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Our Top 14 Posts of 2014

Our Top 14 Posts of 2014

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1) Re-Writing Noah: 7 Things You Might Not Know about the Biblical Flood Story (Lawson Stone)

“I tend to see movies on biblical stories as visual midrash, imaginative re-tellings with those maddening gaps and omissions of the biblical story filled in. That makes me not just prone to forgive, but actually curious and excited to see what imaginative worlds the biblical story created in the minds of the movie makers.”

2) Acts 15 Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means (Bill T. Arnold)

“Did James and the other apostles decide that portions of the Mosaic law no longer applied to them? Did they put certain Mosaic laws into a bucket that suggested those laws were no longer relevant? In what ways is our current debate similar to and different from the Jerusalem Council?”

3) Embracing Nakedness: Adopting God’s View of Bare Anatomy (David L. Hatton)

“Religiously placing an obscene or indecent sexual connotation on the sight of gender-distinguishing body parts creates a sexually objectified body. Such legalism, if socially embraced, becomes the conceptual foundation for a pornographic culture, as ours is now.”

4) 5 Things a Pastor Should Never Delegate (Matt Judkins)

Pastoral ministry can be overwhelming, especially with the limited resource of time. That’s why it’s so tempting to begin delegating things that are difficult but essential for the pastor to do. Matt Judkins lists off 5 things that pastors should never delegate, no matter how tempting it may be.

5) 5 Reasons We Need Camp Meetings Now More Than Ever (Jonathan Andersen)

Are camp meetings an irrelevant, American practice from centuries past? Jonathan Andersen offers 5 reasons why they are needed now more than ever. They include rest, community cultivation, reorientation toward God, the passing on of tradition, and profound Christian formation.

6) The Journey Back: What to Do When You No Longer Like the One You Love (Kelly Grace)

“Relationships are sometimes credited as good or strong because there is the absence of hardship. However, there is a difference between living in a way that is tidy versus in a way that is steadfast. Sacrifice forges love and challenges every cheap imitation of love within us to measure up.”

7) Is the Rapture in the Bible? (Michael Halcomb)

In light of this weekend’s Left Behind movie release, Dr. Michael Halcomb addresses the question, “Is the rapture in the Bible?” by taking a look at three different core verses used to support the rapture. As Dr. Halcomb shows us, Matthew 24:37-41, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, and Revelation 4:1-2 mean something different than Left Behind enthusiasts like to believe.

8) What is Arminianism? Get Your Free FAQ Ebook by Roger Olson (Roger E. Olson)

We are pleased to team up with Roger E. Olson to offer you this free ebook: Arminianism FAQ: Everything You Always Wanted to Know. Roger is a leading voice on the issues surrounding the biblical understanding of salvation and has spent the last few years of his life bringing clarity to this discussion.

9) 6 Points on Leading Funeral Services: An Open Letter To Pastors (Talbot Davis)

“I hear the same story with alarming frequency: a funeral that could have brought comfort and hope instead led to guilt and frustration.” In this post, Bishop Davis shares some helpful tips on preaching a sensitive, comforting, and hope-filled funeral sermon.

10) Pope Francis and Theological Clarity (Timothy Tennent)

“Pope Francis created quite a stir recently when he made the following statement: ‘The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone!'” In this post, Dr. Timothy Tennent explains key differences in the various doctrines of atonement and redemption.

11) The Story of Noah (John Walton)

How should we understand the story of Noah in Genesis 6-9? What are some of the issues involved? Dr. John Walton of Wheaton College explains.

12) The Bible on Hell: You’re Not Going to Hell—There’s a Different Punishment for Sin (Part I) (Timothy Christian)

In this post, Timothy Christian shares a biblical perspective on sin and hell by taking a close look at both the Old and New Testaments’ assertion that the penalty for sin is death, not hell.

13) 6 Steps to Reading the Bible like John Wesley (Andrew Dragos)

In this post, Andrew Dragos shares 6 steps by which we may read the Bible the way Wesley did and thereby “glean a healthy and balanced process of encountering God in Scripture.”

14) Why I Stopped Doing Devotionals (Jessica LaGrone)

Sometimes doing devotionals can get in the way of really hearing from God if it makes us dependent on others’ thoughts to get into Scripture. In this article, Jessica LaGrone narrates the story of how when and how she stopped doing devotionals in order to get back into the Word herself.

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