Is it important to have a profession?

I went to teach my two 8th grade classes yesterday and the theme of the lesson was the importance of choosing a profession. After finishing the Bible study “What does the Bible say about sex”, I have been invited to add a Biblical perspective on the topics covered over the course of the rest of the semester during civics class. Yesterday’s topic was careers, as I have already mentioned. I would like to share some of the truths from the lesson here.

What happens to a nation that forgets God?

We live during days that are very similar days to the days of the prophet Joel, even though many centuries separate us, our cultures are very similar. At one time during the history of the USA, there was a very healthy fear of the Lord. Children used to pray at school even if they did not come from families that were faithful to God. Many children learned how to read using the Bible as their guide. Bible stories were once the bedtime stories that children heard from their parents. Somewhere along the way, people stopped seeking fellowship with God. It did not happen overnight. It happened little by little until social/secular life became separate from spiritual life and many just completely moved away from spirituality. This discretion is a mirror image of what happened in Israel during the life of the prophet Joel. Society was falling apart then as it seems to be doing now. I would like to examine the root of the problem and see what solution God offers to right was has been made wrong by us, the people.

Cohabitation and Domestic violence

We hear more and more discussions these days about stopping domestic violence. There are many, many campaigns out there that want to “educate” people on the problem of domestic violence and how to stop it. The discussion is very similar to AIDS awareness discussions. They speak of the problem and offer solutions but never address the root of the problem. If you know anything about medicine then you know that if you just treat the symptoms and never get to the root of the problem then the person will never be cured, just becomes dependent on the meds that treat the symptoms. I have written on the subject of cohabitation and you can read it here.

Discipleship and Second Timothy (3)

I would like to continue our study on the topic of discipleship from II Timothy. I addressed the issue of suffering for the Gospel in the last article and you can read it here. As a recap of the previous article, when suffering for preaching the Gospel:

1. Do not be ashamed of the Gospel.
2. Do not be ashamed of those who do suffer for the Gospel.
3. Follow your mentor’s example of suffering for the Gospel.

Christians and Poverty (social justice)

During the previous election cycle, I spoke with many people about voting for Christian values and unfortunately, many no longer consider pro life and pro traditional marriage as “the most important” or “only issues”. When confronted with what the Bible teaches on the subject, the most frequently used argument is some form of social justice. Are Christians not supposed to take care of the poor and needy of society? Did Jesus not do that when He ministered on this earth? Does Saint James not speak about taking care of widows and orphans?

Be a grateful teenager (Matthew 11:25-30)

I am preparing to teach at the youth group this week. Since this Sunday we are celebrating the fall harvest with a service of thanksgiving, I would like to use the youth message to teach about being grateful/thankful. The title of the message is the title of this article. The Gospel teaches us how to be thankful/grateful no matter what our age is but I really believe that teens need to be taught how to be grateful so that they can remain that way the rest of their lives. Many times, we assume that children will just inherit common sense. They will not. They must be taught. There is a passage in the Gospel of Matthew that teaches about an encounter with Jesus and His Father, God. Jesus shows us a picture of gratefulness, specifically, what a grateful child looks like.

Good Job North Carolina

The good people of North Carolina made a statement that must be heard and appreciated. We live in an age of liberal activist judges shredding the Constitution by forcing people to accept a controversial way of life that they may or may not agree with by not allowing the people to vote on Gay marriage but instead, they force laws on the people. The same is true with the legalization of abortion. If the people were ever able to vote on the issue, abortion would become illegal almost overnight since much of the country is against it. But, that is how liberal legal activism works, you do not allow the people to vote, you just force laws upon them.

Whose “way” in life do you follow?

I would like to present a Psalm, number 20, written by King David. I love to read and study the Psalms because they are so encouraging and practical. I hope that you find this article practical as well.

Since there are only 9 verses in Psalm 2o, I will include them in the article.

Biblical Engagement

I am officiating my first “engagement” today. In order to brush up on the process and think through the Biblical steps, I would like to write a post on what the Bible says about the act of “engagement”. The word is found in the Old Testament in the book of Deuteronomy.

Jesus Christ – the Cornerstone of faith

This is an article based on the sermon that our senior pastor, Vasile Filat, preached at the church one Sunday. I really enjoyed the message and received a lot of insight on the subject as well as had my faith strengthened and challenged. I would like to share it with you. The main passage is Mark 11:20-12:17 with the emphasis being on verses 10 and 11 in chapter 12. Here is the main text and then I will add the context after this.