Tag: Questions

The backdrop to understanding this title is the Book of Isaiah. In Isaiah 44:6 God Almighty affirms: "I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God." Again, in Isaiah 48:12, God said: "I am he; I am the first and I am the last," and God said this right after His pronouncement that ...

In the Church, the day begins at sunset, so Easter Day really begins at sunset on what we call Saturday evening. The ancient Church held its main Easter service on Saturday evening, and some Orthodox churches have continued this tradition to the present day. The Easter Vigil service begins somberly ...

Many New Agers say that Jesus went to India as a child to learn from Hindu gurus. He allegedly later went to Israel and performed miracles learned from these gurus, and taught doctrines He derived from them. Such an idea is preposterous. To begin with, Jesus' teaching about God was not pantheistic (...

First Kings 11:1-3 indicates that King Solomon had hundreds of wives and hundreds of concubines, many from lands of which God had previously instructed the Israelites to avoid intermarrying. God knew that such intermarrying would lead to the worship of false gods. Why, then, did Solomon do this? His...

Occasionally I get email from people who want my advice about what church they should attend. I can’t presume to tell anyone how to make a decision like that, but I can tell you how I would go about doing it. If I were looking for a church, this would be my scorecard. I wouldn’t hold out until I fou...

Here are a few tips for making your sermons truly lousy, eminently forgettable, and completely ineffective. Quote too many scriptures or scholars Everyone already knows that you are an expert; that’s why they are listening attentively. There is no need for you to prove yourself. A whirlwind tour thr...

There has been a great deal of debate over the construction design of the Ark. Some critics say the ship would have torn itself apart on the high seas due to the torque generated by the currents, wind and waves. Others point out the ratio of length to width to height of the Ark is very comparable to...

In ancient times, Christians used to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem for Holy Week. One popular activity while they were there was to walk the route from Pilate’s house to Calvary, stopping for devotionals to commemorate various events that took place along the way. Of course most people didn’t do thi...

One of the most common characteristics of the so-called near- death experience is encountering a being of light. This being is said to emanate love and warmth. It has been claimed by numerous (not all) individuals who have had alleged near-death experiences that the being of light they encountered w...

Scripture is clear that one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is to illumine the minds of Christians so they can understand Scripture (1 Corinthians 2:13-14). This being the case, why do spirit-filled Christians sometimes have different understandings as to what certain Bible verses mean? In answ...

These instructions are for clergy only. If you are a lay person, talk to your pastor. Acquiring, Consecrating, and Storing the Oil Check with your judicatory to find out the proper procedure for obtaining oil, the type of oil that you must use, whether or not you are authorized to consecreate it, th...

In Mark 11:23-24 we read, "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have receiv...