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Earthen Vessel Journal
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| Articles and Features | |
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Wrestling With God: Part 3 in Charlene's Story
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Hold Fast to Sound Doctrine - Kathleen MorganBill Johnson and those who follow the Global Revival are methodically conditioning new believers as well as long time Christians with their new message. They are creating an organization, not a Christian Church. They preach a new message along with a new process by which the church can acquire the “power of God,” receive an impartation, and obtain the skill to practice the power of prophecy and healings and to help "heaven invade the earth." Videos on both sides... |
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What every parent should know about the Internet:
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It Was You Who Walked the Pages of the Book!--original song by Michelle Shelfer Thus sounds the joyful cry of one who has come to recognize the footsteps of Jesus walking through the pages of the Hebrew Scriptures. My Savior and Friend has made himself so familiar to my eyes and ears that as I seek him throughout the Word of God I am delighted and gratified to find him everywhere... |
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Meet Luke: Physician, Traveller, Christian Historian - Timothy CrossThe consensus suggests that Luke was the only non-Jewish Gospel writer - though some consider that he may have been a ‘proselyte’, that is, a Gentile convert to Judaism. Luke then stood by the Apostle Paul through thick and thin, even when others had deserted him. |
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Jesus People, Part 3: Ripe for Change and Heart Revolution - David HoytThe atmosphere on the streets was charged with energy. Music and the smell of incense and pot wafted onto the streets from shops and apartments. LSD was in plentiful supply. Many who were present shared the same thought... |
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Tapping Into What? Sounding a Warning - Kent PhilpottThere is a powerful realm beyond the material; it is the supernatural. But not all supernatural spiritual power is godly.Those who are acquainted with various spiritualities know there is such power, and acquiring it is the moving force behind ancient and modern occult practices. The purpose of this essay is to sound a call for critical thinking. Unhappily, an obsessive hunger for supernatural power will not be of benefit in the long run. It may instead prove to be overwhelming, compulsive, disappointing, besides being spiritually and emotionally dangerous. |
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Meet Mary: The Earthly Mother of Jesus - Timothy CrossSadly, Mary the mother of the Jesus is something of a controversial figure. The ‘cult of Mary’ which has grown up around her has no Scriptural warrant at all. While we know that the Lord Jesus ‘was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary,’ we must seek a Scriptural balance, and neither overplay nor underplay the significance of Mary in the saga of redemption. What then does the Bible teach about Mary? The answer is... |
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Legalistic Grace - Kent PhilpottSounds like a contradiction in terms doesn’t it-- legalistic grace--but I have been coming across the sentiment in a number of different ways. However expressed, whether in print, sermon, television, radio, or conversation, it sounds very much like, “I am more of a Calvinist than you are.” It is a pressure to accept a whole array of doctrines and positions beyond TULIP. Many insist that to be a true Calvinist means adhering to much more that the famous five points. |
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Ruth: A Guide for Life’s Troubled Times, Chapter 2: Leaving Moab - Brian BaileyOur modern western culture has no idea of the calamity the death of the father and the male heirs brought to a family in this ancient society. Also, there were the practical implications of being a widow and having no grown children. There was no socioeconomic safety net for a widow. There were no food stamps, no housing vouchers, no aid for dependent children, no insurance, nothing! |
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Reflections on Ruth: Bedrock Truth - Brian BaileyWe want the world to be just but it is not. God reserves the right to define what is good and what is just in our lives. |
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The Great Omission: Seven Excuses for not Preaching the Gospel
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A Response to Phillip the Atheist: "The Divine Son-ship of Christ"
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| Bits of Books | |
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How Christians Cast Out Demons Today: "Jesus' Disciples Cast Out Demons" - Kent PhilpottOver the course of my ministry, I have seen events that parallel to some lesser degree that which Luke relates. Demons who are powerful and will not be controlled, demons who know who Jesus is but will mock those who are pretenders, and occultists who seem to be spiritually powerful but ultimately are not—I have seen these situations numerous times. |
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Are You Really Born Again?: "The Mystery of Conversion"
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Are You Being Duped?: "Do you think the grave is the end?" - Kent PhilpottHow sure are you, if you believe that the grave is the end, that you are right? Oh, you may believe it with all your heart and soul! But how do you know you are right? Do you have anything to prove your position? Are you willing to risk absolutely everything? |
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For Pastors of Small Churches: "Examine Yourself" - Kent PhilpottWe must be sure of our own conversion. To be engaged in pastoral ministry and yet be unconverted--this is a great tragedy. Many think they are converted on the basis of church membership, baptism, good deeds, holding to orthodox creeds and doctrine, and so on. In fact, some mistakenly believe they are truly converted because they are ministers. |
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How to Care for Your Pastor: "The Pastor is Growing" - Kent PhilpottI have known pastors who have changed in some point of theology and have had to resign as a result. Their congregations were not mature enough to work through a very natural and necessary experience or did not have the personal and spiritual security to allow the pastors to work out their salvation with fear and trembling. |
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Tales from San Quentin: "First Day of Baseball Tryouts" - Kent PhilpottFebruary 27 turned out to be a cold and rainy day, but we went on with the tryouts anyway. About forty men came out. There were a few guys I cut on that first day—anyone would be able to see that baseball was not their game. There were five of these, older convicts, who wanted to be part of this most elite group in the prison, a team that had received national attention more than a few times. Making cuts is the most unpleasant part of... |
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If the Devil Wrote a Bible: "Verse 2: 'Eat, drink, and be merry, because the grave is all there is.'” - Kent PhilpottDevil: If the grave was not the end, then all the eating, drinking, and being merry would not be sexy. But because it is, let go and do it, don’t hold back, there is nothing to lose. Christian: The grave is not the end. The devil tells a monstrous lie. The cross and the resurrection point to the great truth that those whom He has called will enjoy Him forever. |
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Reforming: "Early Confusion" - Kent PhilpottI slowly began to understand. Grace was not grace if salvation depended upon human action. Were we really dead in our trespasses and sins or not? If there was no free will to enable one to make a decision--what was to be done? It was at this point that I began to talk to other evangelical pastors and ask their opinion. Each one I consulted admitted that it was obvious that repeating the sinner's prayer was no sure fire means of conversion, and these were all pastors holding to an Arminian theology. Anyone who had been a pastor for very long saw it plainly... |
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The Third Sex? revisited: "Born Homosexual or Not?" - Kent PhilpottI came to the conclusion that being born gay was little more than a cultural myth in the homosexual community. “I was born gay, homosexuality is natural for me” was an identity marker that went with the territory... What counts for me is what God has revealed. Of course, if one does not have a high view of the Scripture, then what I am presenting will be next to meaningless... |
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Why I Decided Not to Kill Myself: "Carla's Story" - Kent PhilpottQuickly, too quickly, I jumped into a rebound relationship, and when that one came to its inevitable end, I crashed. I felt the full force of being alone in the world and was not prepared for it. I was depressed, and I began to think about suicide. I remembered something from the recovery workshop—90% of the people who go through divorce seriously consider ending it all... |
| Of Other Interest | |
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Islam Insights: A Collection of Essays over time - Kent Philpott
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A "New Calvinism" - Kent PhilpottApparently there is renewed interest and attraction to Calvinistic or Reformed theology. In this article I want to comment on how one person came to embrace the doctrines of grace—this is my own story. |
