Parable of the Sower

Introduction [After having read all of verses 1-23]: I recently read a testimonial from someone who attended the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity. Here is a part of that testimonial:

I have, for a long time, been passionate about making the Bible relevant in contemporary culture and talking to people where they are at. So when I found that LICC was running a course teaching practical skills on just this subject, I thought it would be good to take part.

Notice the emphasis on the need to “make the Bible relevant in contemporary culture.” This statement betrays a bias that sees the Bible as inherently irrelevant. It can only become relevant to those in our modern culture if we make it so.

Contrast this with a statement from John MacArthur in an online article entitled What Does This Verse Mean “to Me”?:

We don’t make the Bible relevant; it is inherently so, simply because it is God’s Word. And after all, how can anything God says be irrelevant?    Continue at Keith Throop

Is Age Segregated Sunday School Biblical? – Part 3

In Part 1 of this series, I discussed how it is that we may discern whether or not a ministry practice is Biblical. I hope all would agree with me that we may deem a practice to be Biblical not only if it is in keeping with Biblical prescriptions or precedents, while avoiding running afoul of Biblical prohibitions, but that a practice may also be deemed to be Biblical if it is in keeping with the wise and faithful application of Biblical principles.

I also pointed out that it is precisely when we are discussing Biblical principles that we can say that age segregated instruction of children by the Church is indeed a Biblical concept, since this practice does, in fact, comport with the wise application of such principles. In setting forth these principles, I began in Part 2 of this series with a discussion of the Biblical teaching about the nature of the Church as a spiritual family and how this relates to the Biblical teaching about the biological family. In this final post I want to examine several other Biblical principles that pertain to the issue.

We shall take as our starting point a key text in which Paul describes the ministry and maturation of the Church:   Continue at Keith Throop

 

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