You’ve probably heard someone say that God created you for a purpose— but how do you find that purpose?  How can you know what you are supposed to do? Needs Motivation vs. Purpose Motivation It begins by understanding the difference between NEEDS MOTIVATION and PURPOSE MOTIVATION. These two concepts represent two different ways of looking at the world and our situation in it.   Needs Motivation is all about man chasing after his needs.  His physical needs such as food and …

Years ago in launching my own search for God, I began to notice that Christianity stood out head and shoulders above all the other religious I studied. What was the difference?  Christianity was the only religion that talked about GOD FINDING MAN— God coming to man (God so loved the world that he gave his only Son).  All the other religions spoke in terms of MAN FINDING GOD (In eastern religions you have to go through multiple levels of reincarnation …

You’ve put your faith in Christ, but now you want to tell others about Him.  How do you go about sharing your faith? Let’s start by discussing the essence of faith.  What is it that people need to know? People need to know: That God exists. That they can’t find God. That religion is man trying to find God— it’s illogical. That God must find man. That God wants to find man and establish relationship but he can’t because sin …

Maybe you didn’t know it, but the church is changing.  A whole slew of Christian leaders and authors are telling us that the church needs to change in order to meet the needs of a lost world.  This church changing movement is called the Emergent Church or the Emerging Church.  It comes in a variety of different forms. Here is a list of some of them: The Word of Faith Movement Prosperity Gospel Movement Social Gospel Movement Seeker Friendly Movement …

Before we talk about spiritual gifts and the Emergent Church, let’s define what spiritual gifts are. In 1 Corinthians 12 it says: Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. Now there are varieties of GIFTS, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of MINISTRIES, and the same Lord. There are varieties of EFFECTS, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the MANIFESTATION of …

In my last article, Spiritual Gifts and the Emergent Church, I discussed four categories of spiritual “things”. They are: Gifts Ministries Effects Manifestations These can be found in 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 As we study spiritual “things” it is important to know the DIFFERENCE between gifts and manifestations. Gifts are “things” given to us by God, naturally.  We “own” them.  We exercise them at WILL.  They are listed in Romans 12:6-8. They are: Prophesying (or preaching) Serving Teaching Encouraging Giving Leading …

In the last few articles I’ve been discussing the gifts of the Spirit as they relate to the Emergent Church.  I’ve made a distinction between various types of spiritual “things” emphasizing the difference between “gifts” and “manifestations” of the Holy Spirit (see chart at the end of this article). The Emergent Church gets it wrong because they claim to “own” or operate at will in the manifestations of the Spirit.  As a result they abuse the Holy Spirit.  Manifestations are …

The Kingdom of God or Heaven is the gospel that Jesus Christ preached. From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” Matthew 4:17 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. Matthew 4:23 Why Did Jesus Come? The gospel of the Kingdom is WHY Jesus came. Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so …