https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3 a wall for questions and comments en-us 2019-03-10 21:54:48 UTC 2025-10-24 14:25:49 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/339767586 Christian lady in China asked Andy, "Why doesn't everyone in America go to church?"]]> 2019-03-11 00:27:16 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/339767586 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/339767674 Why is the church SO resistible? Jesus wasn't!]]> 2019-03-11 00:28:06 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/339767674 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/339767789 While most people outside the church continue to have a favorable view of Jesus, they DON'T necessarily have a favorable view of His body, the church. That is a problem.]]> 2019-03-11 00:29:04 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/339767789 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/339767995 Andy states "Modern, mainstream Christianity is fatally flawed." Why did he make such a statement?]]> 2019-03-11 00:30:52 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/339767995 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/339768229 Jesus stepped into history to introduce something new.]]> 2019-03-11 00:32:40 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/339768229 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/339768367 People who were nothing like Jesus liked Jesus.]]> 2019-03-11 00:33:13 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/339768367 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/339768464 God did not intend for Israel to be like all the other nations.]]> 2019-03-11 00:34:04 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/339768464 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/340102227 What do I find resistible about the church?

]]> 2019-03-11 18:08:22 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/340102227 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/340123973 Does the Bible contain errors? CAN the Bible contain errors and be reliable to us as God's Word?]]> 2019-03-11 18:48:47 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/340123973 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/340128446 Why do we need a visible idol, a visible king? Why do we need to be like everyone else? ]]> 2019-03-11 18:58:40 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/340128446 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/340129361 "It's the mixing, blending, and integration of the old with the new that makes the modern church so resistible."  What?]]> 2019-03-11 19:00:52 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/340129361 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/340843965 Why didn't God need or want a temple built to Him?
Why did the Israelites think they needed to build Him one?
What was/were the outcome(s)?

]]> 2019-03-13 13:03:12 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/340843965 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/341818449 I wonder: what's it like to live generation after generation with prophecies and promises unfulfilled? As believers in the U. S., we live with the unfulfilled promise of the Lord's return, but our persecution and enslavement and exile are primarily spiritual and may seem not so pressing, unlike other believers worldwide who face personal harm.
Smaller temple, smaller diamond? I recall hearing during youth that my disobedience could result in a smaller, less-faceted life for the Lord. I may shake my head at the actions of the Israelites but live very similarly in doubt and disobedience rather than in faithful following.]]> 2019-03-15 15:51:10 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/341818449 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/341822278 Why, in the Jewish scenario following Jesus' death and resurrection, did the temple have to be destroyed? Was it just coincidence...or Providence? Couldn't "something greater than the temple" have emerged and the temple remained?]]> 2019-03-15 15:58:35 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/341822278 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/342477356 Andy says "the temple was nice to have". But it was not necessary. What did he mean by this statement]]> 2019-03-18 16:01:44 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/342477356 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/342487996 God did return to the temple but not in a way they had visioned. God's ways truly are not our ways. Try to place yourself in the shoes of Israelites at this time. How do you think you would have responded to Jesus in the temple?]]> 2019-03-18 16:20:20 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/342487996 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/342490186 Why would God establish a covenant (OT) that ultimately would not be needed? Why go through the trouble of allowing the OT twists and turns when "something better" would eventually straighten things out?]]> 2019-03-18 16:24:38 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/342490186 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/346655404 The uncluttered, unfettered Gospel is nearly irresistible. Thanks, Tertullian!]]> 2019-03-29 17:50:23 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/346655404 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/346713273 “Access to the text would have removed the primary currency of the official church: fear. Something Jesus refused to leverage. Something he repeatedly instructed his followers not to do.”]]> 2019-03-29 22:07:31 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/346713273 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/346713573 “Church” officials executed a man for translating and distributing the words of Jesus in a language adults and children could read and understand.]]> 2019-03-29 22:10:32 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/346713573 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/346714757 Why was “Do this in remembrance of me” so offensive?]]> 2019-03-29 22:22:49 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/346714757 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/346715185 “But while the new covenant signaled the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham, it signaled the finale of the covenant God established with ancient Israel at Mt. Sinai.”]]> 2019-03-29 22:27:54 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/346715185 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/346716389 “The church leaders leveraged old covenant texts to sanction violence in God’s name while promising the new covenant version of heaven for those who participated.”]]> 2019-03-29 22:39:28 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/346716389 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/346716481 Essentially salvation came by way of God’s grace, good works, and penance for the not-so-good works, along with the merits accumulated by the saints who preceded us.

What am I tempted add to grace?]]> 2019-03-29 22:40:39 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/346716481 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/346716847 “Why would a Christian kick their son or daughter out of the house for being pregnant or gay?“]]> 2019-03-29 22:44:35 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/346716847 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/346717170 “none of this is a big deal as long as we are content creating closed church cultures designed by and for church people.”]]> 2019-03-29 22:47:41 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/346717170 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/350176120 Early church officials knew that if commoners had access to the Scriptures, they would discover the church of their generation was nothing like the church described in the NT!]]> 2019-04-10 00:36:01 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/350176120 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/350583508 Tammy (forgot how to post)

]]> 2019-04-10 23:33:34 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/350583508 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/350711513 Bad church experiences are almost always related to old covenant remnants.
The old covenant was with ancient Israel. The old covenant was temporary.
While Jesus was foreshadowed in the old covenant, he did not come to extend it.
How many words can you make with the letters of "bilateral suzerainty?"
The Bible is all God's Word...to somebody. But it's not all God's word to everybody.
The Bible was organized around two covenants: one with ancient Israel and one with everyone who wants to participate.
No one has spotted Jesus of Nazareth in the Old Testament until they were first introduced to him by way of the New Testament.
As long as we blend the old with the new, we will miss the beauty and power of what Jesus gave his life to unleash in the world.]]> 2019-04-11 11:04:34 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/350711513 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/351104164 Jesus was born under God's covenant with Israel with the purpose of bringing that covenant to its sovereignly ordained end.
You don't say, "but," to the law of Moses, unless you're greater than Moses...greater than the temple...greater than the Law. Jesus was.
So what did Jesus mean when he said he came to fulfill the Law? To bring it to a designated end.
"The majority of people I've talked to who've abandoned their faith have lost faith in Jesus because they lost confidence in the Bible."
Through the shedding of his[Jesus'] blood, a new covenant, a better covenant, a broader covenant was being established between God and all who would choose to participate.]]> 2019-04-12 11:25:13 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/351104164 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/351610121 Whose name was conspicuously missing from the last mission Jesus gave his disciples? What clue should this have given them?

How were both Saul's and Peter's "conversions" vital and unique to the spread of the Good News of Jesus?

What happened when Peter went to the Centurion's home, and how did his guests respond? And how did the Jewish believers respond when he told them back at home?

What was the significance of prioritizing keeping the peace over keeping the law, and how did both Jewish and Gentile believers respond to the decision from James and the others?]]> 2019-04-15 11:16:48 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/351610121 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/351856963 Believers belong to Jesus, not to the old covenant....According to Paul, Jesus followers are dead to the Ten Commandments....To be clear: thou shalt not obey the Ten Commandments.
Under the new covenant, we don't visit the temple; we are the temple.
God's covenant with Israel was made obsolete the moment Jesus ratified the new covenant.
The old and new covenants are not compatible. They are not blendable. They are sequential.
"You can make her go, or you can let her go. But you can't do both." ]]> 2019-04-16 02:28:00 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/351856963 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/351919019 "For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another....By calling this covenant 'new,' he has made the first one obsolete, and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear."
God's arrangement with Israel was a necessary step between God's promise to Abraham and the fulfillment of that promise.
Gentiles reduced the Jewish Scriptures to proof-texts (looking for evidence of Jesus). In the course of a generation, Jewish history became Christian allegory.
It's important to remember that the initial persecution of the church wasn't initiated by Rome. It was initiated by the temple....Later, when the Roman Empire launched its own persecution of Christians, local Jews supported the empire and participated in the trials.
Anti-Semitism surfaced as early as the late first century. Combining the covenants paved the way for church support of slavery, anti-Semitism, inquisitions, forced conversions, and a host of other unJesus-like enterprises.
By the time of the Reformation....the ferocity of the conflict between Catholics and Protestants was every bit as violent as the warfare described in the Old Testament.
Christianity has a compelling, verifiable, historical story to tell. But the moment we anchor our story to an old covenant narrative and worldview, we lose our case in the marketplace....Pretty much everything that makes the church resistible is tethered to some version of blended-model theology.]]> 2019-04-16 10:29:19 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/351919019 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/351981915 While Jesus was foreshadowed in the old covenant, He did not come to extend it. He came to fulfill it, put a bow on it, and establish something new.]]> 2019-04-16 14:20:44 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/351981915 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/351982503 Are there any OT (old covenant) promises that are applicable today]]> 2019-04-16 14:22:20 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/351982503 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/351982832 Under the old covenant when you obeyed, you were blessed. When you disobeyed, you were punished. Under the new covenant, when you obey, you may suffer. If you disobey, the world may applaud you and you may even prosper.]]> 2019-04-16 14:23:04 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/351982832 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/351983681 "I'm not suggesting that the two testaments are not equally inspired. My point is they aren't equally applicable."]]> 2019-04-16 14:24:44 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/351983681 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/351984547 The Greek term translated fulfill is used in both Matthew and Luke. In both instances the term means to bring to a designated end.  Jesus did not come to abolish - as in destroy - the validity of, or undermine the credibility, of the law. Jesus came to bring it to a designated end.]]> 2019-04-16 14:26:35 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/351984547 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/351985553 Interesting comments at the end of the chapter concerning Jesus' famous last words "It is finished." ]]> 2019-04-16 14:28:53 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/351985553 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/352179153 We new covenant folks should embrace the decision of the Jerusalem council: it's not our covenant. It wasn't given to us and it's not binding on us.
The Old Testament is history. It describes God's activity in connection to one people group.
In it, what we learn about God comes through the filter of Jewish history and a specific covenant.
Jesus lived differently. In Old Covenant terms, his life would have been a loss, a failure.
There's no heaven in Jewish Scripture, only Sheol.
The Old Testament is good for inspiration, not application.
Interpret Paul's "All Scripture is useful..." by his behavior and teaching. He avoided using Old Covenant principles.
Regardless, we should affirm the goodness and divine origin of the Old Covenant. It is the back story for the greatest story. The old set of commandments has yielded to a new commandment and new ethical framework: far less complicated but far more demanding.]]> 2019-04-17 02:28:04 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/352179153 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/352457163 What does the phrase that James used, "... we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God", mean?]]> 2019-04-18 00:54:33 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/352457163 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/352458378 Paul's energy in trying to eradicate The Way was funneled, after his conversion, into convincing his fellow Jews that God had inaugurated something new and to lead Gentiles into a relationship with Jesus. How dynamic could the church be if we funneled our energy for sports, politics or our hobbies into showing the love of Christ to those around us?]]> 2019-04-18 01:02:49 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/352458378 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/353224195 Does Andy's comment "Thou shalt not obey the Ten Commandments" cause you to be uncomfortable? What is the implication of this statement?]]> 2019-04-23 02:13:51 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/353224195 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/353224449 Obsolete does not mean bad. It means something better has come along.]]> 2019-04-23 02:15:17 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/353224449 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/354953280 How low can I go?
Go high or go home?
Or???

First be reconciled to brother or sister, then bring your gift to God. Say again?
Horizontal morality
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself.
The second "is like it."
"These two commands complete and bring into fulfillment all of Scripture."
Can't choose, must do both.
Who is my neighbor? (Bob Goff, "Everybody Always")
And then a Democrat, er, Republican, er, Samaritan...
"Good Samaritan" was an oxymoron.
"If loving one's neighbor was the ultimate expression of one's love and  devotion to God, the temple and everything associated with it suddenly became less important."
"the new governing ethic for his new movement"]]> 2019-04-29 11:20:18 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/354953280 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356142059 Jesus' new covenant would include instructions for his followers, not on tablets but engraved in their hearts, minds, and consciences.
The new commandment was not additional, but the replacement.
Jesus' love for the men in the room, rather than his authority over them, is what he leveraged to instruct and inspire them.]]> 2019-05-02 11:21:54 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356142059 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356442039 The apostle Paul had more influence on the development of Christian thought and theology than anyone who has ever lived, including Jesus Christ.
Why do we forgive? Because God in Christ forgave us.
According to Paul, Christian behavior is to be patterned after Christ's sacrificial love for mankind.
Faith working through love means everything.
Paul never leverages the old covenant as the basis for Christian behavior.

]]> 2019-05-03 00:43:21 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356442039 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356550131 The marriage relationship is a "submission competition, a race to the back of the line."
We are to love each other, just as Christ loved us. 
One-anothering is the Christian pattern of life.]]> 2019-05-03 11:33:31 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356550131 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356826230 God is love.
Whoever says he loves God but hates his brother is still in darkness.
Love for God is shown by obeying Jesus' command, following his example.
Believers maintain fellowship with God by loving those God loves.
God's love does not require us to do something for God. He's fine. God's love obligates us to do something for those around us.
Is there anything that gives us (or God?) more pleasure than seeing our children love each other?

]]> 2019-05-04 13:33:01 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356826230 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356871655 Jesus instructed his followers to do unto one another as he had done unto them. He raised the bar. ]]> 2019-05-04 22:33:17 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356871655 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356871823 The basis for Christian behavior is the sacrificial love of Jesus.
When Paul writes, "But whatever are gains to me," he's referring to old covenant accomplishments and pursuits. Nothing he did that aligned with the old covenant were now considered loss ... for the sake of Christ!]]> 2019-05-04 22:35:21 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356871823 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356872042 Put others first just as Christ put you first.
Submit to one another
Forgive one another
Encourage one another
Restore one another
Accept one another
Care for one another
Bear with one another
Carry one another's burdens]]> 2019-05-04 22:38:32 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356872042 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356872175 Scholars believed John penned or dictated 1 John after the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. The horror and loss of life associated with that event alone would cause even the most devout to doubt the love or even the existence of God. By this time in history, Peter and Paul had been executed in Nero's Rome along with hundreds of devout Jesus followers. If God was love, there was certainly no evidence of it in John's world. Yet he insisted it was so. How could he propose such an idea?
He did not confuse the cruelty of life with the love that is God. But God is love. Life is harsh. Cruel. Unjust. But God ... God is love!]]> 2019-05-04 22:40:39 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356872175 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356872530 To refuse to love a brother or sister is to forgo the opportunity to love God.]]> 2019-05-04 22:46:38 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356872530 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356872552 Instead of "Is __________ a sin?", we should ask What does love require of me?
There are many things that the New Covenant doesn't specifically or directly address. In all those areas, we should ask the question above.]]> 2019-05-04 22:47:05 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356872552 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356872677 New covenant obedience is always connected to a who.  Old Covenant obedience was connected with a why?]]> 2019-05-04 22:49:10 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356872677 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356872745 As Christians we have been called to set the bar high.  Real high!
The behavioral standard for new covenanters is straightforward: If it's not good for them, it's sin.]]> 2019-05-04 22:50:34 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356872745 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356872895 For Paul, as an educated Jew, to suggest Gentile believers were now on equal footing with the Jewish temples was outlandish to first century Jews.]]> 2019-05-04 22:52:50 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356872895 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356872953 C.S. Lewis wrote, "There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal ... it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit ... Next to the blessed sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses."]]> 2019-05-04 22:53:57 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356872953 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356873114 What is the proper response to sin?]]> 2019-05-04 22:57:01 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356873114 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356877315 Under the old covenant, people obeyed in order to gain and maintain God's covenant promises. Under the new covenant, people obey to show honor to those God honors and, in doing so, honor God.
Maybe we would stop cross-examining our Bibles looking for loopholes, but rather search the Scriptures looking for ways to love better.

]]> 2019-05-05 00:20:37 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356877315 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356878363 We would have been horrified by the moment God was most glorified.

]]> 2019-05-05 00:43:38 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/356878363 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359152991 Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, made a comment, "The vast majority of people who've been baptized by our people (Southern Baptists) are our own offspring. We've never been very evangelistic in terms of people who weren't those to whom we gave birth."
What an indictment!]]> 2019-05-11 23:40:46 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359152991 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359153146 Pew Research noted that 23% of Americans claim "None" as their religious affiliation (that is just under 56 million people). With millennials, the number of "Nones" rises to 44%. 72% of "Nones" stated that their view of Scripture was that it was not the Word of God. 27% of millennial non-Christians believe the "Bible is a dangerous book of religious dogma used for centuries to oppress people."]]> 2019-05-11 23:43:16 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359153146 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359153252 Do you agree with Andy's assessment that we must rethink our approach to reach the "nones" and unchurched?]]> 2019-05-11 23:45:13 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359153252 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359153483 Appealing to post-Christian people on the basis of the authority of Scripture has essentially the same effect as a Muslim imam appealing to you on the basis of the authority of the Quran.]]> 2019-05-11 23:49:00 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359153483 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359153563 What did they believe that they don't believe anymore that left them believing they are no longer believers?]]> 2019-05-11 23:50:11 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359153563 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359153636 The apostles appropriately leveraged the Old Testament to make their case to their Jewish brothers and sisters. But they typically did not leverage the Jewish Scriptures to make their case to the Gentile world.]]> 2019-05-11 23:51:37 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359153636 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359153778 We are to be prepared to explain our reason for choosing to follow Jesus. Nowhere are we instructed to be prepared to defend a text or convince people to accept an authoritative book before considering the message of Jesus.]]> 2019-05-11 23:53:48 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359153778 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359153915 Our faith doesn't teeter on the brink of extinction based on the archaeology or the history of the Old Testament.]]> 2019-05-11 23:56:21 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359153915 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359153971 The first converts to Christianity did not believe Jesus rose from the dead because they read about it. There was nothing to read. They believed He rose from the dead because eyewitnesses told them about it.]]> 2019-05-11 23:57:18 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359153971 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359154069 We don't believe because the Bible says. We believe because Jesus rose!]]> 2019-05-11 23:58:58 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359154069 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359154168 The way most of us talk about the Bible leaves folks with the impression that if it's not all verifiably true then none of it can or should be trusted.]]> 2019-05-12 00:00:27 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359154168 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359154259 Paul modified his approach based upon his audience. How can we modify our approach of extending the gospel to those around us?]]> 2019-05-12 00:01:55 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359154259 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359154339 The approach to preaching, teaching, writing, and evangelism most of us saw modeled and, consequently, unwittingly inherited, is perfectly designed for a culture that no longer exists. "The Bible says" doesn't carry the weight it once did.]]> 2019-05-12 00:03:20 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359154339 https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359154442 What is the faith of the next generation worth?]]> 2019-05-12 00:04:50 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359154442 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359263003 A post-Christian society is not merely a society in which agnosticism or atheism is the prevailing fundamental belief. It is a society rooted in the history, culture, and practices of Christianity but in which the religious beliefs of Christianity have been either rejected or worse, forgotten.]]> 2019-05-12 21:44:05 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359263003 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359267499 Our faith is based on an event, the Resurrection, and not on error-free writings.
Scientific findings are no threat to my faith.]]> 2019-05-12 22:21:24 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359267499 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359295007 Christianity was birthed because of an event, not a document.]]> 2019-05-13 01:26:52 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359295007 jimekrut https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359299191 With Post-Christians, it's time to stop appealing to the authority of a sacred text in making a case for Jesus.]]> 2019-05-13 01:55:49 UTC https://padlet.com/jimekrut/mpmspdsi2qq3/wish/359299191