Responding to Our Culture in Dark Times
Christians must not and cannot retreat from the culture, no matter how dark the days may be....
Keep ReadingToday, Easter Sunday, we celebrated the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. 'He is Risen!' is the most incredible and important declaration in human history. Jesus' resurrection changes everything. Because He rose from the grave, all of the claims He made are true and He is worthy of our absolute love and devotion and obedience.
Because Jesus rose from the grave, the idea of our faith being a 'Christmas and Easter' only faith is nonsensical as is the idea of being a 'Sunday only' Christian. If we belong to Him, we belong to Him every hour of every day and we give Him our best-not our leftovers.
Because He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and because He is the Head of the Church, died for the Church, loves His Church, we do as well. It is in the context of the church, in community, where we learn and grow together, help each other become more like Christ, encourage each other and challenge each other to grow. We learn to love one another, to be patient with one another, to forgive one another, to persevere with one another. We build each other up. We are on mission together. That is Christ's intent for His people and His Church.
While it is true that we can worship Christ anywhere, it is equally true that we are saved into community and there are certain things that can only happen in terrms of our growth, in a corporate context. Much of the growth He desires for us cannot take place in any other context than in the community of believers, the Church.
Today we celebrated the resurrection, as we should, as is fitting! May we never grow dull and complacent as we consider the incredible reality: Jesus Christ, God the Son, took on flesh, dwelt among us, willingly laid down His life as a ransom for many, was crucified, paid the penalty for our sins, died, was buried and three days later rose from the grave!
But, even as we celebrate today, we must remember something very important: now the real work begins. When we look at the Gospels, after Jesus has shown Himself as the Risen Savior to His disciples, He does something very important: He commissions them (as He has us) to make disciples of all people. We are not to keep this incredible news of the Risen Savior to ourselves! Too much is at stake. Everything is at stake.
So, as a church as we look to the next few months, we ask the Lord to grant us the grace, wisdom and strength needed to pesevere, to lean into the things He has for us, to press forward to the calling He has for us individually and as a congregation. As we saw today in our sanctuary, a sanctuary that was for all practical purposes in overflow condition, we cannot reach more people if we do not move to a second service and Bible study. We have already begun taking first steps toward that. We are in process.
For the sake of the King and His Kingdom, let us stay in prayer, stay focused and move forward in faith! The Love of the Risen King compels us!
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Kevin
March 14, 2017 by Dr. Kevin Prather
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Christians must not and cannot retreat from the culture, no matter how dark the days may be....
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We live in a culture that is increasingly hostile to historical, Biblical Christianity. As we approach the new year, how are we to live as Christians? What does God expect from us in a rapidly changing culture and world? How are we to live as a church? It is my prayer that 2023 would be a year of profound Christian maturation and growth for us individually and as a church,...
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Reading good Christian books is a great way to grow in your faith. Here are a few books I am reading (and re-reading) for your consideration. ...
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The coming cultural storm is ultimately a spiritual storm. Christians in America have not seen anything like it in our history. Are you prepared? How are we to live and what do we need to do?...
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God's Word is timeless. Truth does not change. While our culture is rapidly seeking to redefine so many things and the cancel culture seeks to silence voices that do not conform to politically correct views, Christians face a choice: to preach/teach/speak the Truth in love, or to reject or twist the Truth in the name of love. How we respond is supremely important....
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Many young women (and their parents) are confused over the issue of what it means to be a female. The church must unapologetically proclaim the Truth, speaking Goodness into these confusing times....
Keep ReadingOctober 3, 2018 by Dr. Kevin Prather | Tags: Christ, Culture, God, Holy Spirit, Bible, Scripture, Word of God, prayer, Worship, Community, Teaching, Learning, Mission, DIscipleship
The way forward in this new 'Dark Age' is to return to the ancient paths....
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Christianity is facing a new challenge in America, an emerging Dark Age in which the culture is defined in 'post-Christian' terminology, a culture that has for the most part, rejected Biblical Christianity and embraced all forms of philosophies, spiritualities and belief (and non belief) systems. ...
Keep ReadingDecember 5, 2017 by Dr. Kevin Prather | Tags: Jesus, Christmas, Good News, Gospel, Culture, Busyness, Worship, Incarnation, Miracle, Spiritual Refreshment
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Keep ReadingJune 11, 2017 by Dr. Kevin Prather | Tags: Jesus, Gospel, Father's Day, David, Solomon, Spiritual Maturity, Culture
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Keep ReadingMay 21, 2017 by Dr. Kevin Prather | Category: Pastor's Blog | Tags: Gospel, Church, Truth, Meaning, Life, Jesus, Christianity, Culture, DIscipleship, Consumerism, Lies, Meaningless, Time
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