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"For we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not of ourselves."

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Earthen Vessel Journal

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Articles and Features
charlene at the soundboard
Wrestling With God: Part 3 in Charlene's Story
- Charlene Hios

There was emptiness in my life. Whether I was in a platonic relationship with a man or making love to a woman, there was always something deep down inside of me that was missing. 
--In 1995, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior and began my relationship with Him.
--Layer by layer the power of the Holy Spirit was peeling away and reshaping my life, yet when it came to my homosexual identity, the sin was buried several layers deep. The peeling away hurt, and...

Peter holding Jesus' hand
Hold Fast to Sound Doctrine - Kathleen Morgan

Bill 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...

intexticated
What every parent should know about the Internet:
Communicating with Internet Technology - David Clark

"When police checked her phone they discovered that she had sent a text within seconds of the accident..." We consider the whole issue of communication, from email to text, Twitter and Skype.  This is an area that is fraught with real and deeply troubling dangers but, when used wisely, can bring about immense benefits to individuals and organizations.

Michelle Shelfer with guitar
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...

St. Luke
Meet Luke: Physician, Traveller, Christian Historian - Timothy Cross

The 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.

Haight Ashbury 1967
Jesus People, Part 3: Ripe for Change and Heart Revolution - David Hoyt

The 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...

Sounding the Shofar
Tapping Into What? Sounding a Warning - Kent Philpott

There 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. 

Michaelangelo's Pieta
Meet Mary: The Earthly Mother of Jesus - Timothy Cross

Sadly, 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...

Martin Luther
Legalistic Grace - Kent Philpott

Sounds 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.

Chagall Ruth
Ruth: A Guide for Life’s Troubled Times, Chapter 2: Leaving Moab - Brian Bailey

Our 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!
Why does it seem that the godless flourish and His people suffer difficulty?

Ruth and Naomi
Reflections on Ruth: Bedrock Truth - Brian Bailey

We 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.
This is the crisis of faith— to look honestly at the world’s condition and at the condition of our own lives and reconcile it to what we are told of the character of God.
Sometimes the suffering, the trouble we find ourselves in is a very real manifestation of the fact that...

Larry Rosenbaum
The Great Omission: Seven Excuses for not Preaching the Gospel
- Larry Rosenbaum

Today, there are millions of Christians throughout the world.  Modern technology has given us the means of reaching multitudes for Jesus.  Yet every year the percentage of the world's population that has heard the gospel decreases.
Today, with Satan's help, we have developed many sophisticated excuses not to preach the gospel.  In this teaching, I want to examine some of these excuses in the light of God's Word...

"No" book
A Response to Phillip the Atheist: "The Divine Son-ship of Christ"
- Timothy Cross

A reviewer stated that its main thesis is ‘that a man called Jesus lived 2,000 years ago, but that Christ, as the Son of God was the invention of the disciple (sic) Paul.’ It certainly cannot be denied that the Apostle Paul believed that Jesus was the Son of God. 

Affirming Christ’s divine son-ship is on a totally different planet from inventing Christ’s divine son-ship. Even a cursory reading of the Gospels reveals that Christ’s divine son-ship was evident from the beginning, predating the conversion of Saul of Tarsus by some years...

Bits of Books
Book: How Christians Cast Out Demons Today
How Christians Cast Out Demons Today: "Jesus' Disciples Cast Out Demons" - Kent Philpott

Over 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.

Book: Are You Really Born Again?
Are You Really Born Again?: "The Mystery of Conversion"
- Kent Philpott

Over the course of my ministry, I have met many people who were not born again despite their many prayers for salvation.

Conversion is a mystery. The central problem is that this mystery has so often been swept aside by the invention of purely human means to receive salvation. The result of ignoring the mystery is...

Are You Being Duped? book
Are You Being Duped?: "Do you think the grave is the end?" - Kent Philpott

How 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?

For Pastors of Small Churches, book
For Pastors of Small Churches: "Examine Yourself" - Kent Philpott

We 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.

How to Care for Your Pastor, book
How to Care for Your Pastor: "The Pastor is Growing" - Kent Philpott

I 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.
People of God, be warned and be sympathetic — your spiritual leader’s sense of self or ego may undergo change. Having a strong sense of personal worth and security is not easily achieved by anyone, and a pastor...

Out of Bounds
Tales from San Quentin: "First Day of Baseball Tryouts" - Kent Philpott

February 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...

devil with book
If the Devil Wrote a Bible: "Verse 2: 'Eat, drink, and be merry, because the grave is all there is.'” - Kent Philpott

Devil: 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.

John Calvin
Reforming: "Early Confusion" - Kent Philpott

I 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...

3rd sex book cover
The Third Sex? revisited: "Born Homosexual or Not?" - Kent Philpott

I 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...

Ophelia
Why I Decided Not to Kill Myself: "Carla's Story" - Kent Philpott

Quickly, 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
Islamic symbol
Islam Insights: A Collection of Essays over time - Kent Philpott

 

John Calvin
A "New Calvinism" - Kent Philpott

Apparently 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.

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Last Update: 2010-08-24 15:20