The Minister’s Riches Rejection Part 2

by
Abstain from Worldliness

Worldliness is our Enemy

We must remember that when Satan fell, dragging a third of the heavenly host with him, and when he succeeded in getting Adam and Eve to sin, he contaminated the world. This contamination extends to God having to remake the world one day.

1John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 1John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 1John 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

It is pretty clear that the Bible puts worldliness (being an active enthusiast of the world system) is dynamically opposed to being a Christian. God directly commands us to be different from the world system, to stand out and apart from that world system.

This is the problem with so many neo-evangelical Christians, they are trying so hard to merge their Christianity to be a part of the world, and the world a part of their Christianity. They want the two things (the world and Christian faith) to be one. That is impossible.




In the context here, God advises us that the world is set as our enemy, because the world rejects God, because the king of this world, Satan, has rejected God. There can be no truce. There can be no cordial working together of the two. You are for one or the other. To be for one places you as an enemy of the other.

Read more

Where do babies go when they die

by

By Pastor David Cox

Where do babies go when they die. Recently I had another person ask me about where babies go when they die. This has come up several times over my ministry, and I gave this person my answer, and I thought it might be of solace to others.

I do not know about infants that die. The Bible is strangely silent on that. On the one hand God gives men the chance of hearing and exercising faith. Babies don’t have that opportunity. So God’s mercy would seem to indicate that He will do something special for them.

On the hand there is the very strict understanding that without faith in Jesus Christ there cannot be salvation. No exceptions. So I leave that to God’s mercy.

When a couple loses there unborn baby what do you tell them?




I think that the baby is in God’s hands, and God is a merciful God. We cannot make up stuff to comfort people. Some theologians think that David’s comment on losing his child was that there is not that can bring the child back, I can only go to him. In some way, that sounds like the child is in heaven. Maybe that is the way it is. I cannnot say that dogmatically. The truth here is that the child is in God’s hands to do whatsoever God wants with him. We just cannot go beyond that.
When the parents have no control over the life or death of the child, or even when they did and something went wrong, we are to do God’s will the best we understand it and leave things there. God will hold us accountable or not. In cases of the death of an infant where the parents had no control over it, or they did something thinking to save the baby’s life but that didn’t end like they were trying, I see no blame on the parents hands.
Last year a lady in our church died. She was like 40 years old, younger than Tule and I. She had a tumor in her stomach the size of a fist. Her husband decided that she was too weak for the surgery, and that is debatable. Probably was too weak. But he refused to sign the papers for them to operate. The doctors took a poor attitude and sent her home. We cannot do anything else for her. That was not helpful as she needed more blood transfusions and stuff. She died.

Read more

More Warning Signs Bad Pastor Part2

by

By David Cox

See part 1 here

In the next series of posts, I am examining more Warning Signs of a Bad Pastor. I am taking these from my own experience and several posts on the subject that I have found around the Internet, comparing all of that with what I understand of Scripture.

Read more

What is the purpose of a Sermon? Part 3

by

In talking about the purpose of a sermon, I think we have established in the previous two posts that a sermon should change people, not just add more used and unacted upon knowledge into a person’s head. I will turn to the same topic but more towards an individual sermon.

By Pastor David Cox

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 (posts 5/1/20)

There are few factors more likely to cause a sermon to “crash and burn” than the lack of a clear, concise purpose. Before a preacher steps into the pulpit, it is essential that he know what it is he is seeking to accomplish. Unless the preacher knows what the sermon is for, no one else will either. Here are three keys that will unlock the door to more meaningful preaching. 1. Determine the Sermon’s Purpose First, 2. Design the Sermon around its Purpose. 3. Deliver the Sermon with Purpose in Mind.
from Three Keys to Preaching that Makes a Difference by Michael Duduit

Read more