The Second Advent, part 2: Birth Pains

In a very literal sense, the first advent of Jesus Christ was signaled by birth pains: Mary began to go into labor, and Joseph hurried to secure a place for the baby to be born.  Jesus said that His return would also be signaled by events that come like birth pains (Matthew 24:4-8).  This picture is also used by Paul in two of his letters.  What does this image teach us about Christ's second coming?  What does it teach us about how we are to prepare and to await this return?

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The Second Advent: Waiting, Watching, Hoping

What is you attitude toward the Second Coming of Jesus?  Are you watching with anticipation?  Hope?  Dread?  Are you skeptical?  As we celebrate the first coming of Christ this Christmas season, we also watch for His return.  This week, we examined the Parable of the Ten Virgins to see what Jesus teaches about how we are to be waiting for Him to come back.

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Story of the Church - Marriage Today, part 3: Loving Your Spouse Well

What does it look like when we live by the power of the Holy Spirit in our marriages?  You will love your husband or wife well, and we will bear witness to the world about the greatness of God and the availability of His kingdom right now.

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Story of the Church - Marriage Today, part 2: God Makes One out of Two

Near the end of His teaching ministry, Jesus was challenged by the religious leaders of the day on the question of divorce.  Jesus used that opportunity to challenge the chauvinistic divorce culture of this time and to teach how the kingdom of God restores marriage to its original design.  Jesus' answer speaks directly to the marriage questions of our current culture and teaches us how God meets our deepest needs by making one out of two.

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Arkansas Baptists' Resolution on "Medical Marijuana"

This is the full text of the resolution passed by Arkansas Baptists at the annual meeting about "medical marijuana."  The campaign for these initiatives have been misleading.  This is not about distilled medicine for babies with seizures.  

Smoking a plant is not a good way to administer any benefits of the substance to a patient.  It can't be properly dosed or controlled.  It's not medicine.

If these people are really concerned about the child like the one in the commercial, they wouldn't tie her plight to a proposal that's really about legalizing recreational marijuana and marijuana edibles.

RESOLUTION NO. 5: ON “MEDICAL” MARIJUANA

Whereas, in November’s general election, Arkansas’ voters will be faced with ballot Issues 6 and 7, both of which are measures to legalize so-called “medical” marijuana; and

Story of the Church - Marriage Today, part 1: A False Gospel

The place where the church and Western culture are at the greatest divide is in the area of marriage and sexuality.  This division is not just a matter of differing viewpoints but of two different gospels.  To speak to our culture, we must first understand the false gospel of the ongoing sexual revolution so that we can respond in the love and power of the true good news of Jesus Christ.

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Story of the Church - Spirit and Worship, part 2: When We Come to Worship

"Worship" is a church word we use all the time, but it's used in a lot of different ways.  What does the Bible say about worship? What is worship?  What makes a “worship service” distinct from a bible study or Sunday school class?  Why is it important to worship?

That was our focus as we "worshiped" this past Sunday...

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