Terry Pruitt's Blog

We were studying Acts 14 where Paul and Barnabas are stoned by the people in Iconium and greatly misunderstood in Derbe. Never the less the two messengers rejoiced that they were able to give the good news of Jesus Christ to others. What follows is my outline of thoughts on the chapter. Benefits of Suffering for Christ We participate in the sufferings of Christ. (Colosians 1:24) The suffering becomes non-verbal preaching It is a pragmatic way to take up our cross daily and follow Christ (Matthew 16:24) Benefits of Preaching in a Hostile Environment Your message is tested for the audience Is the gospel true? Are you motivated by pure motives? You as the messenger must rely on power from above The struggles heightens the importance of the message for the hearers Benefits of Preaching in an Environmental Context that Distorts the Message of the Gospel It forces the messenger to discern what is timeless and abandon those things that are temporal and fleeting It forces the messenger to s...

I got to worship this past Sunday at Scottsdale Bible Church . The first thing I noticed is that though they are huge, they try really hard, and successfully, to not be a monstrosity. The church is 6000 strong so they have divided into a couple of campuses. I attended just the south campus 8:15 worship. When you pull into the front parking lot there is maybe enough room for two rows of cars. It does not look that big. I actually thought I might have a parking problem. Just go to the rear of the property and there is what seems to be hundreds of rows of parking. It is all tucked away so that no one feels that they have some sort of zoning issues with the church. With that, the campus was broken in to a small town feel instead of a large building feel. There was various buildings. It sort of gave the feel that I was in the old west, yeah I know I was in the west but you know, the old west. One of the most unusual aspects of that was a building with the movie marquee. By the ...

Most winters we don't get snow until after Christmas. The snow we have in Maryland makes the season that much more as we approach it. Fall was late in coming but now winter is here. I'm sorry, but snow means it is here even if not on the calendar officially. I'm reminded that we live in a world that has seasons of change to keep us from a mundane existence. Growing up, we had a variety that came with the season, but each year the fruit from the plum trees was just a little different. We had an great abundance some years. Some years there was very little. We sometimes had persimmons and sometimes Cousin Marty found wild grapes. It was seasons with variety. Working in an office makes me wonder what I'm missing out doors. Each Christmas is a little different. This is the first Christmas that my daughter and her husband will celebrate it far away. Different, but I rejoice at their successes in establishing their own home.