday was Labor Day, so what do I naturally do with a day off to celebrate and rest from my labor? Work at home. But while my day started off fine it did not end so well.

Here is the story. We recently purchased a house so there are tons of little jobs always looming. Yesterday I was replacing the old school thermostats with new digital ones. I needed a tool from the garage so made the quick trek out to get it…barefoot (mistake #1). While navigating the clutter that comes from a recent move I tripped (mistake #2) and got a real nice two inch cut across the top of my foot. I came in and assessed the situation. The kids were upstairs entertaining themselves surprisingly well and my wife (who is a nurse) was resting in the bedroom. I decided to clean up my cut and get back to my little job without bothering anyone (mistake #3). I washed it up and covered it with multiple bandaids.

Later that night Leslie and I were talking about my incident and I offered to show her my battle scar. I peeled away the crusty bandaids and she let out a slight gasp. I then proceeded to receive a mild tongue lashing about why I did not let her see it right when it happened. She interrogated me on how I cleaned it and let me know that this gash was potentially worthy of some stitches or at least some super glue. She got out some butterfly bandages and patched it up the way it should have been done from the beginning.

I never even considered a trip to the Urgent Care office just down the road, but because of my manly pride I even missed out on the advice of my nurse trained wife!

Maybe I’m not alone. I think there are others of you out there who consider a trip the hospital the last resort. But do we also have this same mentality when it comes to spiritual matters? When we are wounded do we try to handle it all on our own?

God created us to live in community. We were never designed to be alone. Yet, when we need our brothers and sisters in Christ the most, those are the times we shrink back and isolate ourselves. Is this not a symptom of the pride still residing in our hearts? We do not want others to know that we are weak and needy. We hide our hurts. We refuse the community that God has instituted and seek our own ways. But like the lesson I learned with my foot, when left to our own devices we make bad decisions. Why not seek the advise of those who really love you and can help you?

James 5:16 reminds us of this very lesson. “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

So don’t be to prideful to ask for help, whether spiritual or physical. Manly pride is so lame, and because of it, now I am too!

Your fellow worker in the field, Adam

Trying To Grasp The Trinity: 3 Helpful Resources

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One of the hardest, yet most necessary doctrines of the Church is the Trinity. God = 3 in 1. Yikes. Sometimes people shy away from difficult teachings simply for the sake of the effort required to understand. We’ve all heard it said, “anything worth doing is worth doing right”. And the same goes for sound theology!

Here are three easy and helpful resources while trying to grasp the tough doctrine of the trinity.

  1. a 4 minute video
  2. a cool info-graphic
  3. and a short article, “What is the Trinity?“

I pray these help you not just know more about God, but also grow in love and worship of our awesome God!

Your fellow worker in the field, Adam

********************************************************************************************

This is one video of a series by the Resurgence called “On the Spot”.

http://youtu.be/pVgSK26AJjM

Here is a great info-graphic from Tim Challies that is very helpful for the visual learner.

Free High-Res jpeg version – The Trinity

The Heavens Declare the Glory of God

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Last week I had the privilege of touring the Creation Museum in Petersburg KY. A highlight of that tour was the planetarium show describing the immense size of our universe. Watch the video below to see the high level of quality at which the Creation Museum functions. Dr. Jason Lisle describes how this planetarium is using the best technology available to teach that the biblical worldview has the best answers for how our universe got here and why it is the way is.

Check out this interactive site that lets you scroll through the size of various objects in relation to each other. It helps us get a grasp on the intricacies of this world and beyond. We can zoom in to see the tiniest of matter and zoom out to see galaxies and beyond.  http://scaleofuniverse.com  Check it out, it is cool.

All of this boils down to one point in my perspective. If this world and beyond is all about us, it is a colossal waste of space. But if this universe is all about the Creator, it is just about the right the right size. If the universe around us is a parable for the awesomeness, the power, the grandeur of God, then it is speaking clearly to us about who He is.

Here is Tim Challies article on the subject. How Big is the Universe? I love the use of scripture to help us understand the world around us.

http://youtu.be/UbvSLWzDiJg

Psalms 19

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
3 There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.[a]
4 Their voice[b] goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.

Worshiping Through “Beautiful Things” by Gungor

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I just returned home from Cincinnati, OH where I took a mission team of teenagers and chaperones to assist a brand new church plant. Velocity Church, led by Pastor Steve Staton, held their very first service last weekend. I was blown away by God’s presence when his people meet together in His name. As the Velocity band played, this song led me to the throne room and reminded me again what an awesome God I serve. I hope as you watch and listen, you to will take a moment to let your heart worship even while sitting at your computer!

Beautiful Things –  Gungor

All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way?
I wonder if my life could really change at all?
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found?
Could a garden come up from this ground at all?

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

Oh, you make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make me new, You are making me new
You make me new, You are making me new
Making me new

You make beautiful things
(You make me new)
You make beautiful things out of us
(You are making me new, making me new)

Oh, you make beautiful things
(You make me new)
You make beautiful things out of the dust
(You are making me new, making me new)

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust

You make me new, You are making me new
You make me new, You are making me new

The Unspeakable Comfort Of Being Known By God

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“What matters supremely, therefore, is not, in the last analysis, the fact that I know God, but the larger fact which underlies it – the fact that he knows me.  I am graven on the palms of his hands.  I am never out of his mind.  All my knowledge of him depends on his sustained initiative in knowing me.  He knows me as a friend, one who loves me; and there is no moment when his eye is off me, or his attention distracted from me, and no moment, therefore, when his care falters.

This is momentous knowledge.  There is unspeakable comfort – the sort of comfort that energizes, be it said, not enervates – in knowing that God is constantly taking knowledge of me in love and watching over me for my good.  There is tremendous relief in knowing that his love to me is utterly realistic, based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me, so that no discovery now can disillusion him about me, in the way I am so often disillusioned about myself, and quench his determination to bless me.”

— J.I. Packer, Knowing God, 41-42

Saturdays With C.S. Lewis: A Moral Law Beyond Ourselves

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If the Moral Law was one of our instincts, we ought to be able to point to some one impulse inside us which was always what we call ‘good,’ always in agreement with the rule of right behaviour. But you cannot. There is none of our impulses which the Moral Law may not sometimes tell us to suppress, and none which it may not sometimes tell us to encourage. It is a mistake to think that some of our impulses–say mother love or patriotism–are good, and others, like sex or the fighting instinct, are bad. All we mean is that the occasions on which the fighting instinct or the sexual desire need to be restrained are rather more frequent than those for restraining mother love or patriotism. But there are situations in which it is the duty of a married man to encourage his sexual impulse and of a soldier to encourage the fighting instinct. There are also occasions on which a mother’s love for her own children or a man’s love for his own country have to be suppressed or they will lead to unfairness towards other people’s children or countries. Strictly speaking, there are no such things as good and bad impulses. Think once again of a piano. It has not got two kinds of notes on it, the ‘right’ notes and the ‘wrong’ ones. Every single note is right at one time and wrong at another. The Moral Law is not any one instinct or set of instincts: it is something which makes a kind of tune (the tune we call goodness or right conduct) by directing the instincts.

~C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Chapter 2 (1952)