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Showing posts from June, 2016

Bible verses on prayer in Old Testament

A s Christ followers we ultimately do not follow the Law of Moses as though we were national Israelites, however, we do still see principles clearly of God's will displayed throughout the Old Testament.  This is so even of the Torah portion of the Old Testament, the first five books. In the heart of those books, you find much mention of prayer in Leviticus.  In fact, Leviticus is essentially a guide to prayer in the appointed place of worship in the nation of Israel, the Tabernacle Tent of Meeting and later the Temple.  For them, this was a place prescribed for worship, instead of building one's own altar, as people had done previously.  Prayers still could be done elsewhere, but the Tabernacle/Temple became the main and required place for Israelites to properly approach the Lord at certain festivals and high holy days of Israel. So in Leviticus, perhaps we can echo godly believers then, Leviticus chapter sixteen was the high holy day in the Israelite calendar.  It was a pr

Three Stumbling Blocks to Church Plant (or Possible Estab. Church) Growth

T here are times when doctrine plays a role in attracting or repelling potential new church start goers.  Consider a few examples.  You might imagine whether a church is charismatic or not influences decisions.  In our area, a large glut of charismatic church starts has sucked up all of the potential charismatics.  The ones that have been around the longest have a lions share of that doctrinal view.  Perhaps this is less an issue in a very large city, though it is clearly an issue in a small or medium sized one. Doctrine could be desirable or undesirable in still another way.  The Lord created men and women a certain way, with certain attributes innately, Genesis 1-2.  Men who are leaders out of a desire to honor the Lord are not making just a praxis decision, but are also modeling in some capacity God's call on men in the family.  A man likewise who makes a strong effort to provide for his future family is going to be more desirable to most ladies.  This is simply true in church