Submission is a word that makes us all bristle. Start talking about gender and marital relationships and the idea of submission and you have a recipe for a fight. Is this inevitable? Do we have to choose between some outdated model of marriage or a modern definition that seems to dismiss the bible as an…
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As Christians, how are we to position ourselves to an outside world? There is no shortage of culture wars to fight or causes to support, but what is our role? As Peter gives instruction to the Christians undergoing persecution, his advice might surprise many. His advice is not to look for a battle to fight,…
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By asking “who touched me?”, Jesus invites us in to admit who we truly are and to enter into a life-changing relationship with Him instead of a superficial one. He sees into our shame, isolation, and desperation and gives us new names – sons and daughters of the King. http://media.blubrry.com/provjeff/providencejeffcity.com/media/God_the_Questioner_Who_Touched_Me_.mp3Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS
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Why do we study theology? Why does Peter spend so much time laying out the details of our salvation? For Peter, salvation is not some abstract theological idea. It is the foundation for how we live our lives. Our salvation should lead to lives that are full of hope and living out the truth of…
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The Christian faith gets a reputation as being uptight, stodgy, and boring. In an effort to “fix” this problem, American Christianity has turned to Nashville record labels and marketing agencies to rebrand our faith. As a result, we have walked away from the deep wells God has provided for us to drink from. As Peter…
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Sometimes church words can be confusing. We use words and assume their meaning, but we don’t always mean the same thing when we use those words. Peter takes a concept that we talk about a lot- salvation- and defines it for us. Not only that, but he also teaches us why it is so important…
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In a world marked with suffering and brokenness, how are we to live? What’s the path forward for a Christian, when that path is fraught with pain and persecution? Peter answers those questions with resounding confidence in the Gospel. Each part of that Gospel serves to sustain and empower us, even when we are collapsing…
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We’ve spent the summer talking about the things we do when we gather as a church. We finish this series by asking the question, “To what end?” What’s the purpose of all of these things? Why are we gathered together in the first place? It is the glory of God and the worship of the…
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Ten years ago Providence Church gathered in the middle school auditorium and we asked this question, “Can These Bones Live?” Our answer then was the same as Ezekiel’s: “God, you know.” Ten years later we are celebrating Providence’s 10th birthday. We look back on the questions we asked on that Sunday ten years ago and…
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Do you have something in your life that you’re just not good at, but you know you should probably be better? You can’t explain why you’re so bad, you just know that it probably shouldn’t be that way? That feeling is almost universally shared by Christians when it comes to the topic of prayer. Why…
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Sometimes the church world can overcomplicate things. We create theories, argue about semantics, and obsess over the wrong things. I think that this is especially true when we talk about the idea of spiritual gifts. We approach the idea of spiritual gifts around a central idea- what “thing” do I have that God has given…
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Christians have long made bold statements about God. Perhaps the most audacious claim Christians make is not only that there IS a God, but that we can know him. Through the person of Jesus Christ, the testimony of Scripture, and revelation from the Holy Spirit we believe that we can know God. Not only that…
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Flour. Water. Juice. Ordinary objects found all over the world throughout all of history. How is it that these simple, ordinary objects come to share an extraordinary story? In God’s economy, this is how he works. It’s how he’s always worked. He takes the simple, ordinary things- like us- and uses them to put His…
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Friends gathered. A meal on the table. Laughter shared. Stories told. This is the setting for the best parts of our lives for thousands of years. Why is it that a meal can bring friends and even enemies together? What is it about a shared meal that can bind our hearts together? As Christians, we…
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It seems strange to make people do something when they want to be a part of the church. Why require something that is so foreign to our culture’s way of doing things? While baptism may be an “odd” practice to many outside observers. It’s a powerful reminder to those of us that have placed our…
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Why do we have church anyway? What are we doing gathering together on a Sunday morning for a church service in the first place? If we’re going to explore the “why” behind what we do, the answer to this question is fundamental to everything else that follows. Why “have church?” Or is that even the…
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Church is a funny thing. What we do when we gather is an odd thing to those unfamiliar or uninitiated. Even though our practices may be unfamiliar to an outside world, that doesn’t mean they aren’t right, necessary, and helpful. Unfortunately, many Christians, even those that have grown up in the church, don’t really understand…
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We all love a good story. We especially love the story of the underdog, the triumph of the human spirit, and the satisfaction of overcoming odds stacked against the hero. Nehemiah is set up to tell just that story. However, the story doesn’t end at the moment of triumph and celebration. It keeps going one…
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What happens when God’s people come together? What does it look like to worship, learn, pray, and repent together? There are many factors in determining what a gathering of the church looks like. Nehemiah gives us a look at one of significant moment in the life of Israel as they complete the wall and then…
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Our culture is built for distraction. The more effective you are at distraction, the more successful your business will be. Yet the pattern set forward by Nehemiah and Jesus is one of laser focus on the task at hand. How does Nehemiah fight against distraction? What does it look like for us to pick our…
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