Why I Don't Like Study Bibles

I have often said that I don't like Study Bibles, because people tend to study the study notes instead of the Bible itself. I can't tell you how many times I have found those who preach or teach Darby, Calvin or Scofield instead of Word of God.

Here is a line from Dave Black's most recent post to his Web site that deals with this topic as well:

In a certain church a large picture of the head of Christ stood behind the pulpit. One Sunday morning the preacher was late entering the pulpit. A little girl in the congregation asked her mother, "Where is the man who stands so that we can't see Jesus?"

You can click here to read the rest of his article titled, Call Me a Biblicist If You Like.

Where Does Jesus Christ Dwell?

Tim Stafford, a CT senior writer, recently wrote in Christianity Today, "A living, breathing congregation is the only place to live in a healthy relationship to God. That is because it is the only place on earth where Jesus has chosen to dwell. How can you enjoy the benefits of Christ if you detach yourself from the living Christ?"

I have yet to find the Scripture that Mr. Stafford is using to support his statement that Christ only dwells witin the congregation of an institutional church. My Bible tells me that Jesus has chosen to dwell in the heart of every Christian who repents of their sin and puts their faith in Him for their salvation. The Body of Christ is made up of believers from every denomination, including those who the Lord has lead to worship, study and fellowship outside of the institutional church in their homes as the early New Testement Christians did.

Study the Book of Galatians Online with Chip Brogden

Freedom in Christ means freedom from the Law - but not freedom to live as you please. Chip Brogden has a weekly audio series of messages on the Book of Galatians. Are Christians under Law, or under Grace?

http://www.watchman.net/listen.html

Jonathan Grubbs Blog - MIA

I have been VERY busy this last month and, as you can tell, have not had any time to update my blog. I hope to get my schedule back to normal soon, and to start posting on a regular basis once again. I guess we can only do so much in our 24 hour days!

The Lord’s Supper, New Testament Style!

The meal is potluck, or as we like to say, "pot-providence." Everyone brings something to share with everyone else. When the weather is nice, all the food is placed on a long folding table out in the carport. A smaller card table at one end of the long table contains drinks, cups, forks, napkins, etc. A chest full of ice sits on the floor beside the card table. Kids run wildly around having so much fun that they must be collared by parents and forced to eat something. After a prayer of thanksgiving is offered, people line up, talking and laughing, to serve their plates. In the middle of all the food sits a single loaf of bread next to a large plastic jug containing the fruit of the vine. Each believer partakes of the bread and juice while going through the serving line. The smaller kids are encouraged to occupy one of the few places at a table to eat. (They sure can be messy!) Chairs for adults (there are not enough for everyone) are clustered in circles, mainly occupied by the womenfolk, who eat while discussing home schooling, child training, sewing, an upcoming church social, the new church we hope to start, etc. Most of the men stand to eat, balancing their plates on top of their cups, grouped into small clusters and solving the world’s problems or pondering some hot topic of theology. The atmosphere is not unlike that of a wedding banquet. It is a great time of fellowship, encouragement, edification, friendship, caring, catching-up, getting to know, praying with, exhorting, and maturing. The reason for the event? In case you did not recognize it, this is the Lord’s Supper, New Testament style!

Foreign though it may seem to the contemporary church, the first century church enjoyed the Lord’s Supper as a banquet that foreshadowed the marriage supper of the Lamb. It was not until after the close of the New Testament era that the early church fathers altered the Lord’s Supper from its pristine form into a memorial service. We advocate a return to the way of Christ and His apostles.

Source: New Testament Restoration Foundation

Yes, Interracial Marriage is Ordained by God

Believe it or not, there are quite a few professing Christians who think that interracial marriage is a sin. Exactly why is anyone's guess since no condemnation of it can be found in scripture. To the contrary, the only biblical position is that interracial marriage is ordained by God.

Source: the PaleoBlog

Unleashing the Church

Apparently the early church shared the bread and cup as part of a weekly communal meal that included the Lord's Supper. Do we?

It seems churches were led by a plurality of co-equal elders (also called pastors and overseers) in an arrangement that was completely non-hierarchical. Do our current church structures match that?

New Testament baptism was done immediately upon conversion (with no time lapse or "membership classes"). How faithful are we to this pattern?

The New Testament teaches that all giving except that required to run the government (Matt 22:15-22; Rom 13:1-7) is to be purely voluntary (2 Cor 9:6-7). Should we, then, insist that believers tithe?

For the first three hundred years of the church's existence, it met almost exclusively in private homes as opposed to large buildings designed especially for Drawing of a First Century Church Meetingreligious services. To speak of a church "building" is deceptive since, according to the New Testament, God's "building" is not a pile of bricks but the people of God. Why, then, do many of our churches have larger budgets for buildings and grounds (that are used only once or twice a week) than for missions and people-oriented ministries? Somehow the church of the first two centuries managed not only to survive but to thrive without the benefit of a church sanctuary. Just think—no mortgages, utility bills, grounds upkeep, or property taxes! Isn’t it obvious that our traditions have distorted this clear pattern of Scripture?

Source: Unleashing the Church

The Battle of Townsend's Plantation

My family spent the day at the Renninger's Antique Center in Mt. Dora, Florida. We went for "The Battle of Townsend's Plantation", a live Civil War Re-enactment, living history with authentic camps and sutlers exhibits, period music, weaponry demonstration, cavalry, and more! I have posted 100 photos from our "Family Field Trip" on our Mountian Cove Family Web site. You can click here to view the photos.

Happy New Year!!

My family left for vacation on December 23, 2004 and had a great time in Northern Virginia and North Carolina with our family and friends, we will be posting some photos from our vacation on our new web site: http://www.mountaincovefamily.com/. While we really enjoyed our vacation away from work, computers, the Internet, etc., it is good to be back home!

Snow Cream In Florida

I remember getting big bowls of snow and pouring milk, sugar and vanilla on it to make snow cream when I was growing up in Virginia and North Carolina. I never though I would ever have snow cream here in Florida. Mayfield Dairy has solved the problem, I found that they are now selling Mayfield Snow Cream at Wal-Mart. I bought some last night, and took it home, and while it may not be exactly like grandma used to make, it does bring back some good memories, and it taste great too!

If you are fortunate enough to live where there is snow this Winter, here is my old snow cream recipe, if you live where it never snows like I do, I can now recommend Mayfield Snow Cream.

Snow Cream Recipe

1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
large bowl of snow

mix milk, sugar and vanilla. Stir in enough snow to make snow cream to an ice cream like consistency.