I have seen the human heart with my own eyes. I have touched the human heart with my hands. I have monitored the hearts electrical system. I have visualized the heart’s pumping chambers and measured their function. I have visualized the hearts own vascular system called the coronary arteries which feed oxygenated blood to the heart muscle. I have taken part in procedures to replace heart valves, implant defibrillators, implant pacemakers, open blocked coronary arteries or bypass them.

I have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and have been employed as a Registered Nurse for 21 years. I have spent all of that time in areas of nursing that specialize in caring for people with heart disease. I have received advance nursing certifications from The American Association of Critical Care Nurses as a Critical Care Registered Nurse and in Cardiovascular Surgery. I am certified by The American Heart Association in both Basic Life Support and Advance Cardiac Life Support. I say these things that yo…

Introduction
I watched a lecture by William Lane Craig of Reasonable Faith on methods for sharing the gospel on college campuses. On April 8th, 2016, Dr. William Lane Craig was invited to speak at the Meyer Lectures at St. Mary’s on the Lake Catholic seminary in Mundelein, north of Chicago. The tile of the video is “Methods for Sharing the Gospel on College Campuses: 2016 Meyer Lecture Series.”

Synopsis
After an introduction by Cardinal Meyer, Dr. Craig began his lecture by saying that Christian Philosophy shapes the culture so that ears remain open to hear the gospel. The two positive components of Christian Philosophy are natural theology and evidences. Dr. Craig said that natural theology seeks to prove the existence of God apart from Divine revelation and Christian evidences seek to provide warrant for believing that God revealed himself in the person of Jesus Christ.

Dr. Craig says that what is needed in secular culture today is what C. S. Lewis called Mere Christianity. He explai…

Hermeneutics:
Lesson 2
Reading Carefully Part 1

Introduction

Today we will discuss reading sentences carefully. Next week will expand outwardly to paragraphs and discourses. I like how Duvall and Hays began this chapter by using figurative imagery. It interests me because using figurative imagery is often used by the biblical writers to get their point across to the reader. Figurative imagery employees our emotions. As a side note to this lesson on reading sentences carefully, two common types of Figurative imagery used in Scripture are: similes and metaphors.

Many people have trouble distinguishing between simile and metaphor. A glance at their Latin and Greek roots offers a simple way of telling these two closely-related figures of speech apart. Simile comes from the Latin word similis (meaning “similar, like”), which seems fitting, since the comparison indicated by a simile will typically contain the words as or like. Metaphor, on the other hand, comes from the Greek word metapherein…

Our church recently underwent several changes based on the vision of her elders. When change comes: 2.5% of persons are innovators, this would be our elders. 13.5% of persons are early adopters, in other words they immediately embrace what the innovators envision. The majority, 64% of persons fear the unknown; ½ will lose those fears early and the other ½ once the changes bring positive results. However, my recent studies showed me that about 18% of persons have a predisposed attitude against change and do not see a need for change.1 

My Church is Sylvania Church in Tyler, Texas. We are a Southern Baptist Church; therefore, previously when you came into one of our worship services from another Southern Baptist Church you knew what to expect with a few variations. However, on or about September 9, 2018, at the end of the service, our pastor announced that we would be changing the format of our worship service. There would no longer be announcements during the service, nor a break to sh…

Photo by Joseph Hooper Freely
IntroductionI watched a debate between Marcus Borg of the Jesus Seminar and William Lane Craig of ReasonableFaith on the validity of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The debate was sponsored by Denton Bible Church and held on the campus of the University of North Texas on October 22, 2001. The tile of the video is William Lane Craig vs Marcus Borg: Did Jesus Rise From the Dead?  SynopsisMarcus Borg sees the Gospels as a developed tradition. He explains that this is true because the Gospels were written between 70-90 AD, many years disconnected from the actual events. Thus, he states that the stories were added to the actual events overtime. He also says that the gospels have two voices: The historical voice of Jesus and the voice of the early Christian communities that produced the Gospels. He also sees the Gospels as history remembered and history metaphor rather than literal history. For Dr. Borg the only historical ground for Easter is in the visions of…

Photo by Ben White on Freely
What advantage does the apologist gain in calling Christianity a 'worldview,' as opposed to a 'faith' or 'religion'?
I use the New American Standard Bible, 1995, in my daily reading of the word and in study. The pericope at the beginning of the 3rdchapter of 1 Peter is a good one because in two words it encompasses the context of the entire chapter. The translators Pericope at the beginning of the 1 Peter chapter 3 says, Godly Living. Part of the context of godly living is to be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks us to give an account for the hope that is in us. Not only is it, godly living, to give a defense for our Christian hope but to do so with gentleness and reverence. (cf. 1 Pt 3:15) Is Peter saying that we should fear those whom we are giving a defense to? No, I think that he is saying that we should respect them and part of respecting them would be to not use words like religion when referring to their unbelief, w…

Journey into God’s Word:
Lesson 1
The Interpretive Journey
Introduction

Many of you have been reading the Scriptures much longer than I. I began reading the Bible in May of 2003. Through the work of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, God saved me from the penalty of sin, he is now saving me from the power of sin, and he will save me from the presence of sin.

I will be teaching a hand’s-on approach to reading, interpreting, and applying the bible in the small group that meets in my home. I will be teaching 15 lessons adapted from: Duvall, J. Scott and J. Daniel Hays. Journey into God’s Word. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008. I will post these lessons to my blog. Each blog can be found under the subject hermeneutics.

Recently I attended a class by our pastor Phillip Dancy on praying through the Scriptures. I thought that the class was great because it is my habit to read the scriptures daily and pray in relation to what I just read. What he taught coincides with my personal daily practice …

Today concludes the 12th class in my endeavor to obtain a Master of Theological Studies. I am now 4/5 of the way through the formal•structured•discipleship program that I launched into on March 14, 2016. I have looked forward to the remaining three classes since I began the program, not because they are the last three classes but because of their subject matter. The last three classes are:
Apologetics: Apologetics is based on the words of the apostle Peter in his first letter; “Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you.” (1 Pe 3:15) Evangelism & Discipleship: Evangelism & Discipleship is based on the Great Commission set forth in Matthew 28:16-20. The Lord Jesus Christ who had been given all authority in heaven and on earth commissioned his disciples to go and make disciples, baptize and teach them to observe all of his commandments. Missiology: Missiology is the study of…

Rainer, Thom S., Autopsy of a Deceased Church: 12 ways to Keep Yours Alive. Nashville, Tennessee: B&H Publishing Group, 2014. Biographical Sketch of the Author Thom S. Rainer is the president and CEO of Lifeway Christian Resources. Dr. Rainer graduated from the University of Alabama in 1977. He also earned a Master of Divinity and a Ph.D. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the father of three adult sons and grandfather to 10. After graduating from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, he served at that seminary for twelve years as the dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions and Evangelism. He then founded a consulting firm that provided insights to over 500 churches during the 20-year history of the Rainer Group. In addition to Autopsy of a Dead Church, Dr. Rainer has written more than a dozen books.1 Summary of the Contents The first two chapters set the tone of the book. Jesus told Peter that the gates of Hades will not overpower Christ’s church, local churche…