Christ Covenant Church

Why study Satan? 1) The Bible identifies Satan as public enemy #1, the greatest adversary (Heb., Satan = Adversary) of all sentient beings – including God. To fight him we need to know him[1] (2Co 2:11 = Paul’s use of the plural personal pronoun [“we”] when claiming they were “not ignorant” of Satan’s “schemes” implies that he and his pastoral team -and possibly those in the Corinthian church, had...

Why study Satan? 1) The Bible identifies Satan as public enemy #1, the greatest adversary (Heb., Satan = Adversary) of all sentient beings – including God. To fight him we need to know him[1] (2Co 2:11 = Paul’s use of the plural personal pronoun [“we”] when claiming they were “not ignorant” of Satan’s “schemes” implies that he and his pastoral team -and possibly those in the Corinthian church, had...

Why study Satan? 1) The Bible identifies Satan as public enemy #1, the greatest adversary (Heb., Satan = Adversary) of all sentient beings – including God. To fight him we need to know him[1] (2Co 2:11 = Paul’s use of the plural personal pronoun [“we”] when claiming they were “not ignorant” of Satan’s “schemes” implies that he and his pastoral team -and possibly those in the Corinthian church, had...

  1. Why was evangelism was so much easier in the 1st century? 1.1. Textual support for my question (Act 11:19-21) = Those doing the evangelism are not the apostles but the untrained laity of the Jerusalem church (Act 7:51-8:1). Given then their evangelistic success, what advantage did the laity of the early church possess that we do not have today? Why was it so much easier? 1.2. Unlike today, ev...

“Come now, let us reason (think coherently) together says the Lord” – Isa 1:18 Coherent (def.): clear, consistent, logical and reasonable (equitable/just). Coherent things are intelligible, they make sense. Coherency is therefore a prerequisite to the identification of something as truth. The doctrine of the Trinity believed by most of Christendom since the first and second councils of Nicaea (325...

“Come now, let us reason (think coherently) together says the Lord” – Isa 1:18 Coherent (def.): clear, consistent, logical and reasonable (equitable/just). Coherent things are intelligible, they make sense. Coherency is therefore a prerequisite to the identification of something as truth. The doctrine of the Trinity believed by most of Christendom since the first and second councils of Nicaea (325...

“When disaster strikes, life becomes like molten metal…Old customs crumble, instability rules.” – Dr. Samuel Prince (“Catastrophe and Social Change”)   All signs point to Jesus’ return in 2030. And though this event will be a day of great joy and excitement for His faithful followers, getting to that day without going apostate will prove difficult – even impossible for many. Why? Because they will...

One of the biggest challenges to determining the proper chronology of those events relevant to Jesus’ return is deciding which portions of prophecy were fulfilled in the past (original audience relevant), have yet to be fulfilled (future audience relevant), and which portions will experience dual fulfillment (original and future audience relevant) (e.g., Isa 7:10-16 w/8:1-4 w/Isa 9:6-7; Isa 7:14)[...

Determining the window of possible dates: 1. Jesus was condemned to death by the Roman governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate. 1.1. (Mat 27:26; Mar 15:15; Luk 23:23-24; Joh 19:14-16) 1.2. “Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus.” – Tacitus (Annals) 1.3. Josephus (Antiquities, Wars) in...

1. Why should we be planning for Jesus’ return in 2033 or 2034? 1.1. According to Jewish tradition and the belief of the early church, the shelf-life of God’s first Creation – before the final return of Christ and the beginning of His second and eternal Creation, would be 6,000 years, a corollary to the six literal creation days of Genesis one.   “Six thousand years the world will exist and for on...

1. Like the ancient societies around them, divorce was already an axiomatic (or unquestioned) part of Jewish society when God adopted them as His people. Hence the reason there is no place in Scripture which establishes divorce but only case laws which regulate it. 1.1. (Deu 24:1-4 “When a man takes a wife…and he writes her a certificate of divorce” [1]) = Not establishing divorce but regulating w...

If we are to accurately discern Paul’s point (in Tit 3:10-11), we must first determine what’s going on in the letter as a whole. Why? Because context always determines meaning (e.g., reading comprehension [larger picture det’s individual parts]).   1. What’s going on? (What is the context or backstory of the letter?) 1.1. This is a pastoral epistle. It was written to Paul’s church-planting partner...

1. If you are going to follow Christ and make it to heaven, then you must be a person characterized by sexual purity not sexual sin. (Gal 5:19 w/21; Eph 5:5; 1Th 4:1-6; 2Pe 3:14 “spotless” [Grk., aspilos = Without stain versus 2Pe 2:13-14 “eyes full of adultery” consider w/Job 31:1) = IOW: their eyes/minds are not fixed on covenant faithfulness to their wives (or God) but instead their next illici...

Coherent (def.): clear, consistent, logical and reasonable (equitable/just). Coherent things are intelligible, they make sense. Christ Covenant Church seeks to a place that possesses coherent Christianity. The reason for this endeavor is the following:   1. Coherency is essential to the confirmation of something as truth especially as it relates to what you believe. 1.1. In Philosophy this is know...

Coherent (def.): to be clear and consistent, logical and reasonable. The accusations of our critics: [See PREVIOUS SERMON (Coherence Part 1) for accusations 1-3]   4. Your requirement of faithful obedience to be a Christian is too difficult. We are totally broken and unable to live faithfully obedient lives to God. It is for this reason the message of salvation is faith in Christ not faithfulness...

Coherence (def.,) to be intellectually clear and consistent, logical and reasonable. The accusations of our critics: 1. Your list of capital crimes and their punishments are completely arbitrary. The NT possesses no such list or penalties. The only law is love. Our biblically obedient and coherent response: 1.1. The NT (or more specifically, Jesus) affirms the OT Law’s (including its capital crime...

1. Relevance of this study 1.1. Unbelief wb at an all-time high at the return of Christ (Luk 18:8). 1.2. Without sustaining belief (or faith) in God, His Person and Words (1Ti 1:5 [“love” = For God and others – loyalty/equity]; Heb 10:37-39 [w/Heb 11:6]; 1Jo 5:4-5; 1Pe 1:5-7), it is impossible to sustain faithfulness to God and others (the other necessary instrument of salvation and to receiving d...

1. Relevance of this study   1.1. Unbelief wb at an all-time high at the return of Christ (Luk 18:8).   1.2. Belief (or faith – Mar 11:22-23) in God, His Person and Words is the first necessary instrument of salvation and to receiving God’s blessings (Gen 15:6; Isa 7:9; Mat 13:58 ; Luk 1:20, 45; Joh 3:15-18, 5:24, 10:26; Act 10:43, 16:31; Rom 1:16, 3:28; Heb 3:18-4:2; 11:6 [He is there and He is n...

1. The book, "Life for Dummies" is the Bible, which means the less you know and believe, the more you reveal yourself to be a dummy. (Is 8:20) 2. Life is a test, and God is the proctor of that test. He is the one judging/grading how you do. It is why you exist. This is our purpose: pass His test. Those who pass the test seek Him through the constant, consistent, and permanent practice of learning...

QUESTIONS 1. Can you give the Big Picture (from God's Word)? 2. Can you show that salvation is a marriage? 3. Can you show it is a marriage to Jesus? 4. Can you show who Jesus is and what He did? 5. Can you show that baptism necessary as the place where we pledge our allegiance to Jesus? 6. Can you show that God's vow to us is dependent on us being faithful? 7. Can you show that obedience is neces...

1. God is real. This life is the test. 2. Extreme ownership. 3. Self suspicion before evil suspicion. 4. See something, say something. 5. No victim mentality. 6. Use the courts. 7. Those who fail to fulfill the second greatest commandment are fit only for the pit. CLOSING THOUGHTS 1. The first generation ministry is to raise up the second generation. 2. Hold them accountable so that their generati...

An important ministry in the church is the ministry of mercy. This study will discuss various aspects related to this subject.   1. Historically the church has recognized the existence of only two forms of ministry: the ministry of mediation and the ministry of mercy. The ministry of mediation includes all those gifts and tasks related to teaching (e.g., preaching, discipleship, counseling, music/...

1. Culpability: without exception, every person able to reason, who knows that what they are doing is wrong (Jam 4:17) is not only fully culpable for their actions but also fully capable of turning from them (repentance) (Act 17:30; Deu 30:9-14). With respect to one’s ability to reason consider: 1) God makes such a distinction in multiple OT texts (Jon 4:11 “know the difference between their right...