Too often I hear complaints such as “I don’t get anything out of the service”, “the church’s worship doesn’t inspire me” or “church is boring”. I wish I could say that I don’t relate to these complaints, but the fact is I do. I’ve felt those same things before and the only conclusion I could draw to fix the problem was that something needed to change.
The Gospel Saves Posts
The Apostle Paul began his stirring speech to the idolatrous people of Athens with this preface: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; 23 for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you…” (Acts 17:22-23)
In II Samuel 6 David makes preparations to bring the Ark back from Baale Judah to the Temple, where it belonged. David, accompanied by thirty thousand men, went down to the house of Abinadab and set the Ark on a new cart to transport it. Steering the Ox cart were two men, Uzzah and Ahio (the sons of Abinadab). Ahio went in front of the Ark, and Uzzah followed behind the Ark. This large procession sang and danced, joyfully carrying the Ark back to its proper place. However, along the way (at Nachon’s threshing floor), the oxen stumbled. In an attempt to steady the Ark and make sure it would not fall, Uzzah reached out and put his hand on the Ark. Immediately God’s anger was aroused against Uzzah and God struck him dead.
Concerning the co-existence of an all-powerful, loving, and good God with worldwide wickedness, the ancient philosopher Epicurus once mused: “Either God wants to abolish evil, and cannot; or He can, but does not want to; or He cannot and does not want to. If He wants to, but cannot, He is impotent. If He can, and does not want to, He is wicked. But, if God both can and wants to abolish evil, then how comes evil in the world?” (Strobel, p. 25).
Anyone who professes Jesus Christ as their Savior would say that He is the authority for their lives. We would say His wisdom is greater than our wisdom, and our understanding must come from Him. Many similar conclusions spin off from this essential conviction that Jesus Christ is Lord. Then comes the rub. We either humbly submit to His authority, or we fabricate an image of Jesus that fits the way we want Him to be.
Jesus Christ is the head of the body, the church. Paul declares Jesus, “…the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen. ” (1 Timothy 6:15-16)
The United States of America. Being so far removed from the founding generation of this country makes it difficult to truly appreciate the word united in the title of our nation. Prior to the revolutionary war the states could be more likened to independent nations. A man living in America at the time referring to his fellow countryman would likely be referring to his fellow Virginian or his fellow Pennsylvanian. Rarely would a man refer to their fellow American- it was a foreign thought.
Consideration of the question of female church leadership and the place of women in the communal worship of Christian assemblies is of increasing importance in Western churches and religious bodies. As women have gained prominence and assumed positions of authority in secular institutions so have they advanced to leadership in religious organizations, albeit slowly and with more opposition. Some denominations have endorsed and encouraged women to go into the “ministry”, while others have not permitted this at all. Still others have concluded to allow a combination of husband-wife “pastor teams” or boards with both genders fully represented. I have been asked before why the church doesn’t allow women to be ordained to office or to lead the congregation in its worship of God. The simplest answer, which I still give, is, “the Bible doesn’t permit the ordination of women.” Let us review a few passages and I will throw in my two cents on this important discussion.
Like most Jews at the time of Christ, the Apostles asked this question in anticipation of an earthly kingdom in which the Christ would reign over the Earth and restore Israel to its original majesty. Now, 2,000 years later, many people still wait for the day when temporal governments will be thwarted, the Kingdom will be established, and the Lord will rule on David’s throne from Jerusalem.