God and His Rivals, Part 3

Allow me to begin by simply stating that I merely touched upon the nature and person of God. I could have shown how Scripture explains His holiness, mercy, justice, and so much more; but there are other and better writers to have done so already. I merely wanted to catch a fragment of our God’s character so we can contrast the living God against the backdrop of His self-appointed rivals.

God and His Rivals, Part 2

Recall our first canvassing question: who is God, where did they come from, why have they created this physical universe and people it with us, and what do they want from us? Let us attempt to answer them from the Bible and see if they evidence a genuine being that is greater than man’s attempts to parody, or if the God of the Bible falls short of reality.

Prayer Request for a Troubled Couple

I have recently returned from fellowship today and learned that a sister in Christ who does not live in the immediate area is suffering, and her name and plight were brought before the body to offer prayers to God on her behalf.

Life on Purpose

“Life had to have begun elsewhere in the universe; just look around at its vastness and you must confess that it is ignorant to think there is only life on earth.” This is, in a nutshell, the popular argument for aliens and UFOs today. The proponent argues from the scope of the universe and daunts the listener with the vast reaches of outer space to make them confess that, at least, the possibility of extra terrestrials is plausible. Is it? On the surface this is a good, if not simple argument by inferring from the size of the universe and our own existence to posit that life occurred elsewhere.

God and His Rivals, Part 1

God has, in our culture, become an idea. Once there was a time in the west when God was considered a transcendent being that dwelt outside of the universe. He had created all and was the giver of life, but was not a part of the created order. God, the First Cause, eternally existed. There were only two options to choose from, and in fact still are to explain the issue of origins: an eternal God or an eternal material universe; one or the other had to have always been. Somehow, someway, science assures us, things began. There was a time when the clock began to tick; time and matter had a beginning so says the scientific community. Did the universe bring itself into existence, or was there a presence, an intelligent, willful being with an intention and desire back of all that we see? If so, who is this presence, and how can we even know if such a First Cause exists?