PHall | May 25, 2011
Repentance without consequence is what we all want. Repentance without having to reap what we have sown sounds wonderful and looks forward to the future. Yet that is not God’s way. How many more would confess if they knew there would be no consequence? Is the reality of our sin heavier because of the consequences? […]
Category: Deuteronony |
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Tags: Article
PHall | May 25, 2011
We messed up. There’s no denying the facts. Plead our case, begging at least for another chance, the answer remains the same – no. Removal and replacement follows. How do we treat our replacement? This is not just a hypothetical question because most if not all of us have been or will be replaced. There […]
Category: Deuteronony |
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Tags: Article
PHall | May 23, 2011
After Israel refused to accept God’s gift of Canaan because they were afraid of giants, they wandered for 38 more years. Because of fear they were unwilling to fight for what was theirs. Did you ever notice where God made them wander? Where could have been called, “The Wilderness of What Might Have Been.” Their […]
Category: Deuteronony |
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Tags: Article, Fear
PHall | May 17, 2011
Do you want to hear something shocking? Every one of us was made by God to have sex. All of us are sexual beings, and that’s not a bad thing. In fact it is not only a good thing, it is a “very good” thing (Gen.1.31). Now you might not consider that shocking, but Christian […]
Category: Genesis |
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Tags: Article, Marriage, Sex
PHall | April 22, 2011
How do we decide right and wrong? There are precepts and principles, but sometimes a picture is worth a thousand laws. I would like to suggest to you an image, a picture, but one set in time and reality, that can be used to help us see the meaning of ethics and morality – the […]
Category: Matthew, John, Romans, I Corinthians, Philosophy, Theology |
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Tags: Article, Ethics
PHall | April 9, 2011
The book of Psalms is to be experienced, even felt, as our emotions overtake our minds, before we take it apart to study. Even taking it apart is a different experience than found in most books, because the book of Psalms is actually five different books (1-41; 42-72; 73-89; 90-106; 107-150), none of which have […]
Category: Romans, Psalms |
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Tags: Article, Suffering
PHall | March 20, 2011
Both the Golden Calf worship and the offering of strange fire by Nadab and Abihu have much in common, have too much in common. Both take place at the foot of Sinai. Both take place with God’s special servants. Both take place in close proximity to something special. Both break God’s commands. And both narratives […]
Category: Exodus, Leviticus |
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PHall | March 18, 2011
Grace is written on every page of the Bible. But blood is not. Grace is written in ways that blood does not need. The very breath we take is grace. God’s word breathed out through the Holy Spirit is grace. The breath Jesus exhaled declaring “it is finished” is grace. And God’s waiting breath, waiting […]
Category: Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, II Samuel, Hermeneutics |
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Tags: Article, Grace, Hermeneutics
PHall | March 12, 2011
John 4:19-24 HCSB “Sir,” the woman replied, “I see that You are a prophet. (20) Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, yet you Jews say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.” (21) Jesus told her, “Believe Me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor […]
Category: John |
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PHall | February 12, 2011
Walking into this building is shocking for some; not so much by what is here – pews, classrooms, songbooks – but by what is not here. Notice I didn’t say, “by what is missing.” That would imply they belonged. So what is not here? Statues, Pianos, Kitchens & Gymnasiums. Nowadays, many churches of Christ have […]
Category: Bible |
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Tags: Article, Denominationalism, Hermeneutics, Institutionalism