- You are here:
- Home »
- Church
Category Archives for Church
Metaphors of the Church: The Temple
When Jacob was fleeing from his brother and had a dream of a stairway to heaven and a promise from God, he named the place where this happened The House of God, that is, Bethel, because, he said, “Surely
Continue reading...Metaphors of the Church: The Body of Christ
We love stories of people taking over another person’s body, for humorous or dramatic ends (think Big, Freaky Friday, or Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Face/Off). We also are drawn to stories about
Continue reading...New Testament Concepts of the Christian Ekklesia – Should We Have Church Membership Rolls and Requirements
May I suggest that it is impossible not to have “church membership” in the abstract, if not in the concrete. My local congregation is going to be delimited by my own sense of who belongs to it, whether
Continue reading...Metaphors of the Church: The People of God
When Yahweh called Abraham and gave him a promise, there were already identifiable peoples, masses of humans who belonged together, nations we would say, and ethnic groups, and cultural groups. So God
Continue reading...New Testament Concepts of the Christian Ekklesia – Should They Still Apply Today? The Question of the Local Church
In my hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, there are over 2,000 churches. None of these churches is governed by one local Christian governing body, none of them submit themselves to the others in doctrine and
Continue reading...New Testament Concepts of the Christian Ekklesia – Should They Still Apply Today? The Eastern Orthodox Answer
Wikipedia notes: The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with
Continue reading...New Testament Concepts of the Christian Ekklesia – Should They Still Apply Today? The Roman Catholic Answer
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.378 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2021. It is among the world’s oldest and largest
Continue reading...New Testament Concepts of the Christian Ekklesia – Local, House, True Church, Professing Church
Jesus and the apostles could think of the church as the universal church (all believers, living and dead, past, present, or future, in heaven or on earth), the church worldwide (all living believers around
Continue reading...New Testament Concepts of the Christian Ekklesia – Universal, Worldwide, and Regional
Our English word “church” (and the German “kirche” and Scottish “kirk”) comes from the Greek word kuriake, meaning ‘belonging to the Lord’. It is only used twice in the New Testament,
Continue reading...The Ekklesia
It was a raucous, angry, confused meeting, with many people shouting, many people in stunned silence, and no order at all. It could have been a local church business meeting, but it wasn’t. It was
Continue reading...1 Thessalonians 1:1, The Church in God the Father
1:1 Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace. The church at Thessalonica was founded in an atmosphere of persecution. Acts
Continue reading...Why Don’t Many Evangelical Churches observe Lent?
Question: I was wondering how come our church does not celebrate Lent and Ash Wednesday? I know a lot of people associate this with the Catholic Church, but many other non-Catholics celebrate Lent. I have
Continue reading...Is the mode of baptism inconsequential?
Question: In the Cumberland Presbyterian doctrinal statement in the section titled “Justification by faith and the imparting of the divine nature to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord,” in #4 it says,
Continue reading...Are we wrong not to celebrate Passover and Succoth?
Question: Why do we as Christians celebrate Christmas and Easter when we do? Aren’t these pagan holidays and not the actual days they propose to celebrate? Birth (succoth), Resurrection (firstfruits)?
Continue reading...Are we disobeying God if we don’t use wine at communion?
Question: Are we doing as Jesus asks when we substitute grape juice for wine, when we have communion with something not fermented? If we are not doing what he wants us to do, why not? What can a half thimble
Continue reading...