Tag: church
Why I’m a Reformed Christian (Part 1)
Posted on December 13, 2016 in Theology by Nathan Cherry
I’ve grown up in the Baptist church my entire life. I spent my entire ministry in Baptist churches. I have a Master’s degree in theology from a Baptist school. I know Baptist theology more than most due to my life-long desire to study and grow in my theological understanding. And I can say without reservation that I have found more Gospel focus, theological depth, mission’s emphasis, and Great-Commission minded people within reformed theology in the last several years than I have in the Baptist church in my entire life.
This reality of my experience makes the mischaracterization of reformed theology troubling as it reveals most people don’t know enough about reformed theology to make an accurate objection. It also reveals that the persistent myths and false accusations perpetrated against reformed theology are done in error.
Some of the myths and false accusations around reformed theology are:
More Resources for Parents Seeking to Raise Godly Kids in a Sinful World
Posted on November 2, 2016 in Family, Theology by Nathan Cherry
Last week I posted a few resources for Christian parents to help in raising their kids in the “fear and admonition of the Lord.” I found those resources very helpful for me, personally, as I seek to raise my kids in the Gospel. So, when I came across more resources to help with this holy task, I wanted to share them as well.
Take a look at some of the articles below to learn more about cultivating the Gospel in your kids, the importance of your presence, and how to avoid “provoking your children to wrath.” There’s even a couple of videos at the end of the list that I think are very helpful (the first video is a beautiful animated YouTube song depicting the Gospel.) I hope these are a blessing and encouragement to you as you seek to impart your faith to your children.
10 Tips for Leading Kids to Christ
“This is definitely not an article about “success, and how we have achieved it.” Rather, as the old adage goes, we are beggars telling other beggars where we have found some bread. If you are seeking to influence little ones toward Christ, you might find these ten tips helpful…
New Survey Proves People (Christians) Have No Clue What They’re Talking About
Posted on October 26, 2016 in Theology by Nathan Cherry
Recently, LifeWay Research and Ligonier Ministries surveyed 3000 adults concerning the state of theology in America. The results are a glaring red flag that proves how uninformed and uneducated Americans are concerning theological issues. The researchers only identified about 20% of those they surveyed as evangelicals; many other respondents identified themselves as evangelical. That in itself is a problem.
(See the chart below to view the top 12 questions and answers from the survey.)
Resources for Christian Parents Seeking to Raise Kids in a Sinful World
Posted on October 25, 2016 in Family, Theology by Nathan Cherry
As a parent that is deeply committee to imparting my faith to my children, I am always looking for resources to help. I am often overwhelmed by the task of sharing my faith with my kids, teaching them, and training them. I fail daily and need the wise counsel of those who have gone before me.
With that in mind, the following list is some helpful resources for everything from praying for your kids to taking them to church. There’s insight on answering kids’ biblical questions and tips for raising Godly kids. And, at the end is a list of books and other resources that can provide further support in your task as a parent of bringing the Gospel to your children. I hope this is a helpful list of resources that provide encouragement and support for you, mom and dad.
Why Require Unregenerate Children to Act Like They’re Good?
“Here are at least three reasons why Christian parents should require their small children (regenerate or unregenerate) to behave in ways that conform externally to God’s revealed will. I say “small children” because as a child gets older, there are certain external conformities to God’s revealed will that should be required and others that should not. It seems to me, for example, while parents should require drug-free, respectful decency from a 15-year-old, it would do little good to require an unbelieving and indifferent 15-year-old to read his Bible every day. But it would be wise to require that of a 6-year-old, while doing all we can to help him enjoy it and see the benefit in it.”
Part 2: what Is the Church and What Does It Exist?
Posted on October 6, 2016 in Theology by Nathan Cherry
Our entire culture is designed to attract us to something and sell something to us. Corporations spend billions of dollars to learn exactly the right words to make you buy their product. Marketing and advertising is a billion dollar industry centered around attracting and selling. From television, to the Internet, to billboards, you can’t go an hour without seeing an ad for something. When the church engages in these tactics, it cheapens grace in favor of enticements.
The church is the most expensive purchase in all of history. The bible tells us that Jesus bought the church “with His own blood” (Acts 20:28). The grace that has been poured out on the body of Christ is priceless. When we seek to entice people through the doors of our church with cheap attractions (like door prizes), we cheapen that priceless grace and the Gospel of Jesus.
Part 1: What Is the Church and Why Does It Exist?
Posted on October 5, 2016 in Theology by Nathan Cherry
I posted the church’s sign on social media with my encouragement for people to run far away from such a church. That started a conversation with friends from all over about the intentions of the church and whether having door prizes was a good idea. Some viewed this as a good way to “attract” people to church so they could hear the Gospel. The thought was, get them in the doors and share Jesus with them. If they get saved then it was worth it. The opposing thought was that this church was cheapening grace and the Gospel with enticements.
What If Kids Don’t Want to Go to Church Because of Their Parents?
Posted on July 28, 2016 in Family, Theology by Nathan Cherry
I watched a short clip recently with Carl Trueman in which the scholar made the observation that one likely reason we are seeing a drop in church attendance is that parents are simply not teaching their kids that it is a priority. Trueman said:
“The church is losing its young people because the parents never taught their children that it was important. I think that applies across the board. It applies to family worship, and it also applies to whether you are in church every Sunday and what priority you demonstrate to your children church has on a Sunday. If the sun shines out and their friends are going to the beach, do you decide to skip church and go to the beach? In which case, you send signals to your children that it is not important.”
A Proper View of Sin is Needed When a Christian Leader Falls
Posted on June 30, 2016 in Theology by Nathan Cherry
I am constantly curious by the reaction of Christians to the fall of a prominent Christian leader. Ranging from the “I knew that person would fall” to “my whole world is crashing down,” these reactions reveal our lack of understanding of the nature of sin and our susceptibility to it.
Recently I was listening to a podcast of Dr. R.C. Sproul on the total depravity of man and the nature of sin. This part of his teaching on the doctrines of grace and Reformed theology dealt with sin from an honest and biblical perspective. Dr. Sproul made a very poignant statement that Christians need to hear and understand. He said:
“There is no sin that a Christian is not capable of committing.”
This is a timely comment as many people become disillusioned by the fall of a Christian leader. If we become discouraged by the sin of another we are showing that we do not have a proper view of sin. If we believe for one minute that there is any person not capable of falling due to sin we are gravely mistaken.
Dr. Russell Moore recently wrote on how our response to the sin and fall of another is evidence of our misunderstanding of sin:
SPORTS: A New Idol for A New Generation
Posted on June 29, 2016 in Family, Theology by Nathan Cherry
I recently watched the Cleveland Cavaliers pull off an improbable comeback to win the NBA finals. With their team down 3-1 the Cavs won 3 straight games to bring home Cleveland’s first NBA championship; a promise LeBron James issued two years ago. It was an exciting game and series for fans, but it also reminded me of how much Americans worship sports.
To be fair, I love sports. I’ve been playing and watching since I was a kid. What I am most thankful for is that my parents never allowed sports to interfere with our family, or our life as part of the church. That doesn’t seem to be the case today.
How often have you said to your pastor, “we won’t be around much the next few months, it’s _________ season.”?
Ga Gov Nathan Deal: Religious Freedom doesn’t Need Protected – No One’s Being Sued Here
Posted on April 12, 2016 in Marriage, Public Policy, Religious Freedom by Nathan Cherry
There’s a verse in the Bible I’m learning to understand more as our culture moves toward complete rebellion of God’s principles. That verse simply states, “you cannot serve God and money.” (Matt. 6:24 ff)
Now, some would say this means you can’t be rich and serve God, but that’s a false conclusion. One look into Scripture reveals many people that were indeed rich and were used of God; King Solomon is just one example. Nope, that verse is teaching that your priorities cannot be both the pursuit of money and the pursuit of God and serving God.
Our society has become driven by money: the pursuit of money, the protection of money, and the acquisition of more money. And when money is threatened it is not a surprise to see people make decisions in favor of money rather than in favor of serving God.