Happy Sunday! Let’s gather and worship the LORD. Excited to be with the people of Coastline Church in Seattle this morning.
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Pastor @joshhayshere said, "Dinners in the Hands of an Angry God? Pride and Predestination?"
One of my students just said, "I didn't have a hard time reading Jonathan Edwards because it was so much like Pride and Prejudice."
Incredible. (And not wrong.)
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One of my students just said, "I didn't have a hard time reading Jonathan Edwards because it was so much like Pride and Prejudice."
Incredible. (And not wrong.)
Incredible. (And not wrong.)
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“Maybe the Lord will meet with me.”
—Numbers 23:3
The ability to meet with God: A gift beyond measure.
—Numbers 23:3
The ability to meet with God: A gift beyond measure.
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Steve Bezner retweeted
National exit (sample: 79,668) -- Importance of issues to your vote:
GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION
Crucial/Major - 90%
Minor/No factor - 10%
COST OF LIVING
Crucial/Major - 89%
Minor/No factor - 11%
IRAN WAR
Crucial/Major - 74%
Minor/No factor - 26%
IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT
Crucial/Major - 73%
Minor/No factor - 27%
AI & DATA CENTERS
Crucial/Major - 56%
Minor/No factor - 44%
GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION
Crucial/Major - 90%
Minor/No factor - 10%
COST OF LIVING
Crucial/Major - 89%
Minor/No factor - 11%
IRAN WAR
Crucial/Major - 74%
Minor/No factor - 26%
IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT
Crucial/Major - 73%
Minor/No factor - 27%
AI & DATA CENTERS
Crucial/Major - 56%
Minor/No factor - 44%
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709
2,195
450,525
Trump won Texas by 14 points two years ago.
Last night was a referendum on how voters think he and the GOP have done the last two years.
Texas didn’t suddenly “turn blue.”
Texas (and many other states) showed up to repudiate the current state of affairs.
Last night was a referendum on how voters think he and the GOP have done the last two years.
Texas didn’t suddenly “turn blue.”
Texas (and many other states) showed up to repudiate the current state of affairs.
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3,009
I had multiple friends and family who had never voted for a Democrat tell me they would never vote for Paxton.
They planned to either stay home or vote for Talarico.
Looks those who went to the polls took their repudiation all the way down the ballot.
They planned to either stay home or vote for Talarico.
Looks those who went to the polls took their repudiation all the way down the ballot.
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Numbers 20.
God tells Moses to speak to the rock. Moses instead strikes the rock with his staff.
Instead of pointing to God’s power, Moses pointed to himself.
The great temptation in ministry: glory for self instead of the LORD.
God tells Moses to speak to the rock. Moses instead strikes the rock with his staff.
Instead of pointing to God’s power, Moses pointed to himself.
The great temptation in ministry: glory for self instead of the LORD.
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1,913
Steve Bezner retweeted
I do not expect politicians to act like pastors.
But I do expect pastors to act like pastors, and not like politicians.
But I do expect pastors to act like pastors, and not like politicians.
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The Eldest performed his first baptism and opened a retirement account. Adulthood is upon us.
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Steve Bezner retweeted
🎯 This is so very good; take two minutes to read:
Douglas John Hall begins his little book "The End of Christendom and the Future of Christianity" by dividing church history into three primary eras: the early church, Christendom beginning with Constantine, and the present. There have been two major shifts that account for this division. The first was the shift under the Roman emperors Constantine and Theodosius when the church was officially established. The church moved from a marginal position to a dominant institution in society; from being socially, politically, intellectually inferior to a position of power and superiority; from being economically weak and poor to a position of immense wealth; from being an oppressed minority to being an oppressive majority; from being an illegal religion to becoming the only religion of the state; from being resident aliens to a territorial understanding of the faith whereby the Roman Empire is considered Christian.
This official establishment characterized the position of the church throughout the remainder of the Roman Empire and then in Europe. This pattern continued in North America even though the church was only temporarily established in some places. A functional Christendom prevailed in which the church's power is experienced in terms of a cultural establishment.
The second major shift is the disestablishment of the church today that is taking place all across the Western world. The church has lost the official power it has known for so many years and is again being pushed to the margins of society. This disestablishment is considered to be a positive development because now the church can recover its identity as shaped by the Scriptural story rather than the cultural story.
During the early years of its life, the church understood her identity as resident aliens. There was a redemptive tension between the church and her culture. The church understood itself to be an alternative community that was nourished by an alternative story. This contrast community was not a community that ignored the public life of society by being reshaped into a private institution that provided an otherworldly and spiritual salvation for its members.
Rather, it was publicly subversive by a life of radical discipleship that existed as a kind of antibody in society. However, with the Constantinian shift, the story that governed the church's life and the story that governed cultural development were merged. The redemptive tension was lost as the church became part of the constellation of powers within the empire. Her identity was shaped by her place in culture rather than by the story of the kingdom of God. The end result was cultural captivity. This domestication continued in the modern period as the church took her place in culture as chaplain of society, influencing the moral and private religious beliefs of the citizens.
When one sees how the church has been absorbed into culture and deeply compromised by Christendom, it is easy to see the compelling power of the alternative community model. The renewed stress on alternative emphasizes that the church is a community that is shaped by a different story than the dominant cultural story. The word community stresses that the mission of the church is a communal affair; the church is to embody a social order that faithfully points to the coming kingdom. #church
~ Michael Goheen, from "The Missional Calling of Believers in the World: Lesslie Newbigin’s Contribution"
Douglas John Hall begins his little book "The End of Christendom and the Future of Christianity" by dividing church history into three primary eras: the early church, Christendom beginning with Constantine, and the present. There have been two major shifts that account for this division. The first was the shift under the Roman emperors Constantine and Theodosius when the church was officially established. The church moved from a marginal position to a dominant institution in society; from being socially, politically, intellectually inferior to a position of power and superiority; from being economically weak and poor to a position of immense wealth; from being an oppressed minority to being an oppressive majority; from being an illegal religion to becoming the only religion of the state; from being resident aliens to a territorial understanding of the faith whereby the Roman Empire is considered Christian.
This official establishment characterized the position of the church throughout the remainder of the Roman Empire and then in Europe. This pattern continued in North America even though the church was only temporarily established in some places. A functional Christendom prevailed in which the church's power is experienced in terms of a cultural establishment.
The second major shift is the disestablishment of the church today that is taking place all across the Western world. The church has lost the official power it has known for so many years and is again being pushed to the margins of society. This disestablishment is considered to be a positive development because now the church can recover its identity as shaped by the Scriptural story rather than the cultural story.
During the early years of its life, the church understood her identity as resident aliens. There was a redemptive tension between the church and her culture. The church understood itself to be an alternative community that was nourished by an alternative story. This contrast community was not a community that ignored the public life of society by being reshaped into a private institution that provided an otherworldly and spiritual salvation for its members.
Rather, it was publicly subversive by a life of radical discipleship that existed as a kind of antibody in society. However, with the Constantinian shift, the story that governed the church's life and the story that governed cultural development were merged. The redemptive tension was lost as the church became part of the constellation of powers within the empire. Her identity was shaped by her place in culture rather than by the story of the kingdom of God. The end result was cultural captivity. This domestication continued in the modern period as the church took her place in culture as chaplain of society, influencing the moral and private religious beliefs of the citizens.
When one sees how the church has been absorbed into culture and deeply compromised by Christendom, it is easy to see the compelling power of the alternative community model. The renewed stress on alternative emphasizes that the church is a community that is shaped by a different story than the dominant cultural story. The word community stresses that the mission of the church is a communal affair; the church is to embody a social order that faithfully points to the coming kingdom. #church
~ Michael Goheen, from "The Missional Calling of Believers in the World: Lesslie Newbigin’s Contribution"
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Steve Bezner retweeted
Thank you Brad for sharing. Please take time to read…
🎯 This is so very good; take two minutes to read:
Douglas John Hall begins his little book "The End of Christendom and the Future of Christianity" by dividing church history into three primary eras: the early church, Christendom beginning with Constantine, and the present. There have been two major shifts that account for this division. The first was the shift under the Roman emperors Constantine and Theodosius when the church was officially established. The church moved from a marginal position to a dominant institution in society; from being socially, politically, intellectually inferior to a position of power and superiority; from being economically weak and poor to a position of immense wealth; from being an oppressed minority to being an oppressive majority; from being an illegal religion to becoming the only religion of the state; from being resident aliens to a territorial understanding of the faith whereby the Roman Empire is considered Christian.
This official establishment characterized the position of the church throughout the remainder of the Roman Empire and then in Europe. This pattern continued in North America even though the church was only temporarily established in some places. A functional Christendom prevailed in which the church's power is experienced in terms of a cultural establishment.
The second major shift is the disestablishment of the church today that is taking place all across the Western world. The church has lost the official power it has known for so many years and is again being pushed to the margins of society. This disestablishment is considered to be a positive development because now the church can recover its identity as shaped by the Scriptural story rather than the cultural story.
During the early years of its life, the church understood her identity as resident aliens. There was a redemptive tension between the church and her culture. The church understood itself to be an alternative community that was nourished by an alternative story. This contrast community was not a community that ignored the public life of society by being reshaped into a private institution that provided an otherworldly and spiritual salvation for its members.
Rather, it was publicly subversive by a life of radical discipleship that existed as a kind of antibody in society. However, with the Constantinian shift, the story that governed the church's life and the story that governed cultural development were merged. The redemptive tension was lost as the church became part of the constellation of powers within the empire. Her identity was shaped by her place in culture rather than by the story of the kingdom of God. The end result was cultural captivity. This domestication continued in the modern period as the church took her place in culture as chaplain of society, influencing the moral and private religious beliefs of the citizens.
When one sees how the church has been absorbed into culture and deeply compromised by Christendom, it is easy to see the compelling power of the alternative community model. The renewed stress on alternative emphasizes that the church is a community that is shaped by a different story than the dominant cultural story. The word community stresses that the mission of the church is a communal affair; the church is to embody a social order that faithfully points to the coming kingdom. #church
~ Michael Goheen, from "The Missional Calling of Believers in the World: Lesslie Newbigin’s Contribution"
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Steve Bezner retweeted
Don’t base your criteria for a good church on internet influencers and the cause of the week.
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Happy All Saints Day.
Today we remember the cloud of witnesses who has gone before us, and we consider what we might contribute before we join that same cloud one day.
Today we remember the cloud of witnesses who has gone before us, and we consider what we might contribute before we join that same cloud one day.
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Celebrated Joy’s birthday tonight with a family dinner, Funfetti cake, and a trip to Homegoods. Just like she likes it. And she had to have one of those @BaylorMBB @BUDREW shirts.
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Why do I include the vulnerable?
Taxpayers always pay for the vulnerable one way or the other.
I prefer a proactive approach that addresses the issues up front rather than dealing with the consequences after (crime, lack of educated workers, higher costs of health care, etc.).
Taxpayers always pay for the vulnerable one way or the other.
I prefer a proactive approach that addresses the issues up front rather than dealing with the consequences after (crime, lack of educated workers, higher costs of health care, etc.).
Here’s a matrix I use when voting:
What has the character of the candidate been when they have had access to money and/or power?
Are they trustworthy? Can they be bought?
How has the candidate historically handled the vulnerable? Do they care about those without power?
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Here’s a matrix I use when voting:
What has the character of the candidate been when they have had access to money and/or power?
Are they trustworthy? Can they be bought?
How has the candidate historically handled the vulnerable? Do they care about those without power?
What has the character of the candidate been when they have had access to money and/or power?
Are they trustworthy? Can they be bought?
How has the candidate historically handled the vulnerable? Do they care about those without power?
On "VOTING FOR THE LESSER OF TWO EVILS"
If godly people refuse to vote for the LESSER of 2 evils, godless people will vote to ensure you, your children, and your grandchildren get the GREATER of 2 evils.
NEWSFLASH: You will be voting for a "lesser of two evils" until Jesus returns.
Wise Christians can differentiate between a FALLEN candidate and an EVIL candidate.
FALLEN CANDIDATE: Has personal sin in his / her life.
EVIL CANDIDATE: Leads entire communities, states, and nations to sin.
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Steve Bezner retweeted
I love great writing and hate how it's treated on the internet. So I built something to try to fix that.
If you wish there were a better place to share your writing, to discover new work, to talk culture and books, then I invite you to read—and to join me.
If you wish there were a better place to share your writing, to discover new work, to talk culture and books, then I invite you to read—and to join me.
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Steve Bezner retweeted
LIFE returns to print 11.23.26.
Read our Editors’ Letter and learn more about the new LIFE here: new.life.com
Read our Editors’ Letter and learn more about the new LIFE here: new.life.com
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