The following post is a great example of the visible Christian leadership.  Those that are in the limelight for what ever reason useually does something outrageously stupid.  Prime example Wiley Drake.  I don’t know what bible Wiley reads but it needs to be updated or better yet thrown away.  ChurchETHOS is the blog and Nathan Creitz is the author.   Check it out and let Nathan know what you think

Please Disregard Wiley Drake’s Foolish Remarks

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Every few months Wordpress.com has a featured article that extols the reasons why a person is leaving the Christian faith and why he or she is now an atheist.  It is not Wordpress.com that is featuring these articles, it is just the amount of hits these articles get that puts them on the front page of Wordpress.com.   I read these articles and become somewhat disappointed thinking about the view of Christianity this person has seen.  But it is the view of American Christianity that most people have.  We Christians  are self centered, money hungry, two-faced, homophobes, that are trying to force everyone that disagrees with us to bow to our wishes.  Look at the treatment of Liberty University over pulling the liberty name off of the Democrat’s Student Club.  We are made to look bad even when we stand up for what we believe, so when we do slip people pile on like a elephant herd on the last peanut.

In John chapter 16 Jesus says, “All this I have told you so that you will not go astray.”

When I read this it helped me realize that some people will walk away.  They will walk away from Christianity because life happens, or because they have found many reasons to not believe in the God of the bible.  Lets face it, there are reasons given daily on the TV or in new books or every Easter and Christmas in special segment that magazines run.  If you look you can find a reason almost daily to stop believing because the enlightened do not believe in God, and mainly the God of the bible.  In the parable of the sower Jesus calls this cares.  The cares of the world just became so great that the person walks away from their faith.

So how do we overcome this?

The main thing is to stop focusing on the negative.  Yes you should check everything you read, and no you should not check your brain at the door.  But you should ask yourself how much of this is true and how much is false. Take Creationism for example.  You can to prove creation ex nihilo scientifically, just like abiogenesis can not be proved scientifically.  Now can we see that one or the other is true absolutly because we are here.  Does your Christian faith east on whether or not God spoke and created everything, absolutly not.  Salvation requires you to tae Jesus as your savior and give him control of your life, not believe in creationism.

Don’t put the weight of trying to learn every nuance of the Christian faith on yourself.  We try so hard to obey when we read, “Always have an answer.”  This has made us overly skeptical of people that are not Christians.  We project a mean spirit when we act like we have all the answers or try to have all the answers.  If someone asks you a question its o.k. to say, “I don’t know.”  They want to look smart so let them, and don’t worry about it.

He told them to love each other and serve each other so we need to serve.  Do we seve well?  No, not all the time but we are human.  We are trying to do better serving.  But it is ingrained in our culture to be self serving and expecting the rest of the world to come to us.  Missional churches are learning to be the hands and feet of Jesus.  Not to get people in the door, but to just serve people and let them know God loves them.

If you are struggling with your faith try focusing on the hungry and hurting.  Give back instead of trying to find fault.  I am not saying that this is the cure for those who are seriously doubting their faith.  I am saying those that these few things will begin to help those who are seriously trying to resolve issues.

If you have done your due diligence and really tried to examine the Christian faith.  I mean really tried to prove or disprove it, and you  decide Christianity is not right for you, that’s o.k.  But if you have just heard someone say Christianity ain’t cool and you walk away, then you have done a disservice to what you say you believe and need to really examine what you are saying.  Don’t just give up.

That is a question I dealt with for a long time. It is a question I get asked repeatedly as a Christian life coach. What about the rich young ruler they say. Look at what money did to the prodigal son. Money is the root of all evil. O.k. let’s look at all these statements.

The Rich Young Man is found in Matthew 19:16ff the key verse is verse 26 “Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”"

What is he saying? The man’s money can not save him but God can. It is not our wealth that saves us it is God. The man was distraught because he was trusting in his money. I have heard it said that the disciples were disappointed because it was the belief in those days that the rich were truly blessed and favored by God. But Jesus knew that the rich that trusted in their money were not favored by God.

Next is the story of Prodigal Son or the Lost Son. Found in Luke 15. This is the story of a son who asks for his father’s inheritance then goes out and blows it on women and booze. When he is at his lowest he comes to his senses and returns to his fathers house hoping to be made a servant so he can just eat the food from his table. The father does something unheard-of in those days; he restores him fully and kills the fatted calf to celebrate the sons return. Yes this story proves that money is evil. No, it doesn’t. It proves that people are inherently evil and when they focus on money and the things of this world they will lose site of God and fall away from him. This story shows us the compassion that God has for us when we have lost hope and are living in a pigsty. It is not the money that was wrong it was the son’s goals that were wrong.

Finally Money is the root of all evil. First of all, that is not what the bible says. Jesus says that, “The LOVE of money is the root of all evil.” Which essentially completes every thing I have been saying this far. If you start out to do nothing but make money you will fail. But if you start out to do what you were called to do, success will find you because you will be following what God put you here for.

Originally Posted at: Pinnacle Balance

Final Installment of this class I should have a download page up by the end of the week so you can get both the Leader Guide and the Participant Book both.  It takes about two hours to teach the class because you are taking people through the bible that have never looked up scripture before.  Be patient it is worth the effort.

III. Bible Study and Scripture Memorization

What is the Bible? It is made up of 66 books written by 40 different authors over 1500 years on two continents. 2^nd Timothy 3:14-17 says that it is, _____________________

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So why do we study the Bible? Romans 15:4 say

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And Romans 12:1-2 says

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Finally look at Psalm 19:7-11. What does it have to say about the scriptures?

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Through prayer and the study of the scriptures we grow in our understanding and relationship with Christ. We mature in our Christian walk and while we may not understand everything we read at first over time our minds are changed and renewed. Along with scripture reading, comes scripture memorization.

What does Psalm 119:11 say about memorizing scripture?

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In Joshua 1:8 God told Joshua to Meditate day and night on the law and to never let it Leave his mouth so that he will do everything in it. A New Testament example of this mentality toward the scripture is found in Acts 17:10-11. The Bereans Examined the scripture every day.

I memorize scripture by finding a verse that really applies to where I am in my life when I read it. I am always careful to use the verse in context and not to over stretch it meaning. I write the scripture on a 3×5 index card and carry it with me. I read it often and begin to memorize parts of it starting with the book and verse number then the verse itself. I try to stay in the few chapters around where the verse is for a couple of days and really get the meaning of the verse in my head.

Our time spent with God is valuable. You would not try to make a new friend by ignoring the person you want to be friends with. Start your memorization with Romans 12:1-2 this will be your foundation to build your time with Christ on.

If you change your mind you will change your habits. If you change your habits you will change your life.

Sorry it has been so long since I posted the last section.  I have not had Internet service for over a week.

Here is part two of the New Believer’s Class dealing with prayer.

II. Prayer

Prayer is not a wish. Effective prayer can be learned but it may not come naturally to a new believer. Prayer is how we communicate with God, and build our relationship with Jesus Christ. In his book The Spirit of the Disciplines Richard Foster says, “To pray is to change. Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us. If we are unwilling to change, we will abandon prayer as a noticeable characteristic of our lives.”

Why Do We Pray

We are expected to pray.

Read Matthew 6, how many time does Jesus say when you pray?____________

In 1^st Thessalonians 5:17, what how does Paul tell us to pray?

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Our relationship with Christ determines effectiveness.

Hebrews 4:14-16 Tells us what about our prayer life

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If we are hiding sin Psalm 66:18 says what? ____________________________________

If we are not receiving answers what does James 4:3 tell us is wrong

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In His book Celebration of Discipline Richard Foster talks of Adoniram Judson and how he withdrew for prayer seven times per day, first at dawn, then nine, twelve, three, six, nine, and midnight. And of John Hyde missionary to India, who prayed so much he was nicknamed, “Praying Hyde.”

These were not extraordinary men, they were just Christians living out a life of prayer.

Tenaciousness is part of a prayer life. Read the story of the persistent widow in Luke 18:1-7. How does Jesus say we are to pray for our needs?

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No is still an answer. We want so much to get our way even in prayer. We need to realize that God knows what is best for each and every one of us. He knows more than we will ever know.

Read 2^nd Corinthians 12:7-10, how did Paul respond to his no?

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Read Matthew 26:39, who did Jesus say should get there way? ­­­_____________