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...

Not long ago I started seeing blogs with political cartoons that suggest that Barak Obama is Muslim. I would think this would be discussed in the mainstream media as well in the blogosphere so it bore checking out. According to the The Caucus, a NY Times political blog, Obama is a Christian and attends Trinity United Church of Christ, 400 West 95th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60628 . Their worship center is the photo above. I'm not saying that Obama and I would agree on everything doctrinally, but if he claims the name of Christ, I will take him at his word that he is a Christian. Then dialog starts with agreement that Christ is God incarnate, that God is three in one, that sin is our most fundamental problem and the atoning sacrifice of Christ is the solution. It seems less than generous to label Obama a Muslim because his father was a Muslim. It appears to be a ploy to discourage voter enthusiasm for Obama given that Islam is not the mainstream religio...