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In this episode Dr. Will Ryan and Dr. Matt interview Will Hess of the Church Split on his new book: Crushing the Great Serpent: Did God Kill Jesus?, Which looks at atonement and puts modern views of Atonement, such as Penal Substitutionary Atonement to the test of Scripture. Dr. Ryan and Matt got to partner with Will on this project. Will Ryan made the cover art and Matt wrote the foreword. We are excited to support Will in this endeavor and important message for the church and the world. Buy the Book: https://a.co/d/996m4XL --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/expedition44/support
The first Church in the Book of Acts could have easily become the first two churches right from the beginning. It's instructive how these groups were able to maintain the unity of just one Church. Check out the video version of this clip. This is a clip from a sermon I shared called Unity Is Not Conformity. Check out my blog, my other podcasts, my books, and so much more at http://linktr.ee/craigtowens ►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎
In this podcast… Pastor Loran Livingston famously trashed the trump bible recently. But I turned up some other interesting clips about the guy, courtesy of hemant Mehta and others. As a televangelist, he might not be as respectable as he looks. There's a pastor named Mark Driscoll. You might have heard of him, you might not. He recently became the focus of a massive schism in the evangelical church, and nobody seems to be talking about it. I love everything about it. Let's talk about how he just tore evangelical church in two. Pastor John MacArthur has been a televangelist longer than i've been alive. He's a mainstay in the movement. He even started a kind of college. Apparently, he thinks PTSD and OCD are fake. Among other acronyms. He didn't just toss it out there, either. He really leaned into it. We also take voicemails. If you want to leave a voicemail, the number is 1-800-701-8573. Get my book (Understanding Jehovahs Witnesses): https://owenmorgan.com/ Become a youtube member: https://owenmorgan.com/fireside-membership Patreon: https://owenmorgan.com/patreon Twitch: https://owenmorgan.com/twitch Telltale: https://www.youtube.com/@owenmorgantelltale Telltale Fireside Chat: https://www.youtube.com/@telltalefiresidechat Telltale Unfiltered: https://www.youtube.com/@telltaleunfiltered TikTok: https://owenmorgan.com/tiktok Discord: https://owenmorgan.com/discord PayPal: https://owenmorgan.com/paypal Teespring: https://owenmorgan.com/teespring Podcast on iTunes: https://owenmorgan.com/itunes-podcast Podcast on SoundCloud: https://owenmorgan.com/soundcloud-podcast Voicemail: 1-800-701-8573
Nick's sermon based on Genesis 13, titled "Facing Up to Reality" or "When Your Blessing Becomes Your Burden". Key Points: We often associate blessings from God with material possessions, health, and success. The Bible story of Abraham and Lot shows us that blessings can also become burdens and lead to conflict. Abraham and Lot became very wealthy with flocks and herds, but their abundance caused arguments between their herdsmen. Abraham valued his relationship with Lot more than his possessions and offered him the choice of the best land. This act of generosity was rewarded by God who gave Abraham even more land. The true goal in life is not to acquire blessings but to have a relationship with God. We should not let our blessings (or lack thereof) become the reason we don't seek God. MCF church has grown recently, but they must be careful not to let their success become a burden. True success comes from focusing on what God values and not on outward appearances. We should hold our blessings lightly and value our relationship with God above all else. Bible References: Genesis 13 Ephesians Illustrations: 1. Social Media and #blessed: Nick uses the current trend of social media posts showcasing a perfect life with the hashtag #blessed as an example. People often associate blessings from God with material possessions, good health, and success. These posts create a perception that these things are a sign of being blessed, and the lack of them suggests God's absence. 2. Ice Cream Wars: This term refers to territorial disputes between ice cream vendors. Here, Nick uses it as an analogy for how abundance can lead to conflict. Even seemingly trivial things like selling space can become a battleground when there's a lot to be gained. This highlights the point that blessings, if not managed wisely, can become burdens that cause arguments and divisions. 3. Story of a Church Split due to Arguments over Property: Nick uses this real-life example to illustrate how even churches, which are meant to be places of unity and love, can fall prey to the allure of material possessions. The Church of Pentecost in Ghana, once it acquired land and wealth, experienced similar conflicts to Abraham and Lot. This story emphasizes the importance of prioritizing relationships and spiritual values over material gain. 4. Story of a Young Man in Zambia who Faithfully Tithed: This story serves as a counterpoint to the focus on material wealth. The young man, Kelvin, faithfully tithed his meager earnings despite his financial limitations. This act demonstrates that true blessings come from obedience and faith, not from the amount of money one has. He valued his relationship with God more than his possessions, and his act of giving reflected that. Call to Action: Don't let your blessings become your burden. Focus on what is truly valuable: your relationship with God. Transcript Great morning. Yes, I do apologise for my slightly tawdry appearance. A lot, lot better than it was yesterday. I don't know what it is, but swollen eyes. It was all closed up yesterday like I'd been doing 10 rounds with Mike Tyson. When I, my first day at secondary school, somebody looked at me and said, why do you look like Sylvester Stallone? And I thought, well, that's good. That means I've got rugged, film-style good looks. Then I saw a picture of Sylvester Stallone, I thought it's not actually the compliment that I thought it was. But this sort of enhances my naturally droopy eyes gifted to me by the Lord. So there we are. But yeah, thanks for your prayers. It is good to be here. It's always good to speak the word of God. And we're in Genesis chapter 13 this morning. We're racing through at a rate of knots. Not Martin Lloyd Jones pace. This is MCF pace. Genesis chapter 13. And my handsome assistant is going to come and read it for us. It doesn't, looks more like David Hasselhoff than Sylvester Stallone. There you go. Thank you, Pete. Chapter 13, Genesis. So Abraham left Egypt and traveled north into the Negev, along with his wife and lot, and all that they owned. Abraham was very rich in livestock silver and gold. From the Negev, they continued traveling by stages towards Bethel, and they pitched their tents between Bethel and Ai. Ai, Ai, where they had come to before. This was the same place where Abraham had built the altar, and there he worshipped the Lord again. Lot who was traveling with Abraham had also become very wealthy with flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle and many tents. But the land could not support both Abraham and Lot with all their flocks and herds living so close together. So disputes broke out between the herdsmen of Abraham and Lot. At that time, Canaanites and parasites were also living in the land. Finally, Abraham said to Lot, let's not allow this conflict to come between us or our herdsmen. After all, we are close relatives. The whole countryside is open to you. Take your choice of any section of the land you want, and we will separate. If you want the land to the left, then I'll take the land on the right. If you prefer the land on the right, then I'll go to the left. Lot took a long look at fertile plains of the Jordan Valley in the direction of Zor. The whole area was well watered everywhere, like the Garden of the Lord or the beautiful land of Egypt. This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot chose for himself the whole Jordan Valley to the east of them. He went there with his flocks and servants and parted company with his uncle, Abraham. So Abraham settled in the land of Canaan, and Lot moved his tents to a place near Sodom and settled among the cities of the plain. But the people of this area were extremely wicked and constantly sinned against the Lord. After Lot had gone, the Lord said to Abraham, look, as far as you can see in every direction north and south, east and west, I am giving all this land as far as you can see to you and your descendants as a permanent possession. And I will give you so many descendants that, like the dust of the earth, they cannot be counted. Go and walk through the land in every direction for I am giving it to you. So Abraham moved his camp to Hebron and settled near the Oak Grove, belonging to Marmer. There he built another altar to the Lord. So I think the nominal title for this on the screen would be something like facing up to reality, but I renamed it when your blessing becomes your burden. I don't know what your understanding or belief about blessing is, but there's a natural aspect to our relationship with God where we tend to think that when things go well, when we have what we need, when we have all that we hope for in life, when we see prosperity in any form, things are a little bit easy, then we are blessed in inverted comets. And when things are a little bit difficult or where they're challenging or where we don't have what we want or where there's disappointment or where there's upset or where there's pain, then things become a struggle because we're left wondering what happened to our blessing. And you've probably seen it on Facebook, Instagram, all of that stuff. If you spend any time in the area of social media, the problem can be compounded with these hashtags, hashtag blessed. And so he said, no, I've just got an amazing new job, a million dollars a year, hashtag blessed. Or, you know, everything is going wonderfully, wonderfully well. And the pictures prove it, hashtag blessed. And we make a correlation, we make a connection between the collection of success, maybe the collection of material things, maybe the enjoyment of health. And we say, well, that's what it means to live in the blessing of God. If we have all those things, then we are blessed. If we don't, then there are a lot of questions, doubts, fears, and insecurities. Now, somehow we know in our hearts that that's not really the case, but we still struggle with it, don't we? We do sing, blessed be your name in the land that is plentiful and blessed be your name on the road marked with suffering. Blessing of God is not just attached to all things going well, getting all the things on our list to Santa or all the blessings that the tooth fairy can give us. And then that's, you know, everything is wonderful in life. But there's a lot more to the blessing of God than all of those things. And in the context of our understanding, Abraham and Lot and their families were blessed. They had both become very wealthy. They had flocks of sheep, they had goats, they had herds of cattle, and many tents. I like that phrase. They had lots of animals and many tents. Many tents must mean lots of people. They had silver and gold. They were living the dream. This was lottery level stuff. But it didn't take long for their blessing to become a problem, for their blessing to become their burden, for their blessing to become almost the thing that destroyed them. The land they were on could not support both of them. And as a result, disputes broke out between their herdsmen. We know what that's like, don't we? Disputes between our herdsmen. When clashes come. And it's usually to do with that. I mean, I was fascinated by the term ice cream wars. And it turned out that it's to do with, you know, the areas where people are able to sell their ice creams and people go to war over and fight over all of that turf wars. Because, you know, you're on my space. When we were in Kenya this year, whenever it was, seems like a blur when I was in Kenya. But it was last year, wasn't it? And we were told horrific stories about how families and people had been massacred. And it was all to do with arguments over land. Some wanted to grow crops on fertile land. Others wanted to graze their cattle. And the two couldn't mix. And so people were killed over that sort of dispute. When you're blessing, when what you have becomes the reason why you divide and the reason why you have problems and the blessing can become a burden. If these two families didn't have so much blessing, then those problems wouldn't exist. And now they did. The potential was there for their blessing to become their downfall. And so in the middle of all of that, as we're retelling the story, Abraham stepped up and took responsibility for the situation. He showed that he had enough understanding to know that it was not worth coming to war over these things. These were the blessings of God. This was how far God had brought us from nothing to this. And now we're going to fight over it. It's not worth it. There were people, there were relationships, and there were principles that were more valuable than everything that they owned between them. And so he said to lot, let's not allow this conflict to come between us or our herdsmen. After all, we are close relatives. The whole countryside is open to you. Take your choice of any section of the land you want and we will separate. It wasn't an acrimonious separation. It was a practical pragmatic solution to say that our lives, our relationship, our families, the things that God has called us to are so much more valuable than what we're going to lose if we start fighting over the land. And so Lot had a free choice with Abraham's blessing to go where he wanted to go. Abraham, he gave priority to Lot to risk his own future. He said, you take whatever you want, wherever you want to go, you can go there. Whatever you want to have, you can have. And I will go after you. He valued Lot more than all that he had. And the Bible says that after Lot had gone, the Lord said to Abraham, look as far as you can see in every direction, north and south and east and west. I am giving all this land as far as you can see to you and to your descendants as a permanent possession. And I will give you so many descendants that like the dust of the earth, they cannot be counted. Go and walk through the land in every direction for I am giving it to you. That was the result of Abraham's free and open giving to Lot. He didn't give to Lot on the condition that he could keep something. He said, you take whatever you want, go wherever you want to go. And as a result of that attitude of heart, God came to him and said, now I am going to give you. I am going to bless you more than you could ever imagine. Go and walk through the land in every direction for I am giving it to you. And what we see, even though we shy away from it sometimes, we see in the Bible that God is in the business of blessing people. He blesses his people with good things. But we know and we should know and we need to learn and to remind ourselves constantly that the goal of our life is not the blessing. The goal of our life is not to find the prosperity, the goods, the health, the success, whatever it is, the goal is God himself. And the test is whether we can see past those blessings or even the lack of those blessings to see what is truly valuable. We can so easily fixated on what we have or even what we don't have. And we think, well, if God was really with me, this wouldn't be happening to me or this wouldn't be my circumstance or we say, well, because this is my circumstance, God is surely with me. And I'm something rather special in the eyes of God. And we have to see through all that, just as Abraham did, to understand what is truly valuable. And the applications, simple applications of this passage on so many different levels, but the warning is the same. Do not let your blessing become your burden or the reason. Don't let your blessing or your lack of blessing become the reason why we don't take hold of the fullness of all God has for us. You know, for us as a church, we're in a very exciting position. We can be nothing but grateful to God for all that he's done and that he's doing. Because churches all around have experienced and have reported drops in the number since COVID and all the effect that that had. People of churches have shrunk in nature. And yet, for whatever reason, for things we can't put our fingers on, we seem to have grown. And every week to see this place full is so exciting. And to know that 146 was full. Last week, we had the Baptist Street pool here. We had all the people mopping and everything else around it. We had chairs laid out everywhere. And we had something like 170 people in the building. And we had about almost 30 people at 146. That's incredible to see. And it's really exciting to to be part of something that God is doing like that. And there's there's reasons that we can't understand, but we say, thank you God. There's a sense of God's presence. There's a sense of God's presence in the worship. There's a sense that God is leading us the way we acquired 146 through the miraculous provision. The sense that God really does want to do something great here in our time. This is our time to be alive. And God is moving. It's exciting. It's genuinely exciting. But if we don't take care, our blessing can become our burden. And our blessing can even become our downfall. If we get it right, we focus on those things that truly valuable, that truly matter. We hold our blessing lightly, value our relationship with God with each other, above all things, then what God can do in us and through us really is limitless. There is a wonderful thing and there is exciting thing to look. But if we say, actually, no, actually we're something rather special. We've got something here. This is marvelous. This is wonderful. Come to MCF. This is how church is done. And all of that stuff, then that will become our downfall. We have to hold it all lightly, hold it all before God. And just like Abraham did with Lot, he said, you go, you take whatever you want. And we will simply trust in the Lord God. A look of success does not automatically equal success in the eyes of heaven. There are letters to the churches in Revelation. If you read them, which says, you say that I have need of nothing, that we have everything we need. We are successful. He said, yet you are wretched, poor, pitiful, blind and naked. That was the assessment of God to that particular church. And as I say, I truly believe that the potential for what God can do here is great. It's so exciting to be part of. But true success doesn't come automatically and it doesn't come easily. It takes determined, committed decisions to value what God values above all things. And it's so important that we keep our eyes fixed on what is important to him and not what can lead our hearts astray or can cause us to become a pro. Or churches that grow, churches that develop, churches that acquire also split. And we have to value so much what is in the heart of God so that our blessing doesn't become our burden. There was a missionary called Jim Elliot who said he is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to take hold of what he cannot lose. And we need to have an attitude in our hearts, whatever God does, whether it's in our individual lives or whether it's in our life as a church, that we will give it up just as Abraham did, not losing it necessarily, but letting go, holding lightly in the palm of our hands, saying, all of this belongs to you, Lord, and we're going to focus on what really matters. And that's what is so encouraging about the times that we have in worship and whatever, because I believe there is a heart that is going after the heart of God. And we have to be aware of ourselves and check ourselves and hold each other to account to make sure that we're not getting drawn away by things that are not central to what God is doing. Erica's parents, if you knew them, you'd like them, some of you didn't know them actually, I think, they were missionary pastors with a church called the Church of Pentecost in Ghana. And today it's among the largest churches in the world with presence in scores of countries, they are all over the place. The membership in Ghana alone is in excess of 10% of the population. So they have to be careful with their blessing because they can do all sorts of things, like bring down the government and that sort of thing. So when the church started in 1938, it was part of another organization. And as the church grew in acquired land and property and wealth, like in Genesis 13, disputes arose and the church ended up splitting. And it got so bad that they ended up in the High Court and a judge had to decide what happened to the church and he brought his judgment down and said and ordered that two new churches should be established and that the two parties should separate and that the property and all the goods and all the wealth of the judges should be split into and shared equally. And the leadership of the church of Pentecost said at the time, actually, no, we don't want any of it. We'd rather give it all to the other party and God who brought us this far, who raised us from nothing up to here, he'll do it again. And so they released it all. And they went back to starting with nothing. And from that root, this church that is now all over the world, there's 10% of the population and government has done all sorts, has grown. And sadly, the other church that received all the stuff is nowhere now. You can't find it anywhere. And it's a principle that's so important because if we measure success and blessing the way that everyone else does, it simply leads us into problems. And so we need to check our hearts, check our minds, check our spirits, make sure we are aligning ourselves with the Lord and what he is doing and what he wants to do and what is important to him regardless of what is going on on the outside. There's a personal application as well. Our hearts and minds are easily taken up with what we have or what we don't have. Our dreams and ambitions for life, what we have, what we don't have, what we experience, what we see. But we need to value our faith, to value our relationship with God above everything that affects our physical lives, whether it's our health, whether it's our wealth, whether it's our success in life, whether it's the things that happen to us. How else do people make sense of being prisoners for Christ? How else when Andy preached many months back and he quoted Richard Wernbrand, I went and found the book and read it through it. It's fascinating. If you can ever read the book by Richard Wernbrand about his experience, 13 years, I think it was in prison in Romania, tortured for Christ. How can you make sense of those decisions to submit yourself to that sort of thing unless you know that the things that happen to you, that the physical circumstances of your life don't actually matter compared to what really is valuable, to what really is important. And in this room this morning, there's a whole spectrum of different circumstances. Each and every person has a different understanding of, you know, a different experience of life, a different experience of maybe things that we have or don't have. But perhaps we all carry a sense of lack in one way or another. But the question is not how much blessing we have compared to one another, but how much do we value what is truly important. Ephesians tells us that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. It's already blessed us. We're not hoping for a blessing. We're not looking for a blessing. We're not working for a blessing. But God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. God has promised to look after us. It's a given. He has promised to care for us. He's promised to provide for us. The question is will we lift our eyes from our physical circumstances and fix them firmly on God, not allowing our sense of well-being to be dependent on how things work out for us, but rather on who God is and the promises that He's made for us. There's a fascinating passage in Philippians 4 where Paul thanks the Philippian church for a gift they sent him, but he says, actually, I don't have any need of anything. Thanks for the gift, but I don't need it because I've actually learned whether I've got loads of stuff. I'm happy whether I've got nothing. I'm happy because I have learned to be content in any and every circumstance. He's learned contentment and trust in God. He thanked them for the gift they sent, not because he needed it because as he put it, I want to see what is credited to your account. Your gift gives me pleasure because it shows me what's in your heart. I don't give me pleasure because I've got another 10 quid or another 100 pounds or whatever it is. And I can do something with that. He said, that's irrelevant, but the fact that you thought to give me something, the fact that you thought to express your love in this way shows me that God has done something great in your life. And for that, I rejoice because you value something that is important, value 10 pounds or 20 pounds or whatever. It's great to have, that's what he was saying, but that's not the point. The point is what God has done in your hearts. The point is the sense of focus and vision that you have. When we're in Zambia, the principle of tithing to the church is very much more prominently spoken about than it is here. The idea that people would, as part of their commitment, will give 10% of their income to support the work of the church. It's laid down as a principle, but not many people, I don't even know what happens here, but not many people do. I think in our church, I was quite involved in the admin of the church and he used to have a handwritten ledger. The people used to write lists of who tithe and whatever, and probably another church of 200, there might have been eight or 10 people listed there as tithers. But one of them was a young man. This is not about money, by the way. This is just, this is like Jesus telling the story of the widows might. But one of them was a young man and he made his living selling plastic buckets on the street, a young guy called Kelvin. And his income, month by month, was a matter of pence. But faithfully and without fail, he would take 10% of his pence and he would put it in an envelope and he would drop it into the offering in the church. The money made no difference to the church at all. If he stopped, they wouldn't have noticed. But it was such a joy to see the impact of that young man's faith on his life and the decisions he made with whatever he had in his hands. He loved God and his desire to honour God was not connected to what he had. He just wanted to do something to express what God had done in his heart. Now he never moved on when we're thinking about our lives and how we measure success. He never actually moved on from selling buckets on the street. A year or two later, he died. Some people might say, well, was he blessed? Is there a blessing in that selling buckets on the street until you die? But actually he saw and understood things that many more people, many more physically blessed people might miss. He saw things that our blessings can blind us to. He understood the value of what God had done in his life. And so we love and look for the blessing of God in our lives. But we need to take care of where and how we look, put value on the right things, pour ourselves into our pursuit of God and our love and commitment to each other. And that will be the hallmark of MCF. Because a big successful church is not really any good to anyone unless its heart is right. Unless when people connect to the church, they're drawn closer to God and they know what it is to become a disciple of Jesus Christ, not just a faithful member. Our blessings in life are no good to us or anybody else unless they lead us closer to the heart of God. I remember my father-in-law saying, you know, when we were thinking about the children and which about them going to school and what would happen to their education and all of that, particularly traveling around the world. And he said it matters to a point but it doesn't really matter at the end of the day because what really matters is their heart. What really matters is what is going on in their hearts. What really matters is their faith in Jesus. Our blessings in life are no good to us if they don't lead us closer to the heart of God. Or if when they are gone, all the wheels fall off and we have nothing at all. Somebody once said the church is what is left when the building burns down. Can we worship love on a God and each other regardless of what happens to us and regardless of what we have and regardless of what people think about us and what regardless what people say about us. Because while we enjoy the blessing of God and we enjoy the growth that we're seeing God give us and we're enjoying all of that, there may come a time when people won't as Jesus promised people won't speak well of the church. People won't speak well of all of God's people. What will we do then? Will we value what is truly important? The challenge is real but it's a doorway to an experience of God and all that he can do and it's impossible if we hang on to what we think we need. So let's not let our blessing become our burden. Let's not hold on tightly to those things and say this is what I need in life. What we need in life is Jesus. A. W. Toes has said people don't know that Jesus is all we need until Jesus is all we've got. It's a challenging thing. It's a challenging thing for me. It's a challenge to think about that because so often when things go well, when you've got money in your pocket, when you've got opportunities in life, you can feel at peace, you feel all is well with the world. When those things are not there, when those things are challenging you, when those things are a problem, we can think where is God and our blessing or lack of blessing becomes our burden. In actual fact like Paul, we can learn contentment in each and every circumstance we can learn that actually all we need is found in him. It's a big challenge. Abram and Lot were blessed beyond measure and yet it became a burden to them and so they took decisions based on what was truly important, what was truly valuable and that is what we are called to do as God's people. Amen.
Today Dr. Will Ryan and Dr. Matt consider the incarnation of Jesus and the ramifications regarding Original Sin. We want to give a Shout out to Warren McGrew of Idol Killer and Will and Brian of The Church Split for their series' on Original sin and for helping us articulate some of the content in this episode. • The immaculate conception of Mary is a late dogma created to prop up original sin. But not only this a “preservative redemption” is also needed for Mary to remain sinless • The Virgin birth in both Protestant and Catholic circles is used incorrectly to promote the doctrine of Original Sin. o For Catholics it deals with the issue of concupiscence o For Protestants it actually does nothing as Mary was born of human parents and still would transmit Original Sin o We affirm the virgin birth but in Isaiah 7 it is called a sign pointing to the miracle of the messiah and has nothing to do with original sin. • The way Protestants try to get around this is the hypostatic union, which we also affirm, but Protestants use it incorrectly to support this Doctrine. • 3 points of the incarnation: o Jesus came in flesh- he was fully human like us (yet fully God). He experienced what we do. o Jesus had no sin in him (he wasn't born with it) o And Jesus never sinned • Thus, no Original sin if Jesus assumed exactly what we are and partook of the same nature yet did not sin. • If Original Sin is true and Jesus was spared it through the immaculate conception then Jesus was not like us in every way and cannot sympathize with our weaknesses and Hebrews 4:15 is a lie and Jesus is an unfit High Priest. o This is what the Doctrine of Original Sin gets us into. Conclusion/ The Better Way Jesus was fully God and Fully Man. He assumed all that we are so that he could make us all that he is and heal us. The Incarnation o We saw that Jesus came in the flesh just like us (but also fully God) o We saw that there was no sin in Jesus (no original sin) o We saw that Jesus did not sin We also looked at Mary and all the gymnastics that needed to happen with her to hold up this unbiblical doctrine. We looked at how Calvinists have no foundation to stand on with Original sin in the Virgin Birth (we affirm it!), the Hypostatic Union (in which they downplay Jesus' humanity), and they come dangerously close to many Gnostic heresies. The Better Way As humans it is comforting to know that Jesus went through all that we did and was still sinless. He has redeemed us and comes beside us to conform us into his image. So rather than focusing on the negative theology of Augustinianism and Calvinism look at the beauty that is in Jesus becoming just like us in every way to heal us and make us whole! _________ Visit www.expedition44.com for posted articles and more. If you have comments or questions please email us at: ryan@expedition44.com, matt@expedition44.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/expedition44/support
Thousands of congregations are leaving the United Methodist Church denomination over the issue of homosexuality. Despite the fact that the number of congregations affirming a biblical view of marriage are in the majority, the liberal wing of the denomination has succeeded in getting the traditional congregations to leave. On this episode of The Lancaster Patriot Podcast, local Methodist pastor Paul Miller joins Chris Hume, Travis Schmalhofer, and Joel Saint to discuss the recent happenings in the United Methodist Church.
The Church Split provides their thoughts on Matt Dillahunty storming out of a debate when called out by Andrew Wilson's opening statement. Was this inappropriate for Matt? Was this wrong of Andrew? Find out what we think in this episode.
Author and Pastor Brian Zahnd was ahead of Zootown Church in this reformation by about 20 years. Like us, it cost him dearly to return to the “faith handed down to us” and the message of the truly Good News. In this interview we cover a lot of topics, and Brian covers them with grace and compassion.
Will gives a big update in his life, Brian's life, and the Church Split. Listen until the end to hear some new things coming to The Church Split!
Be sure to visit the show website at www.BibleCrossfire.com to see show notes and outlines for each episode. You will also be able to submit your Bible questions or comments.
Series: Bible Crossfire Radio ProgramService: Radio Program / PodcastType: Radio Program / PodcastSpeaker: Patrick Donahue
This was originally a live stream from August 1 on Altarnate Media with Brad. They discuss the PSA debate The Church Split hosted on July 23. The take a balanced look at the arguments and what its like as a moderator when things get a little "spicy".
CW: Sexual Violence, Racism, Church Split, Evangelical Drama Author + Activist, Liz Charlotte Grant, Is on the pod today updating us on the church drama that the snippet of Joshua Ryan Butler's book, Beautiful Union, The Gospel Coalition released has created. More importantly, we discuss how unvetted and unchecked male bias is extraordinarily harmful to communities and ask for more from leadership and humans in general. Liz Charlotte Grant is an award-winning writer. Her newsletter, the Empathy List, is a smart and kind word from the Christian left, and for two years running, it's been nominated for a “best of the web” Webby award. Her first book comes out with Eerdmans in 2024. We've got to have an episode that calls out modern, American, Christian culture in the United States sometimes… I'm sorry, but we just have to. Ha. Connect with Liz: w: LizCharlotte.com i: @lizcharlottegrant fb: @lizcharlottegrant Follow Carin on Insta: @carinhuebner Join the email list: https://portal.carinhuebner.com/public/form/view/62a7a9056cfde7fd9ad9d018 Join Carin's FREE Facebook group: https://portal.carinhuebner.com/public/form/view/63223d6e3d298d2c64e6abfa GO PUBLIC (Podcasting + Creative Coaching): https://portal.carinhuebner.com/public/appointment-scheduler/6424b2c60ea51ee627d8a250/schedule
The Church Split hosts a debate between 2 Torah followers regarding the question "Is Penal Substitutionary Atonement Biblical?" In this heated debate we hear arguments regarding PSA from the Torah follower perspective. Listen to hear some new/unique arguments for and against PSA.
Will and Brian review Amazon's new Docu-series called "Shiny Happy People". This series oddly intersects both Will and Brian's early Christian life. We review what the series does well, what they did poorly, and give our recommendations on watching the show.
Pastor Ron Stauffer 1 John 2:12-21
Text: Acts 15:1-35Hosts:J. Kent EdwardsVicki HitzgesNathan NormanNarrator: Brian French The CrossTalk Podcast is a production of CrossTalk Global, equipping biblical communicators, so every culture hears God's voice. To find out more, or to support the work of this ministry please visit www.crosstalkglobal.orgDonateProduced by Nathan James Norman/Untold Podcast Production© 2023 CrossTalk Global
We go way back and rebut episode #9 of The Church Split, Will's Gospel episode. We point out Will's old delivery method, his theological errors, his conflation of the gospel with penal substitutionary atonement theory, and much more! Brian is back because he didn't want to miss a chance to publicly rebut Will.
In the next in our series in Paul's letter to Timothy, Tom preaches from 1 Timothy 1:12 - 2:7. In these verses we see the importance of prayer and what our concern for the lost shows us about the church. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-tHD74492M
The UMC is splitting, but they aren't alone. Join us today as we talk about divisions in the church.
This episode deals with mature content regarding abuse and evil. A long time friend of Will's comes back on the show to talk in depth about his past abuse, homosexuality, Calvinism, the problem of evil, and its impact on his marriage, his ministry, and his life. This episode touches many topics that are church splitting issues that are often avoided. Many followers of The Church Split actively support this missionary.
As Ethan Hoover and Matthew Maher continue their thread on the "Church Then & Now", this episode looks at the start and rise of Islam and the Great Schism, which is known as the first big church split.Show Notes:IntroWhat is this new religion? (Islam)Who is Muhammad?What does Revelation & Galatians say about adding or subtracting from the Scripture?IslamMuhammad hears a revelation from the angel GabrielleMonotheistic (similar to Christianity and the Jewish beliefs)Base their beliefs on their Arab lineage that goes back to AbrahamBut not Isaac (the blessed lineage), they are from IshmaelIslam means “submission”Muslim means “one who submits”There are extremists in every religionIsaac Vs. IshmaelStarts with Abraham, ends with Islam not accepting Jesus: that's the problem with itBottom line: It's a false religionThe 5 pillars of IslamCopy paste from every man-made religion: works basedThe caliphates (Muslim rulers)How they expanded Islam through conquest The Great SchismWhat was it and why did it happen?Excommunication between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox ChurchThey are different, yet similarPerpetual virginity & other beliefsThe Nation of Islam vs the religion of IslamResources:Who Was Muhammad? https://www.gotquestions.org/who-was-Muhammad.htmlWhat Is Islam, And What Do Muslims Believe? https://www.gotquestions.org/Islam.htmlWhat Is the Qur'an? https://www.gotquestions.org/what-is-the-Quran.htmlWhy Do Jews And Arabs / Muslims Hate Each Other? https://www.gotquestions.org/Jews-Arabs.htmlWhat Is The Difference Between Christianity And Islam? https://www.gotquestions.org/difference-Christianity-Islam.htmlEast & West Schism: https://www.britannica.com/event/East-West-Schism-1054 The Growth & Spread of Islam: https://www.studentsofhistory.com/the-growth-pread-of-islam The Rise of Islmanic Empires & States: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/medieval-times/spread-of-islam/a/the-rise-of-islamic-empires-and-states Great Schism: https://study.com/learn/lesson/great-schism-1054.html Great Schism Educational: https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/great-schism Got questions?Submit your question relating to our Season 2 content for our Question & Response episode here. Learn More: To learn more about the podcast and your hosts, visit our website.Looking to sponsor Rechurched? Apply to be a sponsor!
This episode launches a new series from The Church Split: media reviews! In this review, Will looks at the Netflix miniseries called Midnight Mass. This show is an American supernatural horror which examines strong religious themes including the problem of evil, suffering, cult creation, belief, prayer, etc. This spoiler free review should be fun for any that have already watched it or might consider watching.
Listen to hear as one pastor speaks anonymously to host Stephen Strang about the challenges from the latest denomination to struggle between pressure from the progressive culture and biblical values. Hear what is causing the split within The United Methodist Church, the pressure pastors face, and the loss of the overall message. If your church is facing the same struggles, you will not want to miss this interview.
The story of Nathaniel Taylor VS Bennet Tyler and how Taylorism affected the Presbyterian Church causing the New-School Old-School Division. The trials of Albert Barnes and Lyman Beecher for Heresy in 1836.
A new MP3 sermon from The Narrated Puritan is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: New Haven Theology and The Presbyterian Church Split of 1837 Subtitle: Christianity in America Speaker: Thomas Sullivan Broadcaster: The Narrated Puritan Event: Sunday School Date: 9/11/2022 Length: 45 min.
A new MP3 sermon from The Narrated Puritan is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: New Haven Theology and The Presbyterian Church Split of 1837 Subtitle: Christianity in America Speaker: Thomas Sullivan Broadcaster: The Narrated Puritan Event: Sunday School Date: 9/11/2022 Length: 45 min.
Friend of the show Braxton Hunter from Trinity Radio posed 7 questions for Christian YouTubers to respond to. We took Braxton up on his offer. The questions: 1. What do you mean when you say you are a Christian? 2. What is the purpose of your channel? 3. To what extent do you include considerations about content in your spiritual life (seeking prayer/guidance)? 4. If someone asks you why they should be a Christian what do you say? 5. What Christian beliefs and/or commitments do you think are essential for salvation? 6. Besides not making videos with lists of questions like this one, what do you wish other Christian YouTubers would do differently? 7. What is the best thing that has happened as a result of your experience as a Christian YouTuber?
We discuss the differences between Complementarianism and Patriarchy. Is it really any better, or is it just a different name for the same thing?Links:CBE Website: https://www.cbeinternational.org/Episode from The Church Split: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/the-church-split-ep-51---gender-rolesSearching Together Website: https://www.searchingtogether.org/Webb's book on Women, etc.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0830815619/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_8MH8W94GT7CH4B3X3Y4H Untwisting Scriptures. book 1: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998198102/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_AQXHF16J1B1TZWWR0016
Billy Wendeln and Matthew Chisholm of the Bible Brodown podcast bring on The Church Split to go over question related to Elders and their role in the church today. Do elders need to be ordained? Do elders need a degree from seminary? Should elders be sought from outside a local church? We will go over these questions and much more!
Christians and other pro-life groups have fought for years to see Roe v Wade overturned. In this episode the Church Split is joined with Constitutional Attorney Katherine Henry to discuss the recent decision to overturn Roe V Wade, how it relates to the constitution itself, and the political implications of this decision. This was a huge win for the pro-life cause but the fight isn't over.
Monique and Krista are joined by Kevin Briggins (co-host, Off Code podcast) to discuss his experience as an elder in a multiethnic church that became divided over the issue of race.
Monique and Krista are joined by Kevin Briggins (co-host, Off Code podcast) to discuss his experience as an elder in a multiethnic church that became divided over the issue of race.
Church Split One Lord, one faith and one baptism. Let's pray that churches everywhere seek after the will of God alone.
Church splits can be devastating not just for a congregation but also for a pastors whole ministry. Having gone through a messy split in his first few years at SMBC, Bro. Jono shares his experience and practical wisdom to encourage pastors who may be going through it.
On March 31, 2022 The Church Split was asked to leave the Recovering Fundamentalist Podcast Network marking the end of a 13 month of affiliation. What could have been a cordial exit of friends, mixed messages were given, confusion ensued, accusations levied, and people were hurt. We took time to create this, as we wanted to show our heart and the truth. The Church Split did not nor does not desire to separate from the RFPN and there were tactics employed to make it look as though we did. Our mission has always been to unite the divided body and we feel compelled, being so closely associated with a public separation, that an episode was needed. Let the record show, this should not have been needed.
When Jon was ordained as pastor of Christ's Center, he wanted to do it on one condition - that he be allowed to have a co-pastor – something he was strongly advised not to do. Instead of listening to the counsel of those he was accountable to, he decided to do it anyway. This all came to a head 14 years later when the church split right down the middle. With half of the members following Jon, and the other half following the other pastor, it seemed like a devastating situation for everyone involved. It was during this time that the Lord brought the Christ's Center leadership back to the basics of desperately seeking God in prayer for the direction of their ministry. Listen to the episode "The 1988 Church Split" to hear the full story. If you've been encouraged by this podcast and the stories Jon has shared, make sure to subscribe so you don't miss an episode. New episodes are released each Tuesday morning. Please help us spread the word by sharing with someone you think will be encouraged and by leaving us a review wherever you listen.
Intro and voicer for Russia UKraine War Orthodox Schism
Coaching For Pastors - Daily Coaching, Encouragement, and Support for Pastors
Thursdays: Perspective & Hope for pastors. Sometimes it's really good that you don't please people as a pastor, and that people absolutely leave your church! Jeff tells you when...Support the show
Will and Brian of The Church Split Podcast are filling in for the hosts of the RFP in what we are quite certain will be a memorable episode on the Rules of IFB Colleges.
Support the Show:https://www.patreon.com/preacherboysPurchase a Preacher Boys shirt, mask, sticker, or other merch to rep the show! https://www.teepublic.com/user/preacher-boys-podcastEpisodes Mentioned:The Church Split: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-98-interview-preacher-boys-podcast-host-eric-skwarczynski/id1514965450?i=1000507197562The Recovering Fundamentalist:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/recovering-fundamentalist-podcast/id1485131768?i=100050369376026 Letters: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/26-letters/id1541252949?i=1000506982469Find more stories regarding the IFB movement by visiting:– preacherboysdoc.com– https://www.facebook.com/preacherboysdoc/– https://twitter.com/preacherboysdoc– https://www.instagram.com/preacherboysdoc/To connect with a community who share the Eric Skwarczynski and the Preacher Boys Podcast mission to expose abuse in the IFB, join the OFFICIAL Preacher Boys Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1403898676438188Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/preacher-boys-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
*Clip used with permission*Support the Show:https://www.patreon.com/preacherboysPurchase a Preacher Boys shirt, mask, sticker, or other merch to rep the show! https://www.teepublic.com/user/preacher-boys-podcast________________Pastor Tommy McMurtry of Liberty Baptist Church preached a sermon on June 20th, 2021 entitled, “Confessing the Sins of the IFB (Intro).”In it, he took aim at IFB Sermon Clips, The Recovering Fundamentalist Podcast, @The Church Split, and, of course, the Preacher Boys Podcast.He expressed his belief that God has raised us up as evil men to carry out His judgment on the IFB.He also expressed that he wants to “fight me,” that I am a heretic, that I am effeminate, and that I am damned to hell and awaiting judgment from God.He also draws a comparison between our podcasts and maggots(?).It was a fun one and definitely encourage you to listen to the full sermon:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO41ocnEopk&t=2s________________Find more stories regarding the IFB movement by visiting:– preacherboysdoc.com– https://www.facebook.com/preacherboysdoc/– https://twitter.com/preacherboysdoc– https://www.instagram.com/preacherboysdoc/To connect with a community who share the Eric Skwarczynski and the Preacher Boys Podcast mission to expose abuse in the IFB, join the OFFICIAL Preacher Boys Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1403898676438188Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/preacher-boys-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Conservatives have long tended to underestimate the value of institutions, and to get out maneuvered by liberals in institutional battles. As a result, it's usually conservatives who exit from institutions in order to form new ones. But because nothing has changed with them, their new institutions frequently undergo a reprise of the same problems that plagued the original ones they left.The proposed United Methodist Church split is a good example of conservative thinking on institutions. Although the conservatives won the previous rounds of denominational votes, it is they are who are heading for the exists and leaving all the denominational infrastructure in the hands of the liberals.Their split protocol is also a terrible deal for conservatives. It establishes the liberal position by default, and sets possible supermajority thresholds at every level to get out. This suggests many fundamentally conservative congregations will end up trapped in a now officially liberal denomination with no way out.On conservatives and institutions: https://themasculinist.com/the-masculinist-42-why-you-should-be-on-the-advance-not-the-retreat/United Methodist Split Protocol: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/diverse-leaders-group-offers-separation-planIndianapolis Plan for Separation: https://indyplanumc.org/
Find more stories regarding the IFB movement by visiting: https://open.acast.com/shows/5e123e2b355ab8560d61f99c/episodes/preacherboysdoc.com (preacherboysdoc.com) https://www.facebook.com/preacherboysdoc/ (https://www.facebook.com/preacherboysdoc/) https://twitter.com/preacherboysdoc (https://twitter.com/preacherboysdoc) https://www.instagram.com/preacherboysdoc/ (https://www.instagram.com/preacherboysdoc/) To connect with a community who share the Preacher Boys Podcast mission to expose abuse in the IFB, join the OFFICIAL Preacher Boys Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1403898676438188/ (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1403898676438188/) Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/preacher-boys-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
In Chapter Five of The Color Of Compromise, Luke and Lamont begin to untangle the theological defenses for slavery as the American Civil War reached its climax. Pastor David McNeely joins the show to add further insight into the split of the Presbyterian church during this time, as well as to inject much needed context to particular scriptures that address the institution of slavery.
In this episode, FBC Global Mission's Pastors, Scott and Jim interview Hanson and Jocelyn Manova who are pastoring a church in the State of Tamil Nadu in India. This church has been pastored by Hanson's father for many many years. Due to Hanson's father failing health, God led Hosur Bible Church to send Hanson and Jocelyn to take over the pastoring of this church. This church has been in existence for 100 years and was being characterized by legalism, self righteousness, and division. As Hanson has been leading the church into a growing knowledge of Who God is and what He is really like, as well as His grace that has been manifested and bestowed upon us through the finished work of Christ, great transformation has begun to take place within the hearts of these people. Along with this testimony, Hanson and Jocelyn also share with us how God has been using them to help provide food and groceries for needy families in 6 different churches.