The message of Hosea is a hard one for us to wrap our heads around. God is saying that because of their long and stubborn persistence in sin, he is resolved to punish them severely – though not finally. He will undertake a drastic pruning – but not so as to END Israel, but actually, so as to save them.

The message of Hosea is a hard one for us to wrap our heads around. God is saying that because of their long and stubborn persistence in sin, he is resolved to punish them severely – though not finally. He will undertake a drastic pruning – but not so as to END Israel, but actually, so as to save them.

The message of Hosea is a hard one for us to wrap our heads around. God is saying that because of their long and stubborn persistence in sin, he is resolved to punish them severely – though not finally. He will undertake a drastic pruning – but not so as to END Israel, but actually, so as to save them.

The message of Hosea is a hard one for us to wrap our heads around. God is saying that because of their long and stubborn persistence in sin, he is resolved to punish them severely – though not finally. He will undertake a drastic pruning – but not so as to END Israel, but actually, so as to save them.

This pandemic has been hard on the evangelical witness in North America. Some of that can be written off as simply the cost of compliance. We haven’t been as active or as visible in our communities as we would normally like to be, in the interests of public health.

The material below was originally prepared as a teaching memo for my fellow pastors and elders here at Cornerstone; I share this resource with you only in the interests of collegiality and efficiency. May the Lord bless you, my brother pastors, as you attempt to lead well, wisely and lovingly in these most unusual days.

To be a Christian is to belong simultaneously to two different kingdoms. If you are a child of God through faith in Christ then you are a citizen of the here and coming Kingdom of God and you are subject to various lesser but legitimate human authorities.

In a time before DNA tests and security cameras a concern for honesty on the witness stand made a great deal of sense, as indeed it does still today – but once we understand what this commandment is addressing it becomes clear that it doesn’t directly address the question of honesty and dishonesty in every situation; it doesn’t help us answer the question: Is it ever ok to tell a lie?

The Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 provides a fascinating window into the way in which disputes and doubtful matters were discussed and decided in the early church.

“The Olivet Discourse” in Matthew 24 might be the most difficult passage in the Gospel of Matthew to interpret correctly. Some of the difficulty stems from the fact that the disciples ask a question that is far more complex than they realize: “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (Matt. 24:3)

In 2013 a fellow CBOQ Pastor and I began a renewal movement within our denomination seeking biblical reform. We were both alarmed by the rather rapid leftward drift within our association. We identified a root that we believed would lead to precisely this kind of fruit.