Terry Pruitt's Blog

Frequently Asked Questions About Baptism Salvation Is The Gift Of God Q: Do you have to be baptized to be saved? A: The question is not simply about baptism, but the scriptural teaching regarding ceremonial righteousness. Christians might think of this question in terms of baptism, but more broadly it is a question about ceremonial righteousness. The scripture has a lot of teaching about ceremonial righteousness that must be applied to both Old Testament ceremonies and to New Testament ceremonies. Is a New Testament ceremonial washing more able to save than an Old Testament ceremonial washing? Absolutely not. A male in the Old Testament was considered unclean until he was circumcised. The Old Testament had numerous ceremonies and while the New Testament introduces just a few. Just because the New Testament has fewer ceremonies, one must not treat them as if they are something other than ceremonies. Jewish Christians of the first century would have keep the Old Testament ceremonial law ...

Ever notice that ministry is one of those jobs that has many competing models for what the core duties are? It seems even people otherwise unconcerned with church feel they have a pretty good idea what the pastor's work week should look like. In one of my classes we were asked to talk about somebody who had mentored us. I thought about a retired pastor in my home church in Missouri, Brother Fike. He gave me a fairly simple model of ministry. Preach the Word and care for the flock. The more I read and hear other models I think I keep coming back to this simple model. Some of the other models have been propsed to me and sometimes led me off the path of shepherding those under my care. Other Models Pastor as CEO - This one is appealing since you get to have the dignity of a leader in the business community. You get to read all those leadership books and attend those seminars that business leaders do. Also, people in your congregation know how to relate to the role. Unfor...

"The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoying Him forever". - The Westminster Confession "The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever". - John Piper "Where feelings for God are dead, worship is dead". - John Piper We worship our work, work at our play, and play at our worship. "Public worship will not excuse us from secret worship." - Matthew Henry Worship: To exalted God. "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him". - John Piper "You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve" - Matthew 4:10 Worship is being preoccupied with the worth of God. "The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are not worthy of Him". - A.W. Tozer