Tag: Questions

These are my personal suggestions for Protestant ministers whose denominations don’t give them guidance on what to wear while they conduct worship. I am following the general ecumenical practice in the United States. Presbyterians can use these suggestions; however, if they wish to wear the distinct...

In ancient times, Christians used to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem for Holy Week. One popular activity while they were there was to walk the route from Pilate’s house to Calvary, stopping for devotionals to commemorate various events that took place along the way. Of course most people didn’t do thi...

In Jesus' instructions about prayer, He taught His followers: "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words" (Matthew 6:7). These words of Jesus were aimed straight at the Pharisees. These individuals always made a public show ...

Martin Luther had a number of ideas for things that people could do at home to teach the catechism to their children. He certainly didn’t invent the wreath itself, because that goes back to ancient Roman times, and probably even earlier. People used wreaths as an Advent decoration long before Luther...

I believe they did. Let us consider the apostle Paul as an example. In 1 Corinthians 2:13 the apostle Paul said he spoke "not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words." In this passage, Paul (who wrote a huge portion of the ...

In Mark 11:23-24 we read, "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have receiv...

Biblical inspiration may be defined as God's superintending of the human authors so that, using their own individual personalities (and even their writing styles), they composed and recorded without error His revelation to man in the words of the original manuscripts. Inspiration means that the Holy...

In Luke 18:18-23 Jesus answered the question, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" by telling the rich young ruler to keep the commandments (v. 20). Does this statement support the idea of salvation by grace plus works? No. There is no evidence here or elsewhere that Jesus taught that good work...

In James 1:5 we read, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him." Mormons often appeal to this verse in asking people to pray about the Book of Mormon to see if it's true. The Mormon interpretation jerks this ve...

In Ezekiel 1:4-6 we read: "I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north -- an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures." Many New Agers think this v...

If you are a lay person, use this page only to satisfy your curiosity. The instructions on this page are for clergy who have an occasion to baptize by immersion, but don’t customarily do it that way. Special Cautions You can cause serious problems if you attempt to immerse infants or people who are ...

No. First of all, while ultimate physical healing is in the atonement (a healing we will enjoy in our resurrection bodies), healing of our bodies while in the mortal state (prior to our death and resurrection) is not guaranteed in the atonement. Moreover, it is important to note that the Hebrew word...