Someone asked me recently: Does God punish children for the sins of their parents? In this post I’ll attempt to answer this question. This idea (that God punishes children for the sins of their parents) comes from the Mosaic Law (the law God gave to the Israelites through Moses): Admittedly, these verses, on their own, are a little confusing. So we need to turn to other Scriptures that speak to the question at hand to provide further clarity. For … [Read more...]
Homosexuality and Hate Speech
Years ago I briefly mentioned something Jesus said on the topic of homosexuality in my sermon to illustrate how some people twist the Scriptures and read meaning into them – to make them say what they want them to say. The next day I received the following email: “Your message has taught members of the church and the community to not accept and support the LGBTQ community. There is a lot of hatred going around in the world right now and it’s important that we do our best to love everyone … [Read more...]
Jesus and Homosexuality, Part 2
I once received the following email: “In the future when you want to talk about gay people in your sermons, just say what Jesus said about the subject, and that is nothing, nothing at all…Show me a quote by Jesus that is DIRECTLY condemning homosexuality, and the answer is, you can’t.. so don’t you do it either.” I can only assume that if I receive such feedback from time to time, you (the people of New Day Church) do as well. I’d like to share a biblical response that I would … [Read more...]
Jesus and Homosexuality, Part 1
Some time ago I received an email that stated the following: “Although in your eyes, it may not be right to be gay…in God’s and Jesus’s eyes, they are accepting and loving of it.” If you received such an email…or if a family member, friend or co-worker said something along these lines…how would you respond? I’d like to share what I believe is a biblical response and would encourage you, as God provides the opportunity, to share this response … [Read more...]
Staff Working Remotely
Philosophically, I am against full-time staff working from home for any significant portion of the week. Here’s why: We read in Mark's gospel "And he [Jesus] went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons." (Mark 3:13-15 ESV) From this passage we learn that Jesus had a chosen method for … [Read more...]
Can a New Day staff member attend a gay wedding?
This is a question I was asked recently and in this post I'll do my best to answer it. Throughout the post, anytime I mention the wedding, I mean to include the reception as part of it. Anytime you’re trying to make a God-honoring decision about anything, it begins with asking and answering this question: What does Scripture teach on this? God’s will is revealed through His Word, so the decision making process begins with trying to get a grasp of God’s will related to the topic at … [Read more...]